TAPUAE TIMBER TROUBLE.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 261, 28 October 1908, Page 4

TAPUAE TIMBER TROUBLE.

UH'.NTY COI/XUL v. MUIIKIS. j i The Tajmao hill deviation ami tumie! ' contract lias been milch in the public t'ye for two or three years [mat. If Hie 1 'lumrs'-ilcvotwl by the 'l'avaiiaCi County ) C'utfficil to tiii> problem cuuld now bo computed it would probably surprise a s few, and nobody niulv than the touitciliors themselves. The tempers that : have been strained to breaking .point, i the purses emptied to vanishing point, 1 the dams that passed away in the , ' the grumbling, growling, expostulation ' ami abuse that centred around the fain- 1 ous U'apuae " have passed into unrecorded history; Even the pulling down of the old faithful bridge over which the traffic of tens of years had rolled, gave rise to dispute and difficulty, contradiction, and litigation. At one time it seemed that a county councillor, on account or his public utterances, was to be taken before the Supreme Court by a ratepayer who took offence at r.is published remarks, but eventually tin matter came to a head in a civil action brought by the County Council in the 'Magistrate's Court yesterday against F' jJ. Morris. Mr. J. B. Hoy appeared for I the plaintiff corporation, aud Ml'. 1\ E. j Wilson for the defendant. Mr. Uoy outlined the Council's case, iirielly, it was that the Council lia.l' dismantled the Tapuae bridge on the main south road, and put men on to cut ■up the timber and sort it into lots convenient for sale. Permission was obtained by a councillor to stack the timber on defendant's land awaiting the sale, ami iu compensation the councillor gave to the defendant • some waste timber. The defendant took this timber away, ami also some pine stringers, and four puriri posts, all of which he alleged had been given to him by Councillor Adlam. The Council now claimed os for the pine wood, an(l £1 Is for the four posts—<£l (is in all. The action, I 'he said, was brought as a matter of principle. Mr. Wilson admitted that the timber

hail been the property of the Council

and that the defendant had removed it. The defem-e was that the timber had

been given to llr. Morris in eonipcnsation for the use of (lie land oil which to stack the timber from the old Tapuae ■bridge. The S.M. said a resolution of the Council could doubtless be found. Mr. Wilson said the Council had dolegated its ]H>\vers to a committee. If the Magistrate was going to hold that a resolution was necessary before the arrangement could be entered into then the case might as well be settled right away. The S.M. said it was lor the defendant to establish his right to the timber. Mr. Wilson called J. J. Elwin, who remembered Mr. Adlam asking defendant if he had any objection to the Couiity Council stacking the Tapuae bridge timber on his (Sir. Morris') property, and, if it were stacked there, what reuiuneratien lie would require. Morris gave the necessary permission and said he would leax 3 the remuneration to the generosity of the Council. W. K. Morris, son of the defendant, gave evidence that some time in March last Mr. Adlam had told him that he (as councillor) was going to give the defendant some timber as payment lor the use of some of his land. He told his father accordingly. I'. J. Morris corroborated this evidence. Some time in March, at the tenuis club's social in the Oakura hall., he asked Councillor Adlam whether he could have the waste limber and four puriri gate-posts. Councillor Adlam replied, " 1 suppose so.'' He took that as an assent. His sons removed the waste for firewood, except four long pieces of rotten pine, which he could not shift. The four puriri posts were moved from the site of the sale to the other side of the *>ad ,close I>y where the Council had reserved some of the timber for its own use. The auction sale of the timber was held on tl"-' April. After the sale C'r. Adlam walked round and fouml the four pieces of pine, and had them put up. Witness protested, but the sale went on. A man named Edwin ■ <jeorge bid 5s for the lot, but declmcu to take it away. Before the .sale he] ■pointed out the four posts to Cr. Adlam, 1 <ind at its conclusion Mr. Shaw, the auctioneer, asked witness about them, lie told the auctioneer not to mind those, ■ and 110 attempt was made to put them' up for sale. 1 To Mr. Hoy: He did not ask Cr. Ad-1 tain for two posts, and he had not asked I any other councillor for any. When ihc pine was sold he lid not concur, but : .-aid that the timber would be sold at the Council's own risk. Edwin George refused to take any of the pine. ' Mr. Eov: As a matter of fact, the . sale was 011 Friday, and delivery was to be given by Cr. Adlam on the following I Monday. Did yon not in the meantime drag the timber away and place it out of his power to give delivery? 1 JX'feudaßt eventually admitted that f was so. To Mr. Hoy: Adlam never said a word alinii! leaving the matter of the gate F posts to llle Council. , Thomas .Morris, another son ut the ] defendant, and a fanner at Talaraimaka, gave evidence that he overhead the conversation between Adlam and witness' father at the Oakura social. When his father asked for four posts, [ Adlam replied: "Yes, you c;in have them;'

