DISTRICT COURT

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 6, Issue 1721, 27 June 1884, Page 2

DISTRICT COURT

mastmton;-thursday, (Continued from our last,) [Before ijis Hoijor Judge Davey.] James Nicbl, Tlios,. Osborne; George Turk, Alexojider.-' Yulo, jr. (foreman) j were sworn na a jiny. .■' .; ■ Henry Bcnjloy y: Corporation Borough i Mastc'rton.' ■ Claim for £2oo' damages fo illegal dismissal. ''•!•. Mr Sandilaids for plaintiff, Mr Bunny fo defendants, j .' i .-,'.';'• Mr R, Biwn.' Toyu Clerk, swoi'n, pro duced the miaute of the Council appointing Mr Bentloy |6uiidk(joper, and copy of such appointment .sent fo him signed by the Mayor. Theminuto of tho dismissal of the poundkeeperi.on tin 18th ' December was read, also' a letter frim Hoffeiiw and others to the Committee' complaining of the actior of the ponudkeepcru disposing of a horse a copy of Whicli witVesa' sout to the plainlil and plaintiff's repjy wasproduccd, Th proceedings of the nieetingin" committee a reported by the Stai was read, and witues: could not say as to im truth of tho reporl Witnessoffered'plaiitiff a cheque for on months wages whidi he declined to tak until ho had seen lis solicitor. There ha> been no previous coiiplaint of the cohduc of Mr'Bentley.'' i - ■ To Mr Bunny! Hie appoin!meiit_ wa made under tho powers of the "Municips Corporation Act, IS?G," section 33i, aui section 2, Tho'chcqte tendered plaintil was handed in by' witness who stated he liai written to plaintiff telling him to come am get his money. This was on the 6th Marcl 1881. The letter, also stated that witnes had not put in his final sfcitement of acoouut for the pounds..; Was .present at Conimitto meeting investigation. Mr Bentley was als present. . Plaintiff did not bring forward th purchaser to give testimony,' He (plaintiff was present during thetcßtimony given b; complainants and gave tfstimouy himself. Henry Bentley, sworn eakllie was a settle out of employment at present.' . Wa formerly pound-keeper, He remembered: sale of a horse to Constable Leahy. Th sale was advertised in accordance with th Act. ' Tho .'sale,'did take place and wa conducted by' Witness. The sale wa! advertised to take place on October Ist a 12 o'clock no.oll, The sale actually tool place about one minute after the tim (12 o'clock),'. Only Mr Leahy .was present No one else bid ami witness knoohi the horse down to Leahy for £3. Did no see anyone, else near, the place prior t knocking down tho horse to Leahy for £3 About four or five minutes after, Cbristensei came up and said there was a notice on th pound that the horse was'claimed. Wilno's wont with, him' to the plaoe, but thcro wa: no notlco there. No notice was put thcr with witness's • authority. Nothing hat taken place between him and Loahy prior t sale. He would have knocked th horse down-to anyone if Leahy bai not been there, oven to Christensoii Witness attended a meeting of tho Eoroug! Council in the presence of complainants, am was asked and replied, that ho had nothin. further to say than what ho had said in hi nritton explanation, He had no warnini whon.ca'led on fcr explanation that ho wa about to.bir dismissed. Had lived in Mas torton since 1855,- and engaged in busincs during that timer: Witness felt very'mucl annoyed at the timo. Never expected sucl treatment from tho Council. Considered h was still suffering from his character boinj defamed, and .that tho amount of £2Ol would not compensate him for his damagci reputation. Had never had an acciisatioi brought against him before of this kind. Ii fact was elected, by his follow ratepayers l( Hfll tho office of Councillor, and only vo signed it,to.aeecpt the appoiutmout o! poundkeeper, Witness called.at the Coun ;il Chambers and was offered ft cheque fo nore than was ;duo to him. On asking ar sxplanation.thcJTown Clerk explained'il ivas a month's pay in lieu of jotice, Wit loss declined to take it without consulting Ms lawyer, ~-< loMr.Bunny,: ~At witness' request the Town Clerldurni.slied .him with a copy of _thc ivholo'proeecdiiiga 'of tho Council meeting, irhioh witness took over to the Star for publication, Witness had a letter from the Pown Clerk asking an explanation of coin)laints made re-pound sale; also a notice tt ittend the Committee of investigation .which io' did. He did hot offer tho Constables evilenco about the (natter. The minutes of the iroceedings wero read over to witness aftci ;ho meeting,' Was at the pound on tho day )f sale referred to at about one minuto past [2 o'clock. Passed Loahy's house, ho was itauding at the door and accompanied ivitiiess to the pound. Witness proceeded it once with tho sale, and on tho third bid I'oni Leahy before he would knock it down. 3awChristianscncomingup after.tjio horse ivas knocked down, Prior to that Leahy laid, "Knock it down/ knock it down." Witness said. "sold." His reason for not iakfng Leahy's first two bids was that if ,vould not pay expenses, Hurried to pound lecaiise it was my duty Io be there, at noon advertised..--. Donofcromombor Christian, ien complaining of the sale being' conducted n a hurried: mannor. His duty was to iroeecd to sell the horse according, to tdvertised time. Do • not remember jhnstianaon saying, "This is a funny sort if sale, there -is no notlco that the horse is vithdrawn." Prior to the sale, several jeople said tohim they would liko to know vheh the horse'was going to ,be sold. Witness, .waiiyeyears a storekeeper. Prior ;o'thathe was|Bottler, and was still a settler, ifyuld ribt'b'e such a fool as to give up a Miner's business for suoli a billet as_ pound' lecpeiv Witness got a notice o'f 'dismissal rom'the Council, but did not make,any brmal application to the Council to rehear ihe case as he had no further evidenco to iffer as regards. the sale of tho horse. iVitness' could! not seek any employment ivhiist this stigma was' hanging over his name. Had not sought other employment since. He made public the'facts as given 1

