RESIDENT MAGISTRATE'S COURT. HAMILTON.

Waikato Times, Volume XXX, Issue 2457, 10 April 1888, Page 2

RESIDENT MAGISTRATE'S COURT. HAMILTON.

« Thursday.— (Before Captain Jackson. R.M.) Regina v. Forrest. Tins case was continued. William Manktelow deposed that he was a farmer residing at Kirikiriroa. I know Forrest's farm. I was working at the farm f-.T C. Hintoti digging potatoes. I was there on the Ist, 2nd, sth, and 7th of March, and on some other days also. I saw the calve* every day I was on the farm. 1 saw Mr Forrest on the farm on the Monday following the sale. I did not see Forrest feed the calves. The calves looked pretty miserable. Want of tucker caused them to look miserable. Proper food for young calves is milk. A calf three weeks old should have milk. The calves that died should have had milk. I have given hay tea to calves as a, medicine but not as a food. Cross-examined by Mr Hay : I know the calves. I can swear that four or five calves are dead altogether. I saw the calves on the Ist. They did not look very flush then. I was working at the gully and could nut sec the whole of the orchard from where I was working. It wag possible for Mr Forrest to feed the calves on the two days he was there, without my seeing him. I did not see a soul on the days when I was working on the tup. I know a whitish calf dead under a tree. I did not examine any of the calves to see if they had been killed. The first calf I noticed dead was on the iitli or 7th. I did not tell Mr Forrest that the calves were being starved. L mind my own business, and did not care to interfere To the best of my belief, the calves died for want of food. When they got out of the orchard they might have got down to water, but I do not think they did. They wore too weak to go to the gully. There is plenty of water in the gully. iiy the Court: I have been accustomed to rear calves for some years. I think the re.sult of giving calves a heavy drink of water after their being starved for some days, would probably scour them, and so hasten their death. It would take a lot of coaxing 1 think, to have kept the calves alive after the day of the sale. The feed in the orchard or outside was not sufficient to keep young calves alive. x John (Jrigsby deposed : lama farm labourer residing at Kirikiriroa. I saw several young calves in the orchard from the day after the sale until I carted away things for Forrest, about a week in all. Mr Forrest was there when 1 was carting away the chart'. The calves wore very poor. 1 never saw them: fed. I have seen k two dead, one in thJ orchard, arid one outside, I cannot say what the calves were, bulls or heifers. Cross-examined by Mr Hay : 1 only saw one calf in tho orchard dead. 1 saw Mr Forrest twice on ths farm, that is each time I was there. I cannot say whether or not these calves were fed by Mr Forrest. They looked pretty well starved two days after tin. salu. liy the Court: There was no food in the orchard fit for young calves to eat. Countable Wild deposed : I am amounted constable in the A.C. Force. It having been reported to the police that certain c.lves were being starved on Forrest'B farm, I weut on tlie lGth March to muk,q

