Van der Lingen v Middelburg Municipality [1911] ZATPD 20 (9 March 1911)

Pounds - Animals liable to be impounded - Regulations - Power of Lt-Governor - Interpretation of Regulations - Ordinance 41 of 1904, Sect.26 - Costs

Under Ordinance 41 of 1904, Sect.26, the Lientenant-Governor had power to prescribe by regulation what animals should be liable to be impoimded.

A municipal bye-law provided that "no person in charge of any horse, mule, ass, or other cattle, such animals being under saddle, in harness, or yoke, shall allow the same to be or stand in any street, unless it be under the care of some fit and proper person; any such horse, mule, ass or other cattle found loose and be impounded".

Held, that such bye-laws only applied to animals under saddle, in harness or yoke.

A municipal bye-law provided that '' no person shall in any street ... turn loose any cattle".

Held, that:when any person's cattle were found loose in any street, siich person must be taken to have turned them loose, unless he proved that the cattle were there without any act or neglect of himself or his servants.

When a municipal bye-law wns couched in slipshod language and a dispute arising as to its meaning, a case was stated for the decision of the Court and was decided in favour of the interpretation advanced by the municipality, the Court refused to make any order as to costs, as it was held that the dispute was
due to the municipality's faulty diction