in tlio Star, himself thot .the publio might know'the whole of the 'proceedings. Ho acluiowledged tho receipt of the letter containing the notice ,of the dismissal. Ho brought in tho key of -j.the pound totlio Town CJcrk, and afterwards ho gave in a statement of the pound. On the 6th of March ho waited on tho!Town Clerk, who tendered him a oheqno, wiaioh he doclincd to take as he intonded.takmg up tho case, •' Tho sum of £2OO would not recompense me for the manner of my .dismissa, .; Cr'iL.: Williams, at my request, brought the matter upagaih at a general meeting of the Council: but-the Counoil.would not hear-anything further about it; stating they had settled tho case. ' .. v

To]Mr Sandilands: Ho still adhered to the statement that ho had no previous arrangement rcgr.rdiug tho sale of the horsp, and liia meeting with him on that day was. apuro accident. Ohristensen took. him fti Bco tho notice of withdrawal'of tho horse

from salo, but thoro was no nbtico there, This was tho first ho had heard of any such notice, There was no question raised in his presence (as far as lie could recollect) .at tho Council meeting about; any suspicion of collusion between Leahy aud;. himself. Afterwards a Councillor! told him'that tho Councillors discussed the question.'of-tho salo, and one of them said ho considered there was collusion botween tho purchaser and poundkecpor. Had ho have known that such a question could aviso he could have got his son to giveii evidence Mr A.W. Hogg, journalist, sworn • Was present at a meeting of tho Council when the discussion; took place ,ro pqundkecper., Distinctly remembered; the words used by CrGappsr as-to 'conclusion between tho poundkeoper and purchaser of the horse. WitnesS'fu'rtlicr sworo to several expressions as published in his report of tho proceedings of tho meeting ot tho Council in tho Stjir newspaper 'of., tho IOLk December'last Had known plaintiff for about three years, "arid had never heard of ajiything that Could

