MAGISTRATES' COURT.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XII, Issue 157, 5 July 1877, Page 2

MAGISTRATES' COURT.

[Before W. W.'Sqoisss, and.H( E. CukSs. Al, (...r^sqs., J.J.P.]|->-1 Road Rates. Martin v. Wells.— ln this case, which was heard yesterday, the plaintiff, aa Secretary of the Suburban North Road Board, sued the defendant for £5 16s 8d road '"' ratesT-less"' 8s 4d paid. Mr Acton Adams appeared for the plaintiff, and Mr Pitt for the defendant. A curious point was involved. In August, IB76,:defeudant>va3 ysUed in error for T ss¥d instead of £5 Os 4d. He paid the money, and obtained; a receipt. The Board, having discovered their error, now sought to recover the balance, due. after, deducting fche amount paid Mr Pitt, for the defendant, objected thatjfhavmg sued for a part before, the Board were barred by the Resident Magistrate's Act from bringingtth action for the remainder as a division of the. cause of action was not permitted. ... j Judgment was deferred until this morning, when it was given aa follows:— The Bench hh.verhad some difficulty in determining whether to decide this case according ?to the gpOdsouscience;yor the legal aspect thereof, ' but after some consideration * they have '! decided to adopt the legal aspect, and give ! judgment for the defendant wifchoufc costs. 1

[Before H. E. Curtis and A. E. Olives. Esqs., J.J.P.] j Isaac Harvey, junior, was charged, on fche into -mation of William Meads, with wilful and; corrupt, perjury in the recent case of Meads ..v. Harvey. Mc Bunny appeared for the prosecutor, and Mr 1? ell for the prisoner. Mr Bunny haying opened the case for the prosecution, called H. C. Baddetey, who said: lam clerk of the Resident Magistrate's Court, Neison. I remember the case of Meads v. Harvey which was tried before the Resident Magistrate, rproducethe summons with the bill of particulars, attached. The action waa one for trespass committed on the plaintiff's property on the 14th of May. The usual oath was administered tb the present prisoner. I recollect that the prisoner in his said that " he came -into town to consult Mr Fell on the 14th of May. He also took some cattle out of the pound on that day as he was going home. He was not shooting that day. He was not oa Meads' land with his brother, Turner, or by himself." [At this stage of the proceedings the usual procedure in Happy Valley cases was gone through, namely, the ordering of all witnesses out of Court.] The result of the action was that i judgment was given for the defendants with costs 225.;. .". •' j iHenry Flowers gave evidence similar to ' that iv the case of Meads v. Harvey. It was I to the effect that he saw the two Harveys ' and Turner on Meads' land on the 14th of May j^tbat, they shot -a pheasant and called out to him, who was* about, two: hundred yards awayy to ask where it dropped, and that lie replied to their question ; that he was quite clear who the three were, aud that he was quite positive they were oa Meads' land. jUnder cross-examination -by Mr Fell, the witness .stated -that where the three were when he first saw them was fenced land lelonging to Meads. He saw them get through the fence, having first put thtir guns over. He then gave an accurate description of. three Sogs ther had with themC ll '. ' William;. Anderson saw three _jen on Meads'* hitl ou tee afternoon of - the f\4th 'ofMay, but could not swear ttrafc.ifchfekprisoaar > was one of thera,as he did not take much notice. JAificr Maria Meads' evidence was similar to' that given inthe first case. She saw the two Harveys aud Turner bn the face of Meads' hill on the day in question, and called out to Turner to go off. He replied but she did uot hear what he said. She was quite positive that the three men she saw were those named. Xl lon -Flowers saw three men on Meads' land on the 14th of May. She would not swear they were the Harveys and