RESIDENT MAGISTRATE'S COURT

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XII, Issue 298, 17 December 1877, Page 2

RESIDENT MAGISTRATE'S COURT

[Before L. Bkoad, Esq.,, R.M.J Htland v. Adams. His Worship delivered judgment in this case as follows: — It is not open to the defendant after having been let into possession of this land by the plaintiff, and having paid him rent for some years, to dispute the title of the person with whom he agreed, until he has restored possession. The occupation of the land took place by permission of the plaintiff, and the contract was made with him. The defendant knew exactly what authority defendant had, and voluntarily created the relation of landlord and tenant between them. It is objected that plaintiff was merely an agent, and cannot sue in his own name. But some contracts may be made with an agent, notwithsfa.ud.ing he is known to be an agent, and upon which he may sue in his own name (Fisher v. Marsh, 3* L.J., 177 2 B.; Fleming and others v. Gooding, W, Biag, 550.) In this cas<} it js (evident the contract was made hy and with tiie plaintiff himself. Judgment for plaintiff for £25, and costs £i 4s. The defendant, we understand, intends to appeal against the judgment.

Menary v. Caklile. Action to recover £47 19s 9d, comprising the following items .—Board and lodging, £20 ; cash lent. £3 18a 6d ; drinks supplied, £20 lla 3d; value of lever watch, £i 10s. Mr Pitt appeared for plaintiff. Defendant did not appear either in person or by solicitor. Judgment for amount claimed, and costs £3 13s, his Worship remarking that the defendant's drinking powers appeared to be greater than his eating capacity, judging by the items of the bill.

In an article on the subject of the late correspondence between the Marquis of Normanby and the Ministry, iuvolving an alleged question of privilege, the " Australasian" of November 24th says :— Perusal of the pubblished correspondence shows conclusively that though his Excellency was placed at a disadvantage owing to what he may reasonably consider the sharp practice of his advisers, he was quite able to ho'd his own in the consequent discussion. As to the merits of the privilege question, there can be but one opinion iu impartial minds. The fussy debate and decisions of the House o£ Rspresentatira aro simply an absurd waste of time and energy about a trifle. It is sheer nonsense to pretend that the reference by the Governor in the confidential communication addressed to hi3 Ministers to au impending debate in the House formed a breach of the privileges of that body, and an interference with its freedom of discussion. If the gravamen of the complaint is transferred from the writing of the paper to its publication, then the whole bearing of the question is shifted, and the responsibility for the action comp'ained of is laid, without chance of evasion, on the shoulders of the Ministry. This position is stated with much cogency by the Governor. It is not pleasant to see a colonial Ministry virtually charged by the force of f act3 with something like a conspiracy against her Majesty's representative, whom it is their province to advice. The unpleasautness is increased when the head of the Ministry is a gentienan who has himself held the office of representative of the Queen and the correspondence between Lord Normanby and Sir George Grey places the latter gentleman in rather an unenviable position. The South Australian Advertiser forms a very favorable opinion of the coming wheat harvest in that colony. It expects an average yield of 12 bushels per acre throughout the colony. If then the estimate be correct as to the total area under wheat being 1,250,000 acres, and the yield 12 bushels per acre, the total return will be 15,000,000 bushels. We shall require for seed and home consumption three millions of bushels, which would leave twelve millions for export, or in round numbers 300,000 tons of breadstufis. The value of this enormous export to the colony will be little short of three millions sterling. The probable value of the total harvest, including wheat and hay, will probably not be under four millions sterling. The gratifying intelligence reaches us from Victoria that an Indian woman has been puPed down by an octopus while bathing. She was half devoured before her remains were rescued from the mouster, by means of native divers, who cut them out from the feelers of the huge brute. A remedy is at once suggested for the growing nuisance of the sportive, and aquatic hoodlum in San Francisco, Five or six first-class ar d reliable octopi should at once be procured in Victoria, and transplanted just off the favourite bathing grounds of our local juvenile fiends, and our fervent aspiration, as each of these blotches on humanity sprang into the water, would be : " May the octopus hold you in his safe and holy keeping." San Francisco News Letter.

A rival of the Colorado potato beetle is reported as having made its appearance among the crops in the Bodega district, a famous tuber-growing locality in Sonoma county, California. Some thousands of tons of potatoes in this region are reported as tunnelled and more or less eaten out by the pest. While the -worm is running drifts tlnvmgll tli& potato, a species of Jfungug attacks the leaves and lays low ths crop in blight. The farmers, it is stated, have gone on planting the potato on the same fields for many years, neither manuring nor giving rest to the soil by rotation, which is only fertilised by a change of production, and the blight is supposted to have been induced this simplicity of agriculture, and the deterioration resultant from incessant planting of sections of tuber and neglect to strike fresh varieties from the apple.

