CIVIL SIDE.

Thames Star, Volume VII, Issue 2080, 3 September 1875, Page 2

CIVIL SIDE.

Undefended Cases, k. Adams v. James hollas

Claim for goods, £13 Os lOd. Notice had been given by the defendnnt, who did not appear, that he had obtained his discharge in;.bankruptcy. No prdof of the bankruptcy being shown, and th<j plaintiff having proved his debt, judgement wa3 delivered for plaintiff; with costs, £1 103.

JAMES MACXIE V. D.''KEKNEDT. .' Claim for work, and lafbw, £2 7s 6d. The money had been paid' into Court, but no notice thereof had been sent to plaintiff', who had been obliged to attend at considerable inconveniej^ce, and the i question was, whether he was entitled to expenses for attendance. After careful ■ consideration of the Act, His .Worship stated he could not allow^ -the item, though, he thought, there ought to be a rule made, making notice of compulsory on defendant. •GEOBGE M'CAUL V. JAMEIMSkW.OBTH. CJaim for goods, £112s 6d. No appearance of defendant 7" Mr Tyler, for plaintiff, put Kobert Smith into the box to prove the debt. Judgment for plaintiff with costs 19s. J. BETAN V. J. CLAEK. CJaim for rent £1 7s. Defendant stated he owed the money and was willing to pay it, but was unable to do so, having only been at work a few weeks. He offered to pay 2s. a week, stai ing he was in receipt of 7s a day. Judgement for plaintiff with «osts 19s. His Worship informing him (defendant) that if he pa-.d money at the rate of 5s a fortnight he would stay execution. Defended Cases. g. ceibb v. c. f. mitchell. „-\ " Claim for damages, £50. <*"-- Mr Tyler for defendant; Mr MfteV--donald for plaintiff. ". „-'■'C"^' Mr 'Macdonald in opening-^the cue • stated .that-defendatiiciiad come with' a party of natives and violently pulled down a house the plaintiff had constructed. He urged that this question could not bs put outside the Court on the ground of involving a question of title, as, though/ Mr Mitchell might claim the land round the house, he could not have any title in law, owing to the tact that the land was nat've land, and coir Id not be held by any .• European.

After a long discussion between the Court and counsel on either side, it was decided to go on with the case. V •

George Cribb said—l am a carpenter, .-and Lave been engaged in building a house at Ohinemuri for*a native. I commenced in ' July, and was to be paid £70. The house has-been lately pulled down, involving damages to the amqunfc of £50. I remember Mr Mitchell coming on the scece and saying " what are you doing here ? " I replied building a house. He then asked me who for, and I said Hopianha the native. He said " where is he," and I told him at the whare about 300 yards from where I was putting up the house. We both went to ffojSianha. Mv Mitchell said "Hopianha is "that house for you." He said "yes." E. Dixon was talking with the native, and Mr Mitchell said to him, " you hear that Dixon." * "He replied " yes, I am witness to it." Mr Mitchell went awaycursing. I went on building the house. This was five or six weeks before the house was pulled down, and between that time and the time it was pulled down Hopianha told me to stop building, and I did Jo&i. Three days previous to the Native .meeting Hopianha told me 4o go on with the building", and-1 did so. On the 16th of August I was visited by some natives, and again on the 17th between 9 and 9.30 a.m.-.They came from Mr Mitchell's" store* (about 300 or 400 yards away) straight to the building, shouting as they came. I was on the roof-and came down and they commenced taking the timber. Women and lads first began to do so. They seized the same pieces I was using' and carried them away by force. While doing so Me Williams came up and said something to the natives. Mr Mitchell -was watching this from his store. McWilliam'a talk to the natives made them desist, and we^all left (the natives aid myself) to go to the native meeting about two miles away; and the building was left by itself. We met MrMitchell coming from his store," he said pointing to Me Williams "Pakeha not a policeman, Down with the house;" McWillianis called out, "I wani to prevent a breach of the peace as a British subject. T^ Mitchell said to the natives, " down with it, me make it all right.' I cautioned, him, and he replied, shaking his fist, " I don't care I'll help them and take all the consequences. I than said to my own men, ""Sou hear that, I hold you Mr Mitchell responsible s for damage done." The natives rushed at the building, and I sent for a policeman while I went to Mackaytown to see Captain Newell, and saw Afr'Allom on my return. I saw the house down, ard a | native coiling up a rope. I asked my ! own men what they were doing with the rope. Mitchell, was present. They said Tizzard, who lives with Mr Mitchell, got a rope from Mitchell's premises and pulled the house down with it. Tho main portion of the house which had been pulled down was on the bank of- the river.

Closs-examined—l will not swear that I may not have said in joke that the house was my own. An agreement had been made last April, drawn up for a piece of land including the site of the house, but when I found that the land had not passed through the Court I refused to have anything to do with it. Mr Mitchell claimed the land, awl said that as far as the eye could reaSft be-" longed to him. When I commenced building for Hopianha he-cautioned me against building the house. The size of the house I was buildiug was 22 feet by 12 feet. A Maori named Ford^in the employ of Mr Mitchell, and living in hi 3 house, interfered with me while building on another occasion, saying he did not want the house put up, as it was Mitchell's land. The agreement for buldmg the house between me and Hopianha is not in writing. Captain Newell told me the land was claimed by Mitchell. -a?"

E. W. Puckoy said-The site of the house m dispute is native land, and tho title has not be«n extinguished. The site of the house is within the boundaries of the Proclamation Act, &c.', 1871. There is no exception whatever by the Proclamation A.ct in force now. By Mr Tyler: I attend all native land sales as.Own Agent, and can say the native title has not been extinguished. Some natives, have at times spoken to me and wished to have Mi Mitchell removed from the land he claims.

John Me Williams said—l am employed in the Warden's Office at Mackaytown. I came near the house Cribb was building when the natives were pulling it down on the I7tb. (Witness here described the scene that took place.) I thought a breach of the peace might be committed, so I interfered and effectually settled the matter, and they all dropped the timber. I asked them to go to the native meeting then going op, and talk the matter over. Mr Cribb said he was willing to, have the matter 'setileq

in that way. Mr Mitchell asked _mo what I meaafc .by interfering. _ He said I was not a policeman. I said. I, had a right to prevent a breach of the .peace. He told, me to go about my business. He then said something in Maori to the natives and waved his hand in the direction of the building. The natives then returned to the building and commenced to carry away the timber. I know no more about it. . Boder-ck Macdonald, carpenter, said— I know the house that has been pulled do.wn on August 17th. I was helping Mr Cribb at the time. Me Williams spoke to the natives when they were pulling the house down, and they all stopped, and we-weve all coming to the native meeting; on our way Mr Mitchell turned the Maories back. He spoke in Maori at first, which I do not understand ; but at the building he told them in English to trail down the building and he would helpJhem and be responsible. I know Tiaaard by eight. Cribb sent me to Paeroa for the police. Tiszard on my return was carrying a rope from Mr Mitchell s store to the house. They endeavoured to pull the house down, with the rope. £9 or £10 would cover the amount of the timber taken away before Mr Mitchell turned the natives back. Cross-examined—l first went to the house to work on the 16th. On the 17th Mr Mitchell told me I was trespassing on his land, and threatened to get a warrant against me. He also ordered off another *#orknian named Dixon. The Court then adjourned until 2 p.m.