The Southland Times. TUESDAY, AUGUST 9, 1870.

Southland Times, Issue 1291, 9 August 1870, Page 2

The Southland Times. TUESDAY, AUGUST 9, 1870.

A soiree and;, concert takes place in the EichaSe/Sfelt this eyen^^TJie: entertainment lias been^ot up for the^parposoof raising funds fpr thew^on^f^-Schboi i ro6mln' ctmnection^with St. Johrfs Church.-'- 'X is- Bcarcelr necessary to bespeak public Suppoitjof |ktf effdrtjia Jhe 'cause of educaraon^butr we * may r promise a "^ery good night's enjoyment. 33ifi jnisical" programme has been^ag^m^rohpajsal, and- will n<^> doubt reflect' crtNfiP-OH- wo 'tj&oir; A^'numbeir of gentlemen hafV>^«re r tiriderstand, undertaken to vary proceedings wiflia_j* few' remarks" andlreadings. The pri^e of admiwion is also -so low, that the tea, &0., alone should be worth the money. JPFe l^arn that a considerablequantity of cargo, consisting of wool, skins, and preserved meats, intended for shipment by the Bangitoto on Saturday last, for'Melbourne/'waa left behind, hi conseqaence of the steamer not having room for it. We are' informed 'that the General Government haTe come to the rescue of the Invercargill Volunteers in. the matte? of a site for their drill shed. By the Bangitoto Capt. -Harvey received information that the- structure might be erected on^the Supreme Court Beserve, opposite the jail, ingiich a position as not to interfere with building 7 df a courabttse. The site it will be admitted is »bojxtth» beet. which could . possibly have been •elected^-Thera is plenty of room, and a nice green 'plateau for open air exercise. It will be seen that tenders are invited for the .building of the shed..- -. -^ .: - ,*-■■■ Mr John' Sutherland, farmep, East , Taieri, informs a Tokomairiro paper that for many .years he -was a Tery.' severe sufferer from asthma, but hwtfojmd that a little sulphur, mixed with his tobacco wliCTi wT^ninTig, is an effectual cure. Our. 'Biverton 'correspondent, writing on the Srd instant, says :— -Yesterday morning, a little child, named M^Nee, whose parents reside on the banks "of the Waimatuku, near Eiverton, left the honse with an elder brother, and proceeded to the banks of the, rirer, Into which it fell, and was imxnediately washed away.* An alarm was thereupon giv^n, when every search was made, but the body was not found until to-day.— The Biverton Penny Eeadings were resuscitated on the evening of Tuesday last, and in addition to the usual music and readings, there was added, through the kindnes*9:''Of D. a Murchie, Esq.,'what to Biverton is a rare amusfflnentya magic lantern. The whole went" off .well, and ito the satisfaction of all present."

On Thursday, the 4th mat., an inquest was held at Dyke's Hotel, Eiyerton, before Dr Deck, coroner, on the body of the child M'JSee, drowned in the Waimatuku the previous Tuesday. A verdict of accidental death was returned, and a rider added to the effect that the residents in the neighborhood of the accident ought to erect a footbridge over the river ar. or about the spot. '■, Mr Leopold Bait, :a well known resident at Eokitika, attempted ito commit auicidd the other day : by taking laudanum. FortunatelygJhe was discovered. before the poison had time'itodo its work, and by the application of |he .usual remedies recovered sufficiently to be able to^bjr removed to the camp. .Difficulties in busifiess are believed fcb have been the cause of the act. "TKe fibre in some bales *oIT flax dressed at. one of the ; mills in the Wairarapa is stated by; the local "paper to have~averaged over eight feet in length! ■ '■ '" " ~ ■' ' t : . The Waikaka diggings, from which -so much I was expected a year- ago, appear to be almost j deserted. x . Only/ a few diggers are np\f.* at work, j and most of the gqllie.s^are^worked out. j A, -writer-, of. " Rhymes for, the times" in thji Wellington Advertiser brings the members ocf Assembly under reviews This i» what he says of the Biverton -Tepresentative:- 1 - ■" ' * ? ■ My Lord Granville's bold assailant,- in. the House quite a new chum," _ _„ j His'motion on Imperial policy wfes knownto b? all hum ; ; '.i.r I But freßh^otesm uncertainty are not allowed to Aflutter,' '" ~'"" ' ~" I So ' Fo x: and "Staffbrov- both resolv'd not to spare the butter. ■ Jox's-ungaent—pro-T^A-naoat-goofemgipapd won the vote, you see, ' j Old.M'Q-ilh'vrayj of Eirerton,- became a young - xp. ■■•" ■■;:.