Turner, . although she had no doubt in her own ihind thkt they were. jJolm Buugate's evidence was a repetition of j that lately gi ven by him. He. swore, posi--lively that he saw, the, Harveys and Turner going towards Meads' land. He could not ! be mistaken as they were certainly not more than 70 yards frqqi him. , Harriet Bungate A- lam the wife of" trie last witness. On the afternoon of the 14th of May I saw the two Harveys, who are my brothers, aud Turner, going towards iMeads' land. Our house is oa high ground, aud they were passing immediately below it. I was close enough to be quite sure who they were. Cross-examined : My husband was at home too, and he saw them as well. They had ouly two dogs. If they had had three I must have seen them. One of them I knew to be Isaac Harvey's dog. It was nearly four o'clock at the time. I know thjs because I looked at the clock. Alfred James Meads, son of the prosecutor, said that on the Saturday following the 14th of May he was with Robert Lyford and met he prisoner and said to him " Father will be vi a way with you for going on our grouud shooting. He replied that he was there shooting but did not get anything. liobert Lyford corrobrated the foregoing evidence. ° ■

:Thomas) no'jsQd,pbuifdkeeper, remembered the prisoner r&lsakingy certain- .cattle on t_Jf' 14th of May, land gdiug towards -his hous*-! wjth them. ! P- 1 0 JB^njamia Kolik saw^the prisoner drivinJt K- ?n?e c l fcfc, 1 bQe^eeh f - and 2 pm. e§ TWs>ctosed\^ ; ca.eCfbr the prosecutfenß and Mr Fell statiitgSifiafc he reserved hW defence, the prisoner was committed for trial afc fche next sittings of the District; Court, the Bench being of opinion that a strong prima facte case had been made oat. Bail was allowed, the prisoner in ,£IOO, and .one., security- in, £50./* I -.--: * ■> J?

The skating rink afc Hokitika, which was progressing so favorably, haa had a damper thro wa-apoa jfc by a_-aceideafc ~Gcoumag~4©~ one of it's members, Miss Park, a young lady of -eighteen wars. 06 age, who susfcaiaedras ? fra&ture of hit left krm while skating.'"' J ° l - Mr FeU_(saya the Marlborough Erp'ress) ia .reetiflgabone milt afc his new" stores afoT wharf on the Opawa Bank behind Mr Millington'a. Thia ought to be a very good speculation, aa converting an article now wasted into a profitable and marketable manure. Those farmers who have been working their land yirar; after year, taking-all rout >f it possiblg<;wjthottfcrresfcorii-g auy o£-itsC-con-stituent -parts, saQfti<_T)e higjriy pleWd at the prospect of Being.! able 60 do so at a minimura;[expens§r>-"^ d , .^Mrß|dw;9od &_sold Korari tci'Mr-NosS •worthy too to! fche~ ; sfcud, Cutta finding hi. dickey l&g'will not stand. Zltma generally^ 1 aupposed that pV«I work broke' this litt^fl/er dowa T _b,ut tfe yreal $aaa§was ' .hisbeiug^iddenCap ana dowu k rough _iacfe--dock affieifa floc_ of 'sheep; ' "Koran-is b€r .rTjowton^oufc of Harakeke^DuWi^Slar. y% ThQ'Novwick _fsu£ot a i _cenfc date says £ Thecpi^iiow staying _n aivisifc tO^tain" ' BerMcb^afc-Geldeston, an Ql& mft aatuallyfpjepeatfaadjflok £■ passive part i£ "Upe baetle of - WateHoo;v Madame Van*. ' Cutsem^bw the fecmec of .- Hougbmorit., -waa at that time the gardeners daughter sB .fche Chateau of rHbagdmoufc-, _nd 'aged; fivgi y;ears. Her father, .the gardeper/ stuck tpThs post^retaining his little da^hteraacon^ -pany. chateau itself wqsj occupied by\ the Britisfo Guards, add was throughout thb'" whole of "the memorable 18th Jane, 1815 the grahdj and principal object bf aj-fjack! Madamb hjis a v^jrivid recdllectiohCb^ the kmdnesfT^ our soldiers, whotreated her aa a pat, atjid-kepfc throwing her bits bi£ biscuit out of their haversacks wherewith to amuse her. At last the chateau was shelled in the afternoon and set fire to by Jerome Bonaparte. Madame was then conducted by a sergeant, qf,. the. Guards to aback gate r and» her retreat secured into