WESTPORT WARDEN'S COURT.
In the Warden's Court, last week, there was heard a case in which Perry and party and Brown and party, of Giles Terrace, were the complainants and defendants. In consequence of the length of other reports, we were unable to notice the case at the time, except very briefly. Mr Tyler and Mr Pitt were engaged for the complainants, and Mr Home appeared for the defendants. The complaint was that the defendants were holding one man's ground more than they were entitled to as a party, and that the ground was incorrectly and irregularly marked off. The Warden, in giving his decision and after referring to the irregularity in the form of the ground, said the next question was that with regard to the number of men. The defendants claimed to hold nine men's ground. On the part of the complainants, there was no pretence that the defendants had not worked the ground properly. All that appeared was that, up to Saturday week, they were working the claim in a proper way, but that, on that day, a wages man left. The complainants alleged that then they understood in conversation that the defendants would not put on another man, whereupon the complainants commenced to peg off the ground. There had been some evidence that, during the week, the proper number of men was not always at work, and it was not very clear what number was working, but even if he were to hold that the proper number had not been at work, it did not follow that the defendants must get the ground. Where the absence was merely casual, the Court would always be inclined to lean against forfeiture. On these points he did not think that the complainants' case was very strong. Coming to the last point—the fact of M'Leod, the wages man, not having a miner's right. He had been put on on Monday by the Company, whereas his miners' right was only dated the day previous to the hearing of the case in Court. That was a serious difficulty, and there.was no doubt that there was a forfeiture in that case, but the act said that in all cases of forfeiture it was legal to substitute a monetary penalty. The question was, were there any good grounds for doing so. It did not appear that there was any culpable neglect on the part of Luke, by whom the wages man had been put on. There was simply an omission in not seeing that the man had a miners' right, for which, if sued, he would be liable to a nominal fine. Moreover the point was one which had arisen in the progress of the case, and was not one of the original grounds of complaint. He imagined that some of the ground must be given up, because the defendants were holding a ciaim of an imimproper shape, but he was not disposed to award more to the complainants than the rules absolutely gave, for they had been rather sharp. He thought adjoining parties should treat each other with some consideration, and give each other fair notice. He doubted very much if one claim in twenty could be found in which there would not be found a flaw of some description. The order be would make was that, as far as the number of men went, the defendants had forfeited one man's ground, but he would allow them to redeem the forfeiture on payment into Court of a fine of£l. Then they would require to mark out their nine men's ground anew, and any surplus beyond the correct area, the complainants could take. He would make no order about the costs, but let each party pay their own.
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Westport Times, Volume III, Issue 478, 16 March 1869, Page 2
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624WESTPORT WARDEN'S COURT. Westport Times, Volume III, Issue 478, 16 March 1869, Page 2
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