LOCAL INTELLIGENCE.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 7, Issue 331, 19 February 1863, Page 3

LOCAL INTELLIGENCE.

RESIDENT MAGISTRATES’ COURTS. Wanganui. Before D. S. Durie Esq. R. M. February, 9. James Atkinson v. E T. Fox, Debt, Ail 16s. 9d., for goods sold and delivered. Judgment given for amount claimed and costs 11s. James Lomax v. Francis Williamson, Debt, Ail, for depasturage of defendant’s cattle during a period of th.iee months. Plaintiff stated that six cattle had been running on bis land, belonging to defendant, for three months ; and that be bad advertised that.he ..would charge for such cattle. F. Williamson Junior—bad been at defendant’s one S unday,. and bad seen a cow and a calf only, and saw them at the back of Putiki.

F. Baldwin—bad never seen any of defendant’s cattle on plainitff’s land. 'J he case was adjourned to the' 12th.

Before D. S. Durie Esq. R. M., and Johu Handley, Thos. Harper, and Thos, Waters Esqs. J. P.s. Jas. Lomax v. F. Williamson.. Adjourned case.

John Morgan—had seen five or six of defendant’s cattle on plaintiff’s land, and; considered. A 1 ,a ' reasonable charge

Judgment for sum'claimed and costs 21a. Before D. 9. David R- M.

Hori Te \Vete r. Jeremiah Jones. A claim for damages for a canoe destroyed by defendant’s cattle. Plaintiff stated that he left his canoe aground on the beach at low water below the Queen’s whare and went to work at the other end of the town ; and in his absence it was broken ; had no one to look after it ; did not know that cattle were shipped sit that place ; had agreed to accept an offer of £2 1 Os. made by defendant, although the canoe was worth £5

Hugh Montgomery, Bailiff, said that he considered the value of the canoe to be £3, and in its present state it might be worth AT. Charles Parkes valued it at a little less than the previous witness. .Alex. linlay, Gentleman, Wanganui, .stated that he had delivered some cattle to defendant on the 11th in the Market Place for shipment per Corio ; that he afterwards assisted Mr. Jones to ship them ; that the place where they were shipped is the only place on this side of the river where cattle can be shipped ; that three canoes lay directly in the way, which he asked some Maoris to remove, but they only removed two, although the third was half afloat and might have been removed ; that the cattle went over it in consequence of'which it was broken ; that he delayed shipping the cattle for half an hour, and sent a man to try to get the canoe out fo the way, but as the .Maoris would not assist, it was not removed and there was no possibiliy of avoiding it in shipping the cattle. J. Carte, Captain of the Corio , said he had shipped cattle at the same place before and considered it the most suitable place for that purpose. He corroborated Mr. Imlay’s evidence. Judgment given for A2 and costs 11s.

. Rangitikei. Wednesday, 4th February, 1863. Before Walter Bailer Esq. It. M. and W. Fox Esq. J. P. Frederick O’Donnell v. Adam Kier : on a charge of wilfully and unlawfully breaking into a church in the course of erection in the Lower Rangitikei. Plaintiff (the builder) had refused to open the building for divine service until certain claims were met. Notice of opening services had previously been given, and on the day appointed the lock was found removed and the church open. I‘laintiff had no evidence to fix the act on Mr Kier. ITe had morely seen a plaid, supposed to belong to defendant, covering the temporary pul; it. Case dismissad with costs, 14s.

Charles Mace Galpin v. William Cray, Debt £2 15s. Amount, less one shilling, tendered in court, but refused by plaintiff. After full hearing, judgment given for £2 1 45., costs 7s. to be paid b_y plaintid’.

William Galpin F William Gray : Damages A-10, alleged to have been sustained in consequence ot a fire or fires, incautiously made by defendant, having destroyed sundry fences, stakes and standing scrub, the property of defendant. Evidence taken on both sides. Adjourned by request till next sittings. William Galpin v. William Gray, Debt, ,£l2 1 os. Bd. A claim made up of breach of fencing contract, price of beef and mutton suppled, and value of rat-trap j lent and not returned. Defendant's setoff admitted by plaintiff. Breach of contract not proved. Much disputing over the rat-traps. Judgment for a 3 1 Os. and costs.

George Millner v. Thomas Scott, DetiIlue —adjourned case. Plaintiff claimed certain pigs, in the possession of clcfendarn, as the property of bis employer. Defendant plea ed having purchased from natives, and the case had been adjourned for further witnesses. Defendant called, but not in attendance. It was evident that a stupid mistake had been made by the plaintiff, entailing inconvenience on a number of persons ; and in dismissing the case, the Court added to the ordinary costs an allowance to each witness. William Whale v. Robert Raynor: Damages A:3O. i his was a claim for loss sustained by the trespass of defendant’s cattle upon plaintiff’s wheat-field. Evidence taken as to identity of cattle and amount of damage. Case adjourned at request of defendant. I ango v. Herse : All 10s., a claim for balance of wages for sawing timber. Defendant admitted the amount, but repudiated being responsible for it. After hearing, judgment delivered for amount and costs ! ss.