: To the Utmch: He was certain that Adlaiu s«ii<i "Ye*s you can have thorn.'" I He thcl not say, "1 suppose so." Walter IF. Morris, another son. who was engaged in cutting up and stacking the bridge timber, stated that the pin? timber was stacked with the waste, for firewood, j To Mr. Hoy: The pine was left on the -< ground tor about a fortnight after the j sale. Joseph Wilson, farmer, of Tatarai* . nmka, corroborated this evidence. .Mr. Hoy tailed evidence in rebuttal. George Alfred Adlam, fanner, of Oakum. and a member of the Taranaki County Omiieil for many years, said ir bad beard about the Tapiuie, and he has "seen Mr. Morris before/' By rol solution of the Council, the matter of arranging foT a site for stacking the ol: E bridge timber was left in the hands o. 1 himself, Crs. George and Andrews U f arrange, lie had seen Mr. Morris u i the latter* bouse ami obtained leave • to use his land. - Morris said at first! I lie would not charge, but the witness said it would be better to fix an amouu* 1 >o the Council would know where thn • were in the matter. .Morris asked fo; the wiiste as firewood, and witness took it Mil himself to fonseiit, the Council confirming his action at its next meeting. Defendant asked it lie could ]:: - two big posts for gate posts, and wt-j ne-s replied: "You'd better a>k thr Council about them." Never gave the post* ur stringers to defend;int, nor di-l he give him t*» understand that. Later on. lie and Cr. Ceorge met Morris at the timber, and the latter a*ked Cr. (ieorge for four posts. Mr did not hcdi the reply. The four puriri posts were reserved to lie dealt with by the Council when Mr. Morris should apply. lie •had been at a, euchre party in aid of the Oakum Tennis Club, but could not remember mentioning these posts at any such function. To Mi;. iVilson: The liist conversiti.w was not in Devon street, but out .near Morris' house, at Oakum, and '\Khvin Wiisu't within coo-ee." He was quite sure fbat the Council had confirmed his action, and if there was no record hi the minutes there should have been, 'l'he pine .stringers were never in the rubbi-di heap. He reckoned the firewood was sufficient compensation for the use of the latad. He would not have recommended the Council to give the foar posts. ■ Alfred George, fanner, of Omata, and a 'member of the Taranaki County Coun- | cil. gave evidence of having seen the de-| femlant in connection with the TiiputuV bridge timber, in company with Mr.i Adlam. Morris said: "(leorge. do yoiJ | think the Council would make me a present of four of the gate posts for the u*e of the ground?' 5 He replied: "They may do": you had better write to them" Tlti- conversation occurred on i.he ground where the timber was. The wa-te timber had then been removed. 'Hie stringers were there, ami other timber put up in lots. To the i'encb: The Council had nev?r consented to the posts being given voi the defendant. . This conversation' look place on a day prior tu the sale. Henry J<. Cut field, clerk with Mr. Kcw-j

ton King, produced the record of the | sale. | His Worship, in roviowinj* the case, various sections of the Counties Act, including one that staled that any verbal contract made on behalf of the Council should he made by at lca»l two councillors, and then only when actiug upon a resolution of the corporation. Xln! defendant had not produced any such resolution. He had been aud .still was a member of the local body, and he should have known how a contract with a local body should have been enter id into, it might be hard on the defendant, but he had to administer the iawl as he found it. And then, as to the alleged contract, both Crs. Adlam and Ueorge clearly showed that there was no contract entered into at all. Evui Morris' evidence did jiot amount to a contract, lor Adlanrs "1 suppose so," ui answer to Morris' request, could hard.y be a binding contract. Willi regard I" the posts, then, the defendant must fail. TJie law did not allow defendant possesion of the other timber, or the lirewojd ! either, for the matter of that, lie hi ! arrived at the conclusion on tiic ev.dence that the four long pieces of pine were not included in the heap of iir'.'- . wood given by O. Adlam to defendant. Then again, they were sold to Ceorcre, and Morris afterwards took them. The defendant had failed, to prove that tli-.' timber had been contracted to be given Ito him. Judgment would bo for the i Council for the amount claimed ami costs £2 12s 3d.