We (Auckland Star) learn that a European who lately visited the Ngatimaniapoto at Kawhia in the interests of Melbourne capitalists submitted a novel proposal to the natives. He carried with him a flag unkuown in our national code which he ostentatiously dispayed in the various villages. At Kawhia he requested the chiefs to give him over half a million acres of land, on condition that he should settle Europeans upon it who are hostile to the British Government, and who in the event of war between the Europeans and the Maoris would take the side of the latter. The Wily Ngatimaniapoto chiefs listened to hig representations, and pretended to be considerably impressed with the scheme. The result was that he paid over a sum of £300 by way of an advance to the natives, but received not a scrap of paper of any kind of undertaking in return, and the probability is that he will never receive any. The Ngatimaniapotos are too shrewd to be deceived by such an artifice as this.

The Wanganui Chronicle states that from all parts of that district good accounts are received of a bountiful harvest. All up the coast the crops are strong and healthy, aud more than one farmer boasts that his yield will be from fifty to sixty bushels per acre. No doubt about it. A member of Parliament has a pull— besides his monthly pull at the Treasury. Mr Q travels fora firm of wholesale grocers in Melbourne, irately ije was offering some articles in a country store— -amongst others, currauts. A sample was kept, with a promise to give a reply in a couple of hours. Shortly afterwards Mr Blank, travelling for another grocery firm, called. « Oh," said he, " I can supply you a farthing a pound cheaper. You see, my railway travelling, as a member of Parliament, costs me nothing. I can always uuder-sell that fellow 1 "—Australasian.

"JSgles" writes in the Australasian :— "From New Caledonia I hear that two Melbourne men turned up at Noumea the other day by different steamers. Each seemed to fight shy of the other for some time, but at length they met, and then it transpired that they were on the same errand, viz., to acquire a lease of the guano islands to the north of New Caledonia. One of them had been already shipping guana therefeom, and Bad a working plant The public biddings commenced modestly afe 3,000 frangs between the two competitors, but a third from New Zealand struck in, and the lease was knocked down to him tit 59,000 francs, or about .£2,360 per annum. Our Melbourne friends have acquired quite new ideas of the value of guano islands, and their successful rival is believed, even at the price he paid, to have struck a patch."

The followiug table o£ the duration of life in certain animals is translated from au old German work :— The elephant !50 to 200 years, camel 50 to 60, ass 30 to 50, horse 20 to 30, deer 20, bull 30, ox (draught) 19, cow 20, lion 60, bear 20, wolf 20, dog 25 to 28, fox 15, sheep 10, hog 20, cat 18, squirrel 7 hare 7to 8, goat 10. Of birds— parrot 110,' eagle 100, goose 52, sparrow hawk 40, canary (if it breeds annually) 10, ditto (if it does not couple) 24, nightingale and lark 16 to 18 peacock 24, turkey 15, hen 13, quail 6 to 8, duck 25.

The French Government has jusfc adopted a new gun of very formidable character, known as a cannon revolver. It is said to be capab'e of throwing 80 shells per minute of rather more than lib weight, each of which breaks up into 24 fragments. It can be brought into action and the range determined with great rapidity, and when once sighted it can be worked without the slightest recoil, and traversed by pivot action. Its destructive effects can thus be brought to bear % "on troops either in column or deployed. It commences to be effective at the tremendous range of over 3000 yards. The Turks bought several, but were unable to pay for them.

Critici3iug a recent speech. of Sir George Grey's, Mr Fox concluded by saying :— Theu we have a little more dust affecting the position of Ministers. He told us some hon. members remarked that all the Ministerial seats were not filled up, and that it was rather a curious thing. Then the hon member got up and, in bis usual solemn tones, said he was rather proud of it. He said it was owing to the honorable feelings of certain members of the other side who recently joined him, »nd who did not' wish it to be said that they went over for the sake of office. , He felt proud to be able to stand up as the leader of such gentlemen ; and so on. This is all very fine ; but what if it is understood throughout the House and the lobbies that all these gentlemen have offered to go into tha Government directly our backs are turned ? Why can he not tell us who they are ? He has made up bis mind who they are to be— it is all nonsense to say that he has not. And it is miserable prudery on the part of those gentlemen to say, ' We would rather wait. Spare our blushes ; but when the Assembly has gone, and nobody can make any remarks, you can put us in.'