The Mother Church. —This is tlie title of a letter lately published, addressed by the Rev. Mr. Taylor of Putiki, to the natives of Wanganui, in reply to the theological statements made by bishop Pompallier in his pastoral letter to Matutaere. After noticing these tenets of the Romish Cburgji, tlie author pioceeds to give some political advice in connexion with tlie rumour prevalent that tlie Emperor of the French would interfere in their behalf if they joined the Romish Church. ■ bis rumour the author ascribes to tlie French priests in terms whiclJcannot be mistaken. This is a very serious charge to bring against men who have been treated with the utmost courtesy and have been allowed evei’y advantage, which a British subject could possess, in their attempt to spread their religious views throughout the country. It cannot be allowed to fall to the ground without notice from those against whom it is made ; and we hope that they will be able to refute it without difficulty. Their most certain way to avoid any suspicion of the .kind in future would be to become British subjects. They can have no objection to this on principle, as

a few of their number have been naturalised—ouly a few however. Out of 206 foreigners naturalized during the seven years ending in June last, three only have been French'priests. His Excellency the Governor has spoken to the same effect, though not so 5 specifically, as the autlibr of this brochure ; and if the accusation thus made generally is true of any one of them, it is a sufficient reason for requiring their natui’alization. Let all sects be put bn a footing of perfect equality, and let none be tempted by their legal position to encourage sedition in order to aggrandize themselves.

The Waitotaras. —The dispute between the Putiki and Waitotara natives is rather serious, being respecting a matter which would in former times have excited them to war. A mong the women stopped at the toll were the wives of two chiefs of some rank, Mete King and Aperineko. They were shut up for a day and night without food, and to obtain their release had to give 30s and a greenstone ornament The Pu iki natives are so excited by this insult that, in the end of last week, they seized two Waitotara natives and their horses on the Wanganui beach, whom they would have kept in durance vile, until satisfaction was given, had not Mr. White interfered and set them at liberty. This gentleman has written to the Governor for instructions as to his procedure in the case. The Government natives wish immediate steps to be taken against the Waitotaras. It is alleged by some that they are making the most of the affair to show their loyalty and obtain compensation. They have laid the case before the King natives at Otaki to ascertain if they sanction the outrage.

The Ngatiruanui. —This tribe has been advised by W. Thompson to give up the Tataraimaka block, and to hold to the Waitara, also to open the road between Taranaki and this. They have returned answer that he need not interfere with them. They have taken Tata.raimaka in war, and intend to hold it, and will not remove the tolls from the road. The natives from the north report that the luci'ative cattle trade which this tribe has been carrying on with Taranaki is to be stopped, the authorities at Taranaki having resolved to lay an embargo on it.

The Otaki Meeting. —The anniversary of the hoisting of the King’s flag at Otaki is to be celebrated with great eclatnext month. The natives are already proceeding to it from various parts, and an energetic attempt will no doubt be made to infuse new vigour into the King movement. ' ‘

Wanganui Steam Navigation Company.—Elsewhere will be found a description of the steamboat which has been bought for Auckland from the Messrs. Gourlay, from whom is ordered the steamer for our trade. It was known that these builders'were going on with a vesaul similar to what the Company wanted, and it was supposed that their order might be in time to secure it, if perfectly suitable The order to purchase had not reached England in time, which is not to be regretted ; as, looking at the description of this vessel, the Directors believe that various modifications will be required in its buildjto make one suitable for our ti'ade. These will now be secured ; and in the end the time lost will be amply compensated by the superior suitableness of the boat which will be built for them

The Drama. —Mrs. Foley’s Draivingroom entertainments ai'e now meeting with that encouragement they deserve. Those who wish to see the most ludicrous and most terrible emotions of which human nature is capable truthfully represented, should not lose the opportunity now presented to them.

Dtinebin Races.— : lt will be observed that different, aiwangethents are now macle for going to these Races.

VOLUNTEER MEETING,

The meeting called by Major Hookes, at the i stance of the Governmont, to consider the Volunteer Regulations &c. was held in the Rutland Hotel last night. There was a very good representation in the room of the various parts of the service—Cavalry, rtjllery and Rifles—and the country settlers mustered in large proportion.

T. Powell Esq. was called *o the chair. After som. 1 conversation, and the withdrawal of tw o resolutions tallied, as not being comprehensive enough, it was moved by Mr. H. G. Field, seconded by Air. J. Davidson, and unanimously carried :

“ That as the Government in its circular embodies turn distinct classes of enquiry, viz. 1. What is distasteful in the existing arrangements, 2. What we should prefer for the future —it is advisable to take the first of these points into consideration before making any suggestions as to further inducements to settlers to enrol themselves as Volunteers.”

It was then moved by Mr. D. Bell, seconded by r. G. Roberts, and unanimously agreed to :

“That it is considered advisable that the Volunteer Regulations be now read, one clause at a time, and that discussion be invited thereon. “That at this meeting, no resolution be passed. “ That when the discussion is ended, a committee be appointed, to consist of nine, to bring up a report ,to be laid before another meeting, to take place this day week.”

The Regulations were thereafter gone over, and agreed t , expung d, or al.ered, as was considered advisable. As these sugges io s arc not final but may 1 e revised i y the Committee, it is needless to publish, them. It may be mentioned that the fii|t; of them , embodied the desire, unanim usly exp essed, that Volunteers should not be enrolled under the Militia Act, but that an Act should be passed, specially adapted to their case. A - ’ com -

mitteo was then appointed, consisting of Messrs Geo. Roberts, H C. Field, W. Pawson,W Finnimore, Frederick Parkes, G. Beaven, Dr. Allison, Capt. Cameron, W.C.V. and Capt. Kells, W.EY. A vote of thanks having been given to the chairman, the meeting was adjourned to the 25th ihst

The conversational nature of the discussion prevents a report of it being given ; but a great desire was manifested by all to come to some practical and satisfactory result.