the forest of Soignies ~ Madame is. a widow, of course advanced in years, but hale and hearty, and now visiting England for the first time in her life. i A correspondent of the West Coast Times thu3 refers to Jackson's Bay:— ."The settle-" meuMa. progressing ylfc ; Appear W me that if Jackson's Bay settlement fata be' a success, greater care should be exercised" ,in fche selection of the immigrants— e.g , there-are one-or fcwo-butfcon-makera and" k professional circus clown among the quasi-, cblonists. These 1 men are nbt, and time_iiisfc> elapse before they become inured ;to clearing the forests and growing, crops. There .ace, & few me^i who know whafc hard work is, and how to do it,'and are not discouraged by a few-hardships. These men have alreadr progressed,well 4 with their, sections, and after a| few years will be comfortable and independent, and if there tvere more of this clas% { Jackson'a Bay settlement would soon presenfc a thriving appearance. Seals - abound' afc I present albngjthe coast southwards,^ an_ the j Bay possesses what is as valuable asa goHI mine— a practically unlimited supply of fish. II believe that if the Fishing Comoany had been properly managed, fish would *be a considerabledteraiof ekport. As a prbof pfj-this, I may mention that a party of Eve men were absent for five daya about a f brtiii^hfci ago,- ' and returned with a cargo of 140 seal skins. The actual timeof killing-the seals was only six houra: A's they -are worth froni 25s to 30s each, they will make a handsome profit; W their veneflfre; < Thia party are awayjon another trip, and^two more* boat's are fitting out, and will sail aa soon as the weather js favorable. "If the same amount of energy wtere displayed in fishing and curing the fish equallygood: results would ensue with much less hardship..-' ' • *■•• a-. 1. s,\S..i. Sir J. Linborn,Simmonds, X.C.8., mentioned in English telegrams as the probable Commander-in-Chief of the Engli&h Army If I •sent to the seat of war, is a Lienl-V-General' in the Royal Engineers, alnd Inspector--General of Fortifications;; He is one of ;fchb : most distinguished officers in HvM, servicel'He was employed for three years in the dispnfcedy territory on the north-east .frontier of the United States Jn constructing, worka for its defence, and in making military explorations. Happening.tp.be in Turkey, in.,1853, v he .was specially 'employed by" Lord/ Stratford de Redcliffe on several important services • j^ned Omar Pasha in March, 1854 ; escorted the new Governor into Silistria, aftery the former one had beeb skilled A aqd was .present duriug part of ..the .siege ofj thaf? fortress; laid out and threw 'up the lines of Stobodzie and Giiirgefb, on the Danube, having entire charge of the operations, jwith 20,000 men of- arms Under M; cobuiyind, ; a Russian array of (EOjaaiOUmen ' hepg within seven miles ,; ( "was present jdur--, in-* the occupation of . Wallachia,. and had. frequent chargeof recbhnaisances, upon' 'tW enemy _ irear. I- Went to the ' Grithea • Ih 7 _fe- { '- cebabeci' :854, to concert with the • Ali&bV' commanders-in-Chief as t -.mQvWaents of the.Turkish army,, was pre,senfc atvthe-- , battle of Eupatoria; la^d but and] threw' up "'' 1 fche entrenched camp rbuud that place-, afterwards was before Sebasfcopol from April; ftSiS until after its fall, and then went toMiugrelia, "and was presenfc at the forced passage of the Jugujtjr where he commanded, . the division - which crossed the river and turned the enemy's position, capturing his works and guns. O mat Pasha, in his despatch, , attributed' the, success of the day chiefly to liieut.