■/ ' ' /; \ \Jxl. the course' of his speech" on-fche financial scheme of the Government, -Mr Haughton, whoj is known as the " funny man" of pie House, thuaj referred to the Southland 'rail ways : — He would,' upon this matterof railroads^ 'call- I the-J attention of. the .Committee to the fact that, this Goldnyj had already, with regard to 'railways, ,got onej skeleton in the cupboard. There was the railroad! in the Province of Southland, which runs from} Invercargill to th'e r Bluff. 'When that railroad! was made, it was supposed that it. would be the! mean&'of bringing the ; inosfr extraordinary pros-i perity to the province of .Southland. Crowds of; immigrants were' to arrive by every ship — land; was to be trebled ;|n value— inferior' land to be-! come arable — the country overspread with agri-> culturists, smiling with happy farms — Invercar-J gill was to become a great city instead^ of , being a: : wilderness of empty tenements— a'sort of' modern ' : Pompeii on a larger scale. People from thecountry; when they came to town once' ayear, j instead of going out again as fast as they conve-f •niently-could, would-be induced tostay for^weeks. j The hotel-keepers danced for joy — some nearly \ went out of tttieu. minds • they rushed into! furniture, carving, and gilding— rproperties which, ] alas ! too often furnished items; in the sad result, : of those documents too often appearing in the Gazettes. ■ -What /was -.thai .result ? • '• There; iv^as the railroad and there was the train; but where were the immigrants and, the. property? -The train, did not run unless there ; were passengers ■'• it .would run for two or three, and it would stop to pick up anybody on the road. Not doubt a great convenience, but not . a financial success. What was the consequence ? .Tjne Province- of Southland had no revenue at all— the, unhappy Superintendent did not, even draw his salary, .and that proved provincial . affairs, in a bad state indeed. The' lands of the Province were -all mortgaged to the General Government -r- it was obliged to renounce its independence and 'submit to the legal authority of his honorable, friend the Superintendent,pf-Otago.» -. Unhoped ...tbere^vould not be a like consequence, to tlie:.polbny,fromrtWe : proposed scheme, that at the end of the ten years we should not bb compelled to go to King Thakam- : ban, and ask to be .taken under, his protection He only pointed tha attention of the honorable, gentleman to what had happened ';"a'n"d' Tie asked thevkonorable gentteman to-reeoHeet^the^skeletdtt in the cupboard, and not to go on too fast with his scheme. .c.!; ;;-iO*cH . —At the ißesidenirMagistrate'sCourt'oh Friday^ the sth inst., Messrs Crisp and Debereaux^sued : Messrs Driver,' M'Lean* and' C 6: for :&l6 10s 6d| balance due 'on work' done, andL.£l4 133, damages for breach of contract.— -Mr-Harvey, for defendants,- admitted: the agreements on which' the' action was taken, also that part • of 'tKe claim" for .work and labor done, butfjcontended that if any : breach of 'contract had occurred, it was on the •part of plaintiffs themselves,, and therefore they ;Were/ not entitled to recover. MriWadeyin'open;ing for plaintiffs, said the 'case rested oh two separate, agreements, .but as jthe one hinged upon.the other, it would be better to - treat them together. .The first was an agreement -between the parties :for thefollo^fring work :— -Plaintiffs were to transport 3000 sleepers from defendants' sawmill in the Ryal-Bu6h-reserve,-out-to-the-railway-line,at-the rate of 2d per Bleeper j but this remuneration was alao to4>e held as payment 'for^ the performance of certain work on their part in the construction of a tramway for the purpose. Only 2586 sleepers,* however, "had been supplied 'to* plaintiffs for carriage, and as payment for making the track depended on their carrying the full complement of sleepers, they held they had a reasonable claim for compensation for the balance, 414.? .In : terms of the second agreement, plaintiffs were ' to "cut for defendants 500 