COLLAPSE OF A CASE.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume 7, Issue 169, 22 March 1915, Page 3

COLLAPSE OF A CASE.

<, | BBFQR THE 'RAILWAY APPEAL BOARD. j APPELLANT REFUSES TO PROCEED. WARM REMARKS BY THE CHAIRMAN. The serenity of the proceedings before the Railway Appeal- Board was considerably disturbed on Friday afternoon, and the case of one appellant and collapsed in quite a rtrarantie manner. The Railways Classification List is issued on April Ist of each year, and for soma time there has been a tacit agreement between the department and counsel for appellants that in appeal cases the 'evidence should fbu confined to events occurring in the 12 months immediately preceding the date of issue of the list, an arrangement which is .tantamount to making an appellant's past railwap eraser from t he efficiency viewpoint a sealed book. Likewise, it is said to have been the practice to deem evidence to be irrelevant which affects a period subsequent to any 12 months under review. The tacit agreement was referred to by Mr C. P. Ryan, counsel for an appellant, when a departmental officer gave evidence concerning events alleged to have occurred in April, 1914. Ho said that the department's case centred on events occurring between April 1, 1913, and March 31, 1914, and thus the evidence benfe produced should be declared irrelevant. The Chairman (Mr W. Haselden, S.M., ruled that the evidence was admissible. "Very well," replied Mr Ryan; "I will close my case." Mr Haselden: You have shown a deal of cleverness in endeavouring to put the Board in a dilemma, so that any way we decide you will be able to say that there is a difficultyMr Ryan: I object to that, vsry strongly. Mr Haselden: I don't, care whether you object or not. Will you let the proceedings go on? If a judge said that evidence was admissible 1 , and counsel objected to his ruling and said that he would not have it, the latter might find himself in an objectionable place. Mr Ryan: I have no wish to interrupt. Mr Haselden: Well, I rule that evidence concerning April, 1914, is admissable, and you have no a-irsht to object to the proceedings of the Board. The witness went on with his evidence,, and when he concluded Mr Ryan annuonced that the appellant had withdrawn from the proceedings. Mr Has'elden: You do not wish to cross-examine the witness? Mr Ryan: No, your Worship. Mr Haselden: Very well. This wa s the end of these particular proceedings.