RESIDENT MAGISTRATE'S COURT.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1517, 10 June 1886, Page 3

RESIDENT MAGISTRATE'S COURT.

TnuncA— Wednesday, Junk 9, 1886. [Before J. Beswick, Esq., R.M.] CIVIL CASES. J. IV. Velvin v. J. Pul ford—Claim £l4 19s 9d.

Mr Aspinall appeared for the plaintiff. The plaintiff made a statement to the effect that the money was due, and he considered defendant was in a position to pay. Caleb Bateman, threshing machine proprietor, stated that the defendant was working for him, but he could not tell how long, nor bow much he had paid him, nor how much be earned a week. He believed he was working eleven or twelve weeks, and got about £9 or £lO. The defendant said be got only £l2 odd from Bateman. He had not enough to pay the amount. He had a wife and one child. He gave Mr Velvin £3 during the time he was threshing. An order was made to the effect that the defendant pay the debt at the rate of 2s 6d a week, or go to gaol for 14 days. [Before John Ollivier, Esq,, K.M.]

Wareing Broe. ▼. Siegert and Fauvel— Claim £9O.

Messrs Aspinall and Raymond appeared tor the plaintiffs, and Mr Tosswill for tbu defendants.

At the request of Mr Tosswiil all the witnesses were ordered out of Court.

Mr Aspinall opened the case for plaintiffs. Ha said the defendants bad paid £59 7s 6d into Court, bat furnished no particulars as to how they arrived at this amount.

Mr Tosswiil arid particulars were furnished to the plaintiffs and returned. Mr Aspinall denied this, but said be would not go into the merits of the case, but eall witnesses.

Philip Wareiog: I am a farmer, in partnership with my brother. Some time in April I asked Mr Siegert was he buying fat pigs and be said he was. I asked him if be would give 3jd a pound and he told tne that on a certain Saturday he would give me an answer. About the middle of April 1 saw Mr Siegert and said “ You offered'my brother 3d per lb, o«n’t you spring the other farthing 1” Be said he was giving only 2|d to anyone else, but ray pigs were good and he would give 3d per lb for them. We agreed to this on condition that I should tel) nobody, as others would be wanting to get the same. I told him we had 300 or 400 pigs, and be said be did . not care if 1 had a thousand. It was arranged that 50 pigs should he delivered the following week, and after that ns fast as wa could deliver; no delivery to be on Thursdays. Fifty, throe pigs were killed and delivered. The receipts were given for the pigs in cood order and condition. About a week •WM. delivery l eaked Mr Siegert for the

acconnt, and he said “ We have made a heavy loss, you ought to meet us in the matter.” I declined, and told him if he did not pay foithwith I should bring him befoie the R.M. To Mr Toaswill; I did not,know where the pigs were going to then. Ido not know about the delivery of them. They w* re bacon pigs, and were sold as bacon pigs. There was nothing said about them being prime fed. I said they were fed on peas. Ido not known what is meant by prime fed. I received a letter from the defendants on the 23rd April and Ist May. (Letters put in). To Mr Aspinall: I swear the words prime fed were not used, but that they were fed on peas. Joseph Wareing: lam brother of the last witness. Mr Siegert offered us 3d per lb for all the bacon pigs we had, and we told him we had from 300 to 400. He said he could take 1000. We closed the bargain at 3d, and delivered 53 pigs, and obtained the raceipt produced for them. He bought the pigs unseen. They were bacon pigs. After delivering the last lot Mr Siegert said he would sen! a cheque in a few days. To Mr Tosswill; Ho did not say he would send the money after he received the account sales from Dunedin. When I saw Mr Siegert I asked for 3£d per lb, but he said he would not give it. He offered 3d per lb. I asked him to go and look at them, but he said he would not—that he heard they were good pigs. His Worship: They were alive then. Witness; Yes.

His Worship: They might be very good looking alive, but not good when dead.