-ColonelC< Simmons. He.seryed as HeF Majesty ? s Cops- : missippeiy to the, Ottoman army fchroughoufc thejwar, arid was employed in all the..negotiations having reference to the movements of ; .Omar Pasha's army. Has received the Crimean Medal, ,with clasp, ihe Turkish Gold Medal for the Danubian campaign, the Order of the' Medjidie 3rd Class, and a sword of frohi the Turkish Government- also" the 4th. Class of the Legion of Honor- was' Her Mdjesty's Commissioner for laying pu-fcC the Turko-liussian boundary in Asia^ arid granted the 2nd Class of the Medjidie by the Sultan; but was refused permission to accent Mr E. McLen nan writes fco, the' Mail f irom 1 Travancore, dafe March 0 -—Some speculator at home has been sending thousands of cast--^ off red coats but to this country, and they' are now to'bc met with all over the country: j Red with England is an Imperial color. Is it wise', is it politic, to allow ifc to be degraded before the eyes of our subject races like this ? lam not myself over-sentimental iv anything, but I have felt hurt in seeing these coats iv all stages of decay and filthy dirt, but still bearing the numbers, facings, and distinctive marks of the regiments to which they once belonged I have come across some coats of the Royal Scots, some ' tunics of the Royal Horse Artillery, and of many other regiments scarcely less famous hi English song and story. Ifc is the fashion of onr rulers ont here, I believe, to consult native ideas as far as convenient ; but would fche kings and chiefs out here allow the uuifonu of their followers to be used like this ' by the lowest of the low ? Decidedly not. And what uniform can compare with the hin .red line of the Bri&ish Army ?. :yy • . ; ,y. ;.i

K ?W^M*dcd dfay for Beef ton started ,-f|OQi- Messrs Bmie and Humphries store ! yesterday: afternoon driven; by R. Cox, and ; laden with a full. thr§e horse load of meri cUu.iHe expects to make the Junction: { tognght, {Beeffon tlje ■•■ following day , and' Wdbtport Times. , " v * V The Berlin correspondcnfc of the Times says that General S. Cerdan, of the United States, of the United States, has iuvented an instrument which will greatly improve and cheapen the art of klliog; He calfe his inv<fntpn the « range-finder." _fc, consists or a , •telescope and other instruments, air of which can be carried ou a dog-cart, aud which en- i able the engmeers to measure with perfect TsttKSc. up "fco 2,000 metres, or "say 'l,sooy<rs7 The time needed to ascertain distauces is I jonly two minutes, and the General believes that his invention will double the accuracy :-^?F till «y. fire,- and. quadruple thafc of infantry. The Berlin War Office is already trying the instrument, and the British Government is also asking for particulars. It is curious how much science just now does for the attack, and how little for defence. I She only~s?ecent idea of the-latter kind is the spadc-ba^pnefc, which euatlea irregulars to Shrow uprearthworks almoStwyrapidlv.-as a corps of, navvies) a great advantage Cto "a Imputation trying to defeud itself. ' Among'fche articles exhibited at the great •Philadelphia show was a glass bonnet, , S@| mighty be expected, was; an object o'f-.un- : bounded^emanioecuriosity. Such was the -'Itraid pufc.upon the patience aHd endurance o£ thfe attendants by the never : ending posse . M fa| r enquiries that the unfortunates Were |t last driven to adopt a strange but; effective gfcvi<£. « Th-jy placarded the "love of a boii- ■ |fet,"!asd here: is a of the &lacatd,..which is something of a curiosity:— «it | hat? ,Isit a bonnk? Yes. Js-it glass? Yes. Is it silk? No. Are the strings pass? Yes.j lathe lining glass? No. What j^it\ Silk.] Are the flowers glass? ' Yes. Was it made here? No. Where then ? ''Boston. } When Hvas tit* made? Last summer By frhora? fFhe Woodroffes. ( Hbw long did it fake ? Four Weeks. Was it woven whilethe ; Bass was, hot? No. Is it flexible? .Yes. Will it break easy? No. Can you pack" it &p? Yes.- Isn' v t.ifc fche latesfc style? Yes Is it aold? Yes.-, How much; was iti iSo dollars. £".Oh, myl Auy ■; ofcher questions pertamirig^to the bonnet will" be cheerfully answered by Mr Brown. A-~A •*