ATNAIONGONA DISPUTE.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVIII, Issue 81918, 23 February 1907, Page 2

ATNAIONGONA DISPUTE.

MALICIOUS PROSECUTION.

DA.UAGES OBTATNEDy

His Honour District Judge llaseliliin was occupied mi Friday at the Mew Plymouth District Court 01 the, hearing of the claim by Homy J line for JC-'W general damage's and .-C4 ISs Gd special damage*. Messrs T. fcj. aittd' C. H. Weston appeared for the. plaint.ll ail Air J. H. (Juilliiuu (Govett and yilllam) for dcfen.lant. The pleadings set forth that the defendant maliciously swore at I.uglewod an information .that plant.ll' had stolon a. spade. 'Hie ease eanie on before the | Ju-t ces and was dismissed. The defendant denied that he had not reaonable cause, and siitted that the prosecution was not a malicious one. For the plaincill' the evidence of Constable Dmiil.v, ,of Inglewood set out lint lie had been asked by ,«e Jefcndan'. ro go to lline's farm. There he was shown a spade, wh eh both parties claimed, lie declined to swear an information, ■ml Medley did so himself. lUne identified the spade by ;i privaie murk, nml Medley claimed it on account of n peculiar sun-crack on the handle and a dent in the blade. The spade hill been missed for some months. The case against lime for alleged theft 1 the -spade was dismissed. His own opinion was (hat the spade belongea to .Medley ,and lis opinion was based on lline's inability to promptly say ivbei-c he got it f:\iin. Dora lline, plaintiff's daughter, etc-po-e.l to the fact that her father had brought the spade home form I'nglcivood in the spring of 1005. Sydney Gordon Hine, son of the plaintiff, corroborated this, and stated the spade had since been in constant use. and left for long periods in the open. One afternoon the defendant, after some conversation with witness, and in his absence, picked irp the spade and examined if. Then came the visit, 'of the constable, and the prosccut'.on which failed. Witness traversed some slight disputes which had taken place between the parties, and the fact that the plaintiff had given informaJtroni concerning n diseased beast on defendant's property. Plaintiff and defendant had not been on very friendly terms -since then.

The Henry lline, swore ho bad purchased the. spade in Inglowood in the saving 0 f MOo. Had' no illfeeling towards defendant. who : had; never monConed the loss of the spade to him.

Sir Qnilliam called only the defendant, who identified (he spade as one be had purchased in Inglewood last summer. Lost Irs r.pade in May or dune. On 2>ml August saw young lline working in a paddock. Seefng witness approach, lline ran off w|th a tool in his hand, and returned. Witness found Inn stumping wilh a shovel. That and the running awav aroused Ins suspicions. T!ie' following Wednesday young lline seemed to be anxious to prevent him seeing the implement, but he managed to examine and identify it. Said nothing to them, but laid tlie information, llinc's private mark was not on the handle then. When he laid the informal/on he believed the spade was his, but not that Henry lline had Molcu it lioie no malice. Took the proceedings Simply to recover the spade. !{,. bad no object. Constable Duddv had told him to settle the matter nmicablv lie had consulted Mr Malone after laying (he information, but d'd no( net on bis advice. Young lline was nl'oul 100 yards away when witnes saw him run off with a spade or sh»vel. He knew tlie spade had been btolen by one of the I lines iddrcssed the Court. submitting .that appellanl had |;,i|,.,l to prove malice or the absence of reasonab.e cause. He (Jllol( . (l n ■ ties.

-Mr Weston (| o„ u ,i ~,„,,_ „,., iii(l defendant had n\ yeu Ul( . ~,.,. ~w ay negativing reasonable cause. To oli <»in ii-lKi-ses,,-,,,, ,„• n„. ,„ •;, pr.lc6.dmgs i-ould have hem i.jeu '.id <l'-'''>'M<h>nt had .-el the c.in, nal law »t mid mil, bringing the' plaintiff, a ""in »l properly u,,| , v Ul ~ ~n |j| J"'" ''"i-"™- «-f :i criminal ,„., ~,',. turn over a trivial mutter.

," U ll '""""- * "'-'d up very ~,refill ly and awanUd r.;,,, w .,ie,-il d-un t:i Ms ~„.,.;a| damage.-, aad cost, iiecnriliiig (u tt ,,j ei