bo said against hia character., , , James Bentloy'sworn: Bccbllccted the occasion of the sale, He slatted to go to tlto sale but arrived too lato, the horse having been sold,- Christiansen caino just beforohim, Witness came to MA for tho

horse]ktjlcamo late. - Was in sight:of, tho pound when Hornblow and Hoffoins ■camo up. The poundkeeper had then left the pound, : i ~ To Mr Bunny: Started from his housij to go to tho sale, his mother called out,'' You'll bo late." It wanted about five minutes" to

twelve. Ho said to his father in a jocular manner that he meant'giving ten bob for the horse, Considered tho horse was worth about tho money it fotclwhtsalo. Hoffeins said there had been a notice at the pound that thoiiorso was withdraw,.but it was not tbcro. • He went with Leahy and his father 1 to Leahy's house, where the money was paid and a glass of whisky discnssDil, His' father only'stayed long enough to complotoj both operations. Hornblow came to him and spoke about the sale of tho horse and got excited. Leahy toH Hornblow to alcar out as ho lad bought, the horse, Witness advised Ho.nblow to agitate about'it if ho

thought thoro was anything wrong in tho sale. Witness compared watches with: tho poundkeeper .and purohasev, and'found ho was late,

This concluded the plaintiff's case.;. For tho defenco 010 Christiansen, hoard' inghousekcepcr, said ho' was present at tho pound on October Ist when tho horso was sold, Constable Leahy was there when he went up, and- men woro going away, Hofllens and Hornblow camo. up afterwards, Leahy showed witness, Hornblow, Hoffiens and Montgomery a notice on a comer post of tho pound stating 'No sJo coming off; horse claimed by the owner. Bentlcy,

Poundkeeper." There were notices on tho two corner posts facing Hall and Albert Streets. Leahy waited round the pound and I stood about a few chains away, and he

then saw Leahy and tho poundkeoper coming up Albert street walking as fast as tbey could. Witness was three chains away from the pound; then saw Bijntloy got on to the pound fence, Witness walked up fast, Leahy sung out as lie qam'siyY ' Knock it down,' Bontloy had just tljcngot into the pound j they could see him doming Ho saw- no other porson thoro, j This occurred when ho returned to tho pound.'It was exactly two minutes past 12. Hesaid to tho poundkeeper: " That's a funny sort of sale you have had, You Had no condition of sale or anyt'iing. There! was a notice sticking oufc-lle that there would bo no sale, the hor.;e was claimed by the'owner. And now you go and have a sale," \Vitne':s took Bcntiey to show him the notices, where they had been, They had beou fastened on with tacks, but no papors were thoro thou., Hornblow, Hoffiens, and Bentley's son came up. Ho did not hear wliat was said by Bentley's son to Leahy. He would have gone up to £lO for the borsej Was not much of a judge, but considered the horse worth that. Witness did not climb

