MAGISTRATE'S COURT.

Shannon News, 29 March 1927, Page 3

MAGISTRATE'S COURT.

CIVIL BUSINESS. At the Levin sitting of the Magistrate's Court, Thursday, before Mr J. H. Salmon, S.M ; , judgment was entered for the plaintiffs, for the amounts named, in the following undefended cases:—Collis Bros. v. Skipper Royal, £1 10s, costs 13s; Joplin, Stallard and Carmichael, Ltd., v. A. Whyte, £5 7s, costs £1 10s 6d;j John Pearce Morcombe v. Tom Colpman, £4 10s, costs £1 8s 6d; Horowhenua County Council v. Robert Gordon Thomson, £22 2s Bd, costs £1 17s; same v. Alfred Robert Flutey, £47 16s, costs £1 19s; Aitchison and Son v. K. Neweombe, £2l 17s Bd, costs £4 9s 6d; G. F. Eeles and Co., v. J. Allerby, £1 10s, costs 10s; F. E. Parker v. T. H. Colpman, £3S 12s lOd, costs £4 7s 6d. In several instances in which the County Council sued persons for overdue rates, these were paid prior to the Court sitting, and the cases were accordingly withdrawn. JUDGMENT SUMMONSES. Pio Hurunui was ordered to pay Thomas Forsyth (assignee of E. D. Bell) £5 3s lOd forthwith, in default five days' imprisonment. F. Bell to pay S. N. Stilwell £l6 4s 3d at the rate of £1 a month as from April 7th; ir. default 14 days. Kers Carter to pay S. N. Stilwell £25 12s 3d at the rate of £4 a month as from April 24th; in default 25 davs. 'A MUCH-ADJOURNED CASE. The case was again called in which Edward Webber proceeded on a judgmer.t summons against Charles Bacon, for £5 lis 6d, regarding which the defendant contended that the liability was not his, but his son's. _ Mr Acheson appeared for the plaintiff and Mr Adams for the defendant. At the last hearing, on February 24th, Mr Acheson said he was >iot certain that tho son was not an agent for the father; linoleum was purchased and was put down in the father's house. Mr Adams then stated that'the defendant Avas willing to pay the amount of the judgment into Court pending a further hearing. The Magistrate said he would set the summons aside and order that the debt find costs be paid into Court; it would then be necessary for the plaintiff to proceed afresh. 'When the case was called yesterday, Mr Achcson submitted that the condition as to the payment of the money into Court had not been complied with, and therefore the original judgment still stood. The order was that the m'onev was to have been paid in "forthwith," which meant almost immediately. It was not paid in until, {wo days afterwards, and he contended that this was not a condition on which a new hearing was granted. Mr Adams stated that the word "forthwith" had been defined by statute, and he submitted that it meant a reasonable time under the circumstances —in other words, the first availabl; time when the clerk of the Court was in attendance following the hearing. His Worship said it depended on the circumstances as to whether "forthwith" meant "immediately" or a certain time thereafter. The intention of the Court was that the amount wa* to be paid in before the hearing v and it would have been sufficient if ii had been paid in at any time before the aew hearing. The second defend ant, George Bacon,' seemed never to have been served, as the Court directed. His Worship added that he would, adjourn the case for another month and direct that George Bacon be served Me would-not deal with the case unti 1 the merits had been gone into. "J. will adjourn it until April 22nd," saio Plis Worship, "and again I direct that George Bacon be served as a defendant." „ xl _ Mr Adams: It is the duty of the plaintiff to attend to that, is it not His Worship: I cannot understand the delay and the obstacles that have been raised.