logs; for the purpose of being sawn up into sleepers by the mill, and which then formed the material of the first 'contract; The logs were to be of specified sizes j at various pricos. Several departures from the terms of both contracts had subsequently- bean' arranged for mutual benefit, bat these did not affect the case. Plaintiffs said ~that--when— only -276 had^been- cut, defendants' manager, Mr Bell, " knocked them off work," saying po^more: were required! and; that if % they cut' them, they (the defendants) would not take them. His clients, he contended, had taken the cutting at a low rate, in consideration of its being "a, .winter's work ;"< they? had performed a great deal of preliminary labor in the formation of tracks, &c, which "wfiuld'have served for the haulage of the full quantity as well as for the half, and they consequently claimed compensation for being deprived of the gain 'to accrue from completing the work, which they estimated at Is per log for the balance, 224.'' 'Defendants had since requested plaintiffs to complete the job, but they had declined, as in the interval— four or five weeks — a number of bush men had been at work in the reserve, and £h!ey would 'have' greater difficulty in finding suitable timber. Neither contract was limited bj time, and the only question seemed to be whether defendants actually annulled both agreements by ordering plaintiffs to stop work. On this point the evidence of the principal witnesses on either side was flatly contradictory. Crisp, on> oath, said; with regard" 1 to the second contract, "-Bell knocked us off on a Saturday, 5 or 6 weeks .ago/j; he asked how many logs we had in the bush ; I told him, and he said, ' cut no more • if you do, we won't take them.' I said it, was not right," and that we should expect some compensation.' ' Oh the same' afteifhoon, in company with J )ebereaux, ; . saw Mif Belli again, when he distinctly told us howould take no more. Debereaux said wo should expect compensation. Bell said he had nothing to do s witlr thati"— j\ Debereaux, sworn, said— alluding, to the interview in question between hmiselfj former witness, and Mr Bell — " Mr Bell said no more logs, were re-

quired ;we spoto of the "ravel contract ; I said we ought to get it as compensation ; Mr Bell said I had better aeo Mr M'Laan about it ; Mr Bell afterwards told me if I would take 7£d I would get , it."*/' ln cross-examination by Mr Harvey, witness", said— " After the agreement was signed, -4here£was something4jaid abijut the full complement piSb&bly hojllbetng' required'; Mr Bell distinctly told me ftdy knock off. He said they would not take any more logs. I ;did not make any distinct^claim|Fpr .compensation jito. Mr Bell. Ijrjustsaid we shojildiloo^; for something." For tie: defence; |Mj^fi*^ey|fc^Lled\Mr . Bell, iwho deposed.— fi-lMid^ot'kn'Qc^them^pbratiffs) ,off finally "f my wo*rds v were simply, ' dVnot cut 'any mojge logs uatil we see what is wanted.' " r In lreply to Mr Wade, witness said — " When t 'stopped €Ws^,"fie^ffi3'nl>WemOTsfTate."^Debereaui .did not qlaim; ;conijsehsafcioji •either.; He'did-not suggest to me that they should "hare' the gravel 'pifrin*W>tißajtfen& :i^e~n^^ H&jF they said anythJng\abontj; compensation, I should certainly have told them-to go on and finiah."" Mr A. M'Lean said the men had applied to hiii for their ,mohby a,' few "days "previously. • He, had offered them a progress payment, amounting to nearly the amount j *of~"WOTk done, as stated by themselTeß, reserving a small balance until the York was^ checked.' sPhey -had made ia demand, however, for £10. as compensation tor* stoppage, which jhe; .tepudlkted altogether, and they had consequently refused the other. In reply to Mr JSKade^Jsitnesa — said»"''l -did— aot — understand plaintiffs were offered a prefecence with regard •to -the gravel, iby way ofj compensation. , Did not : khdw they had' been knocked off. * They never were knocked off by. anybody, . that. l know of, and 'they c&3 gd on now^ if ''they' like." ; Several other witnesses were also examined at length as to* the maanef in" which the contracts, so far-^ had been performed, and other matters with no -direct bearing -on the "issuer Neithe'r^counseJ. addressed* the" court lat IttiSWlose "6f"tE3 'evidence? and His Worship. gav.e -judgment to the following effect.:r--The whole case depended on the question whether defendant's had, by any .conduct of theirs, prevented plaintuTs from completing their contract; ? : . Had such been done, it would hav6 given plaintiffs a right _'.tb. rescind the agreementsi and bring -an damages.. It; did not; however, appear from the that they had be^n , absolutely precluded from going oh with the work. Indeed, it was competent^Jb]* "thenTaT any'fime To "Have "fimsEecTthe "work, and; then, if necessary } to iavet compelled payment.; Both men said that Bell knockedthem off. This; Bell firmly denied, and he might point out that ■ tberje'was; eviHently some doubt aa id what^Ball. did say. There was a discrepancy on this point; between the plaintiffs.: . Crisp, said he, (Bell) said' — " We will not take any more logs j" while Debereaux said the words were-?r." We : will not' require any, -more logs." Judgment would be for defendants, with costs, £4> 17s. > ■On Monday, "" a rather complicated action _between. Mr_J. Kingsland and- Mr D. Maefarlane, Menzies' Ferry, came on. Mr Kingsland, ijjlaintiffj .sued for recovery of;£9[ 5a Cd/balance^ of account. Defendant lodged a set off di *£L 3'; 4s 6d — £6 16s 6d, price of a oow^old. to plaintiff," and £5 8s horße hire, and Jiotei bill of plaintiff's^ messenger to take delivery of ■the'.oow. It; appeared that. plaintiff ;bad purchased, unseen, a: good quiet cow for family use, on the suggestion. i and: recommendation of defendant. A difficulty I occurred aboutjjetting the animal brought_down ' from the~Mataura, Hat it was ultimately got over ■ by. Mr^D.. Kingsland,; junr., accepting.thejoffer of a spare hof se 'Mr M'Farlane had in town with; him, to. jtide. up, do some other business, and drive the i: beast' down. The hotel hill accumulated during three days' detention at defendant's house, waiting for the cattle to be got in. In the interim! anpther,cqw. ( and,tsalf^er&bought, and as they were rather difficult to drive, Mr M'Farlane again suggested that the messenger should ride his I horse, as he' wanted to" send one, to, town rto bring ! some person up at any rate. The cow sent to I plaintiff Jurned_ p.uLunsuitable, -and.- had -been I sent back. Plaintiff described her as a " kangaI rod/fin irefeience to quietness, and^ a -"lantern," in reference to condition. Defendant said he had merely guaranteed the cow ordinarily quiet, she having been " hand fed,, and Jbrought up about the doors, hjafe' never rmilkedii-first 'Icalf ;" also, that D. Kingsland went up to the Mataura on other business," and'did 'other on his?way back. That the horses had not been lent, but hired. Tuis was deniea emphatically for the plaintiff. ,His^ f W.pr3bip. thought i^pparent the horses had 'beeii* lent,* consequently" the" items for hire would be • struck~-ont ;-"aiso-thß— eiiarge "for three^ days' board and lodging.^as, it was evident the' eipenso- had ; been incurred in' coniiectib^ with . the taking .of , delivery, and . was - not occasioned- by plaintiff's 'messenger; The cow having been returnedjvwould piso, ; of course, be struck off; reducing the set-off to " £2 9s 6d. Judgment for .balance, withi costs, £1 10s. 'D. M'Farlane sued D. Eingsland, junr., for £8, ,the price qi'&.coyr alleged to have been pur- | chased and taken, delivery of by defendant. Defendant's 1 sfetement was that he merely 'bought the animal on approval, for his father, and that, mot being approved "of, it had been returned. -Plaintiff as positively insisted that the purchase was an unconditional one^ and produced an jaccount for the, amount in< defendant's own hand-, iwriting. He also brought a witness to speak to_ ■ the. value of the animal, aud its disposition. His I W.qrship Jield the. poiotto b.e-Bimply,.whether~the isale was absolute or not ? Defendant said it was 'not, and'plainfa"ff ; . admitted jbmethhig had been ■said by defendant about the animal " pleasing his father,", from whioh it' would appear that" the ,sale was not final, the written note handed sin merely dealt with the price. ..He should there;fore nonsuit plaintiff. | .