THE FLAX CASE.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 3, Issue 174, 27 February 1914, Page 1

THE FLAX CASE.

j Hill v. Dean, j The Plaintiff Non-suited. Tl,e further healing of the Fokeno llax case, Hil! v. Dean, wa3 heard at Auckland on Saturday. Ihe statement of the claim and the evidence taken at Mercer has already been fully reported in the "Times." In further evidence for the defence, Edward Barnes, tlaxcutter, deposed that 1 ait year he and his brother cut 52 tons cf flax frcm Hill's swamp; that was sll the cuttable and millable flax there was there. He tfought it impossible that there were 550 tons cf llax on the swamp in January, 1913. The flax that waß cut was poor; nearly all was coW'Chewed, and stunted at the: heart. A fair height of millable llax was 7 to 15 feet; 5 feet was a fair minimum for short stu'f. In an endeavour to get all the millable flax there was he hunted up to his waist in water for if. The average height of the llax was 4 feet 6 inchea or 5 feet aul tnii was the best.

William U. U. Johnston, ollicer in charge of the Department of Agriculture, at Auckland, said that all the flax exported irom Auckland went tf.rough his hands. Had had oU yeais' expeiience with llax. Had been to Hill's swamp twice in Febiuary. As a milling proposition the flax wis very poor. With the exception of a few isolated bushes there was not much llax there. Did not consider there was anything like 550 t«ns of matured Hay. 01 the swamp in January, last year; even now thete was very little millable flax. Ordinary millable flax ought to be ti to 8 feet long; age was not the only feature in maturing flax. The flix sent by Dean in November? December and Jauiary last was giaded "low-common," 50 points, the lowest to pass the lest. He endorsed the eeitificates; "Exceedingly poor, the worst ever sent from the mill." He considered that Dean had cut and removed h:s flax honestly. It would not pay to cut the millaLle flax that was i.i related buslns, As to blaektriies, ihe swamp was worse than any t)e had been through and he had been through many. It would take -0 ttns cf this llax to make a ton of decent marKetable h.mp; the average weight of green leaf to a ton of fibre was 8 to 10 tons. Even at £2B a ten it would not pav to cut out the isolated bushes.

Edward C. Frost, flaxmilUr, who had been lb yea's in the flax industry, said te had known Several cases win re boggy land had prevented the (lax maturirg. He hal pa id £IOO for rights of a swamp and could not cut a leaf; Hill's swamp was just as useless owing to watrr hindering maturity. If the swamp were drai;ed th rj would be a marked difference in tte fl?x in a few months. An oulsids estimate of the mature flax that could le scraped t< getherj from all over the twimp was 10 to 20 t ns. Even with llax at £26 10s a ton he would r.it ask a flax-miller t) do any more cutting than HII had done. Drainagp, not cutting, was what the flax neded. This concluded the evid ncr.

After Counsel had addressed the Court the Magist.ate said that he hai had an opportunity djrhg the week of re-peru"i(g the evidence taken at Mcrctr, and had f timed a strong opinion that the case for the defence was mora worthv of credence than that for the plaintiff. Tic evidence given that mcrnirg at Auckland, together with the impression formed on inspecting the linri, cmfirmed that opi ion. The defendant's witnesses were men of ccnsiderable experience, and wire absolutely oisinteiested, which was more than could be said of all the plaintiff'd witnesses. So far as the question of the Hjx was toncernid, which covered the major poriion of the claim, the plaintiff would be nonsjited. with costs ti the defendant. Kegarding the claim for damages for non-rendeiing of account?, the pi tintiff was entitled to nominal damages under his agreement. These he would fix at 10s, as an indication that the defendant had been guilty of a breach of contract, but without bad faith.