Mr Toss will: Yes, w« bought bacon pigs, but never got them. Witness ; I understood the pigs were to be pul in brine, and aent over to the other side. I believe two of them were aent to Mr Beawick, but I have no evidence of it. I picked out two for Mr Beawick. Mr Harte and myself picked them out. Mr Brown, of Milford, told me that Mr Beawick wanted me to aend him two pigs. 1 told Mr Siegert, and he aent them in. I saw Mr Beawick afterwards, and told him that Mr Siegert had aent him the pigs. Ido not remember aaying to Mr Harte “ We will pick the beat for Mr Beawick.” We picked out two good pigs for Mr Beawick. If I got the pick of the pigs I would have taken the two aent to Mr Beawick. The pigs were soft, but I should not call them flabby. 1 told Mr Siegert they ought to hang for 24 hours, owing to the bad weather, as they were soft. If they were hung for 24 hours they would have been better. They were thrown into the van under cover, 1 did not tell Mr Beawick that he ought to hang them for 24 hours. I may hare told him they would be the better for hanging. After the first delivery Mr Siegert said he could not take any more for a week. They ware previously in the pea paddock. The peas were not cut and stacked. There were 400 pigs in it, and it was about 45 acres. We have no peas this year. The peas dropped out on the ground, and a few of them were springing green. Mr Siegert never complained to me about the first lot of pigs. He complained about them after he got his returns from Dunedin, On the 27th I helped to pack the pigs, Mr Siegert said they were a splendid lot. I bought about 700 sheep at the Washdyke, and sold the bulk of them to a dealer. I did not feed any of these pigs with the sheep. I fed a lot of old sows with sheep. Mr Siegert did not point out that the grease was coming out of the second lot of pigs, or that they were flabby. They were very good pigs. The pigs were sent to Dunedin, and Mr Siegert said they were coming back, and seamed annoyed. He said they would not have the pigs in Dunedin because they were no good. The pigs were fit to make bacon when they left i’emuka, The straw about the pigs was wet. I would not swear the straw was wet on the second day, Mt it was raining on the following day. On the 28th I did not help to pack the third lot. I carried straw into the trucks. Ido not remember remarking that they weie well packed. The third lot was fairly firm, and certainly fit for bacon if I had cured them. Lucas killed the pigs, but he is gone to Kimberley, To Mr Aspinall % Mr Harte is an employee of the defendants. Mr Siegert took delivery at the scales, The pigs were not fed on sheep, Mr Harle never complained of the condition of the pigs. Mr Aspinnll said ihis concluded his case, lut would reserve the right to call rebutting evidence if necessary. Mr Tosswill insisted the plaintiffs ought to call all the evidence they had at once. His Worship said he could not dictate to counsel how he should conduct his case. If counsel desired to close his case now he would debar himself from calling any further evidence unless Mr Tosswill raised any new points requiring rebutting evidence.

Mr Tosswill proceeded to open the case for the defence. He said he would commence by reading the evidence taken in Dunedin.

Mr Raymond objected to this evidence being admitted, as such could only be evidence of the quality of the pigt in Dunedin. Before such evidence could be admissable it should be proved the pigs had not deteriorated on the journey to Dunedin.

His Worship said ho would take the evidence for what it was worth as showing the quality of the pigs in Dunedin.

Mr Tosswiil said he intended to produce evidence to show that the pigs could not sustain any damage on the journey. Mr Raymond said that in that case the proper course would be to produce the evidence first.

His Worship said be could not dictate to counsel as to how he should produce the evidence. He could begin at the end of bis story first if he liked. Mr Raymond urged that the evidence was admissable only conditionally, and quoted Archibald’s Practice at the Queen’s Bench in support of bis contention. After the point had been fully argued the Bench decided to accept the evidence and take a note of the objection. The Clerk of the Court then read the evidence taken in Dunedin as follows Robert Neil, of the firm of Nimmo and Blair, gave evidence to the effect that his firm received two lots of pigs of 15 and 20 carcases each from Messrs Siegert and f novel. He never had such an inferior lot of pigs pl« ced 10 h' B hands for sale. Prime fed pigs were plump and firm, but these were soft and flabby. He did not think they were fed on either grain or peas. Sold some of the pork at 2Jd per I b. He did not think that any exception

e. H'd ho raised to the way they were killed or dressed.

J. O. Johnstone, of (he firm of Wright, Stephenson and Co., gave evidence to ( he effect that prime fed pigs were pigs fe<! on grain. The term could not bo applied to the lot in question. They were soft and flabby. There was a ready sale for prime fat pigs at 3£d in Dunedin at the time. The pigs were not well butchered, as some of the intestines were not removed and there was large clots of blood in them. One of the men drew his attention to the fact that there was a very bad •moll from them on the 29th, which was a very wet and cold day. The pigs were in a shocking condition, and it took two days to clear them at from Id to 2sd per lb. His Worship said that he could not wait to finish the case that day and suggested that Mr Keswick’s evidence should be taken, as he wanted to get away. J. S. Beswick: I am Resident Magisttate in this district. I remember seeing Mr J. B. Wareing in Temuka. He told me that be had sent through Messrs Siegert and Fauvel two pigs to me. He said the pigs were only killed the previous day and that they would be better for banging up a day or so, I sent for the pigs that night but did not get them. I got them next day. He said they were very fine pigs. They were very soft and flibby, badly butchered, and had very peculiar unpleasant odour very disagreeable—and one ham of one pig apfeared to have been braised while alive, would not take them at any price. They were not the quality for bacon pigs. 1 have had some experience in Yorkshire and would not consider the pigs fit for bacon.

To Mr Raymond ; I read a communication from Messrs Siegert and Fauvel to the effect that the pigs had been forwarded to me. One of the pigs was very dark, and had a great deal of blood on it. I think the weather was murky. The pigs wero killed the day before, and I do not know what the weather was then. I would not select murky weather for killing pigs. How I remember that Mr Wareing told me the pigs would be better for hanging, is because when he told me be had sent them I said it was very awkward as I would not have time to cut them up. He said then they would be better for banging. I thought it strange that when they were killed on the day previous they would require hanging any longer. This concluded Mrßeswick’s evidence, and the case was adjourned till Monday, the 2lst inst. The Court then rose.