the fence and get into the pound enclosure, ' Mr Bentley could not have seen thej notices from where ho was in the jpouud, Leahy only showed us one ; notice, Ho saw two notices; they were written in black ink on whito paper. Leahy : walked baokwards and forwards' out sido tho pound, Bentley had not 'time to read the. conditions of sale in the time. Bontley could not see mo coming up'boforo he .knocked down tho nhorse to Leahy. Could not Bay who first suggested making the complaint; he did think that Leahy and Bentley aotcd in coujuuotion _ over the putting up and removing tho notices; Tho other men were in another part of the paddock not over three chains away, they wero trying to cateb. a horso, They came up close :,fter mo, and got over the 1 fonce into the pound. He thought when he saw |:Mr Bentley there would bo a sale, and bo walked as fast as ho could. When ho arrived he heard Leahy say' knock it dowr.' By Mr Bunny: If Mr Bentley liadread any advertisement or conditions of salo he would havo been in timo to bid for tho horso. Hobert Edward Hornblow, sworn, said ho •wont to the.pound, at quarter to twelve on Ist October for the purpose of bidding for ho horse. • Constable Leihy was there and asked witness if ho hadcomo to,bid for. the horse as it was no good; he pointed out a notice to witness which was to .th? effect that the horso was. claimed. Witness wont away to fled his horso and returned after 12 o'clock. Saw Yates and Hofliens, who told him tho horse had been grid to Cpjisfcablo Leahy. Went to Leahy's houso wjw then informed him ho Ind bought tho liprs'e for £3, Askod for Mr Bentley, and hi§.-80n came out. Ho told young Bentley, that ho considered' it 'a bate faced' swindle.,, Leahy' said • were you going to get a comtnis'sion for buying the horse, because if you want five shillings I will give it you." By Mr Sandilauds: Tho parties "had left the pound when he got back the' second time. Tho signature "H. Bontloy," was in a bold handwriting. Could not say it was Bontley's writing. Had known Mr Bentley some time. Did not consider him a man who would do such a thing as to gut up a false notice. Ha did not think now, as ho thought thon, that Mr Bantley had been mixed up ia it. He still considorod a swindle had been worked, By Mr Bunny; Witness and others on the'9th Ootober wrote tho letter produced to the Borough Council under tho iraprea. sion that Bentley and Leahy had worked in conjunction. " /"_ Carl floffeins,- milkman, sworn, said bo was at tho pound on tho day in question to bid for a horse that was going tobe 1 sold. Was prepared to bid £8 or £lO for the horse. When he got thero ho saw a notice that the horse was claimed and there would be no sale, signed fl. Bentley, poundkeoper, Hoard 'afterwards that the horse was sold. Interviewed Mr .'Bentley and .told him of tho notice, Mr Bentley said he knew nothing al.ont it, ' Win. Neill, sworn, said he saw the horse referred to in the pound, the value of which he considered to be about £ls, Ho told Hornblow to start tho horso at £8 and go'a little higher, ~ Robert Robinson, carrier, Oavterton, said ■ho wati in possession of the horso that.was sold on Ist October last. Hehadittb break in, Whilst in-his possession it was impounded. He valued it at £2O. He had broken it to go in any harness. Had' adver. tised' tho : horsii as lost, It belonged to William Payne, of Upper Plain, . ■ This concluded the evidence. His Honor istate'd he did not intend to

give judgment then r aa there were Bomo points that required consideration. '; IN BANKRUPTCY, ' : HE JOHOLLEY, Application to adjudicate a bankrupt. The application was granted, and Mr W, Sellar, Deputy Assignee, was administer the estate.-Tho publioexamination of tho bankrupt to take place at the next silting of the Court, ■: '•)•/ • HE KOBEUT ;mNBTWINOHEN. Publio oxaminrtion of the debtor: Mr Bunny appeared for the Assignee, and Mr Sollar (Deputy Assigueo) proved the publication of tho usual notioea and submitted his report. No questions were put to tho doitor aud his examination wasdeclared closed. : M HARVEY & SONS. .Publio examination of debtors and application for discharge: • Mr Gray for debtors; Mr Bunny for tho Official Issigneo. Mr Sel'.ar proved the publication of the usual notices and offered no; opposition : to the dischargo of the debtors. Ho other creditors being present Mr Gray asked that their examination be oloscd, which was granted, At the next sitting the application for, dischargo will be heard. ; ' '■:'. ' i •■'..! ',-,- M DANIEL p, M'OARTHY. PuHicexamination: ' ;.'•;' : luconscqueiioe of abaenco'of'debtor from tho district, the Assignee'had not,been able to servo,him with a notice to'attend this examination, and the co was adjourned to . 'tho.riext'Court sitting.- ■. // -L /I : : :; A-j; : hMaWa;yV : i.' Application under the -old Aot'(iß76) for . discharge:.;,. ... ; .... •:" „ MrSkipporfor.dobtor; Mr Sellar, Trustee. ■ Ceftinoato.granted. _j . .-.■ .))...•