NASTY NEIGHBORS.

NZ Truth, Issue 139, 15 February 1908, Page 7

NASTY NEIGHBORS.

RESCUING A BOVINE. Kow Kapers at Karori. The neighborly relations betw.een the Hemsley and Ballantine families at Karori have been . particularly warlike t for some time past; so' warm, indeed, that periodical court proceedings have been found necessary to relieve the tension. A little while back Mrs Hemsley, a muscular, determined woman, inflicted personal violence on Mrs Ballamtine, who is equally determined but physically smaller than her radoubtable adversary. The subsequent court case fursher embittered the families and hatred and. all uneharitableness were hurled across the boundary fence whenever opportunity offered. The opportunity for Mrs Hemsley to "get back on" Mrs Ballantine came on January 15, on which date, the Ballantine cow, or one of the bovine herd, trespassed on the Hemsley esr tate. Eagerly the Hemsleys surrounded the animal and bore it down m the direction of the pound. Uh- . fortunately, the Ballantine homestead had to be passed, and the Hemsleys swear that the Ballantines to the number of five, swarmed out on to the road and rescued the milker ; and. this being a serious offence, Mrs Hemsley and her husband grimily,, pdlicercour ted the offenders, when lawyer Bolton prosecuted, and Tom Wilford effectively aired his silver v•tongued elo-quence on behalf of Mis Baliantine. ! . . ' Mrs Sarah Hemsley said she wasn-'t, driving the . marauding quadrupeds when J ■'■'.. THE INSUFFERABLE BALLANTIItfES rescued their property. She merely assisted tfies fords as far as the 'gate ■with it. Me Wilford : How many people have voii succeeded m firing out of that neighborhood •?— None. ■ What about Mrs Prendeville and the bachelors— didn't you drive them out ?— No, What about the . twenty-three Leg-, horji, fowls Mrs Ballantine lost ; was that no concern of yours ?— No. . You were found guilty of assault last time you were here ? ' Mr Bolton:: Technical assault. ■Did you not say that you could beat your husband, and if you were .able to beat your husband you could beat her (Mrs Ballantine) ?— I did not say so. ■'■:■ ■ ■;* - Albert- Hemsley. husband ,pf the . masterly Jady already, mentioned, tes-' tilied [that Mrs • Ballantine's cattle •were frequently on his property., and he: had' impounded her stock twice be-; fore. , Her land /was-* ridiculously over-stocked. Hemsley wore -an .smile throughout the : proceedings,, . • •••■■-' - ■ But you don't own the. properly, d*. 3 r ott ; ? •:. Your are; only. foreman ; '; -YQUR WIFE IS BOSS ? — -No, .I'4i jboss. /,' ; ' . .. „ Did sh^'not, give you a hiding the. other day ?— it is ridiculous to ask such a. "question., , ' Answer me ! , Did ■ sh'o'. hide you ?-— No \l ' (The wife here laughed hysterically'in her ohai>iv near the railing.) You impounded her cattle before ?— Yes. You love doing it; don't you?— '(Doubtfully) : Not necessarily. The witness got rid of. the remarkable statement that the fence wouldn'fc keep the, Ballantine cows put, although it would keep the Hemsley cows m. Eiddell,. 5.M..: Have you ever actually seen the cow get m? Does if walk thorough the.. fence ! Mr Wilford : Evidence was brought last time ijhat the fence was not a proper one. Mr Bolton : Did you take the case ? ■■Np.r'- ,-';■. '-,... ■■■'.. ■■ ■ • : Well, ■! did! ■-,'. . . This fusila'de of ; interrogations was gr.a'tifyiri'g to the spectators, who . 1 tljdn "t even have to .p ay ,f or the entertainment. ,-■•.■■•■■■.' Caroline Hemsley, a. girl of fourteen, stated that -four of the Ballantine children and Mrs Ballantine her-j self came on .to. the main road and' collared - the cow. The family remarked to the Hemsleys, ' 'You think yourself very smart.",. „'.. ' - , •.'■' Mr Wilford: Have you been taught i what to say ?— No/. sir. ; You gave eyiden.ee when your mother was charged with assault ?— Yes, sir. And the Magistrate didn't believe you ?— (Silence.) v Edith Hemsley, aged eleven-, corroborated, but stated that Mrs BallaTit tin© didn't come out until the cow i had entered the gate. . ■ This ohild^s glance roamed the court considerably, and waggish Wilford was obliged,to enjoin on the kid : ir Look at me, even THOUGH IT'S PAINFUL." The defence was simple. The Ballantine youngsters saw the cow coming down the road and opened the gate. Any cow worth its hay will turn m at its own horiie, particularly when it is pursued by hostile strangers, and this cud-chewer was no exception to the rule. Mrs Ballantine came out just as the cow was rushing m, and no one went' out on the road to head the animal. The principal evidence to the above effect was given by Edith Ballantine, who seated that -she opened the gate quite nkturally, and' didn.'t know the cow was being impounded. Magistrate Riddell observed that one of the first essentials was that the person effecting a rescue should know the' animal was being taken to the pound. He held that the fact of a rescue had not been proved, and dismissed the case, without costs, but ' allowed a solicitor's fee of a guinea. The next development of the feud will be regarded with interest. ■ - .