enquiries. I saw five liviiifc calves that day ntni twn doad ones, I cmilil nut find the thiid that day. One iv.is Iho red and white bull calf, Ins'had appaivutly been dead for 10 or 12 days. The othnr the red roun 8 reined to have been dead some 3 or 4 days. Ij afterwards found tho white steer dead, and also two others, making fire dead in all. Threw calves out of the eight ar« still ■ilive. The Imnjf calves were very poor on ♦hfilfUli, ami could sea rcnly crawl, liefnrethe rain c.tiiii: mi on the lfi'.li March, they had no food to cat in t.he orchard. After that the young (trass begun to grow, and if the calves had ho'iii strong, they might have pullral through. Cross-examined by Mr Hay: 1 do not know of my own knowledge who Mio calves belonged to, Mr Kunciinan, v/hen asked, told iv.e he knew nothing whatever iiliout Uiu matter. Ho lives opposite Forrest's farm, but the gate is nnt opposite the orchard. Anyone going up or down the road could see into the orchard. I laid tho information on suspicion, which I considered sulticient to warrant my doing so, having iH'en instructed to do so by Sergt. McGrath. All the ciilvos were very, very poor, Three of the c.ilves are alive still. By the Court: I a.-ked Mr Kunciinan, but got no information trom him. He soeuiod to me not to want to know anything about it. By Mr O'Neill : There was an opening made into the orchard by cutting some wires at the time of the thrashing. A strong calf might get to the gully ami back, but tho.se I saw alive I am certain could not have got back. This concluded the plaintiff's case. Mr liny pointed out that in this case nothing had been proved directly against Mr Forrest. It was not for Mr Forrest to disprove anything. It was for the other side to prove, their charges. Mr Hay then contender! that these informations were simply the result of spite and ill-feeling, mid asked Mis Worship to dismiss tho case without asking for any defence. His Worship refused to do this, as undoubtedly there had been gross cruelty and neglect on somebody's part. For the defence, W. ti. Collins, called, deposed. I am a settler residing in Cambridge, I know tho calves the subject of this information. I seized them and kept them from the 24th of February to the Ist of March. I fed them to tivs- best of my ability. I understood that Hinton was to milk the cows. Ho did not give tnn any direct promise to do so. 1 inferred that he was to bring the cows in. There is plenty of feed in the orchard for the calves—good feed for this time of year. Thoru were other calves on the farm ; a sort of a roan or strawberry and a reu and white one. Horses and calves could get through the wires at any time by walking over them. Cross-examined 'ey Mr O'Neill : There was feed enough for the calves in the orchard if they would only have eiiten it, I left tho farm on tho Ist March. Up to that time they were fed, but would have been better off with more food. By the Court: I watered the calves while in my charge. I considered that four of the calves were very weak, the others were strong enough to take care of -themselves. I do not remember the defendant saying anything to me about knocking tho calves on the head. I wrote to Forrest on Sunday, and on Monday he sent down a boy to milk tha cows, There were three cows milked on the 27th. Wo milked two cows up to tho day of the sale, once a day. The calves got lots of water. Charles Perkins, a boy, was called, and after having the nature of an oath explained to him, stated : I know Mr Forrest. I was at Hinton's sale with Mr Korrest. I went to the farm afterwards with him. There were eight calves there on the tir.st. I think there were only six there a couple of days afterwards. 1 gavo them a drink of water. There was some young grass in the orchard and other stuff they could eat, sorrel and stuff. I did not go to the farm after the Friday. I saw them cutting chaff one day, Monday I think. I forget' about that. I was there two days, one when they were cutting and one carting chaff. There was nothing given the calves to eat that I know of. I saw some oat straw in the paddock. I saw the calves eating the straw tho day of thi carting. I saw one calf dead under the pine trees on Tuesday the (ith, and -■! saw onn calf out in the paddock dead, tho same day. Cross-examined by Mr O'Neill : The wires were cut to let the calves get out and in. By the Court: I live with Mr Forrest. I went to tho farm with him every time ho went. Four times. James Forrest, called, deposed : I am » settler living near Cambridge. I am the defendant in this action. I attended Hinton's sale on tho Ist March. Home calves were knocked down to Forrest. Tln>y were bought on my brother's behalf. Everything I bought at the sale was fur my brother. I killed two calves, onn on the liuil mid the other on the sth, when I found thuiii. The third calf I linve never found. 1 killed them because tliny were too young to do without milk. After the sale. I never saw more than six calves. There were too strange calves running on the farm. The four calves left, after killing the two, were strong enough to take can; of themselves. The feed in tho orchard was high, grounsell as h\'ih as the table ; c;ittle eat it, and like it. There was plenty of young, short grass, but not a great deal of clover ; good feed under the pine trees and on the lawn. The calves could and did get in and out of the orchard. I was at the farm on the 24th February, the Ist and 2nd i.i March, and the sth and (ith of March On these (lays I watered and fed them. lam certain they could get clown to the creek in several places. I have been a farmer 23 or 24 years. Had tho four calves bac.u my own I would have treated them in the s-inie way. I killed the two calves by pithing them just behind the neck. This is the easiest way to kill calves, I did not remove them after killing them. Cross-examined by Mr O'Neill : No one was present when 1 killed the calves. After the sale was over, the auctioneer was told that everything I bought was to be charged to my brother. Long before this case ciiine off he got those instructions. I should think it was about the 10th or 11th March. I told the auctioneer's clerk, Mr MeCuHongh, then to charge everything to Mr Fred. Forrest. I say that these calves don't belong to me now, nor did they belong to me. I was astonished at being asked for the money by the auctioneer. I told tho auctioneer after his clerk came, to charge Fred. Forrest witli everything, ns they had bucn bought on his account. That was the first the auctioneer heard of the iilF-iir of charging things against my brother. At the sain T bid for these, calves, and they were knocked down to me. f wrote to my brother to tell him that he ought to buy in. He said nothing about it to me in his reply, so 1 hud no instructions to buy in on his behalf. I saw old Mr Hinton the day after the sale. Ho made no remark about the manner in which the calves had been treated. I killed a calf on the second, and one on the fifth. I killed the white calf on the fifth. He might have been four or five weeks old. Between the first and fifth of March, I gave this calf no food. 1 never saw it so could not do so. I saw it the night of the sale. I killed the calf on the second, the red and white one, about four o'clock in the afternoon. On the second tho boy found six calves. Up to the sixth I had received no authority from iny brother to buy in. I was not at the Tamahere Hale on tho 2nd March, I passed through in the evening from Hintou's place. About 0 o'clock or a little after, I spoke to Hinton at Tamaliere. lam certain it must have been after 5 o'clock p.m. I won't be positive at what time I went through, but I know it was nearly dark when I reached home. I did not see Job Hinton before half past two p.m at Tanmhere, on March 2nd. I will not swear, but to the best of my belief, it was not before three o'clock that I saw Hinton. I will not swear it was not before four o'clock, but I still think it was past 5 o'clock. If Job Hinton says that he saw me atTainuhere at ten minutes past twoou thiil date, I will say it is not true. By Mr liny : What I have stated nbout nieetirfg Hinton at Tamahere, I state to the best of my knowledge and belief. I was acting throughout as my brothers agent. Mr McNicol, the auctioneer, knew this. I have a power of Attorney now. The farm belongs to iny brother. It is in nobody's charge, but T have the control of the place. I swear the calves were bought on my brother's account. By the Court: I bought a stack of wits, cut it up, and sent it tu Auckland, or most of it, on my brothers account. I bought one of tliß horses, and it has been sold again on my brothei s account. This cloned the case lor the defence. His worship reserved judgment unttil the 18th inst.