ANONYMOUS LETTERS.

Auckland Star, Volume LVI, Issue 293, 11 December 1925, Page 9

ANONYMOUS LETTERS.

ACTION FOR DAMAGES. DECISION RESERVED. An action to recover damages for alleged slander occupied -Mr. W- R. McKean, S.M.. until after 5 p.m. yesterday at the Magistrate's Court. George Bates, chemist (Mr. J. G. Haddow) sued Richard Thomas and his wife, -Dorilia Ifwerson Thomas (Mr. Allan Moody), to recover £200 as damages for alleggd slander. Plaintiff's claim was that he had suffered damage from the defendant Mrs.. Thomas "Falsely and maliciously" writing to another woman a l:tter addressed ''Little Lady," warnin'* her about going to that "chemist's shop in Newton." A number of anonymous letters in the same handwriting were handed in by Mr. Haddow, also two, not containing anything exceptionable,' that were admitted to have been written by Mrs. Thomas, and evidence of an in handwriting was given for each side. An expert in handwriting stated that the letters put in were all written by the ! same hand. Another expert called for the defence said he had examined the exhibits in this case. The characteristics in the admitted handwriting of Mrs. Thomas were not in the anonymous lotters.

Mrs. Thomas stated she was 20 years of age. She denied ever having written anonymous letters to Mr. Bates-'or any other person. Mr. Thomas stated that they had been married since the 12th of last January. He had received an anonymous letter himself in the same handwriting as those put in. Mr. Moody said a case of slander required to be proved most clearly. It was for the plaintiff to prove who wrote the letters. He claimed that defendant had not written them. Mrs. Thomas did not know Mr. Bates, having only met him casually, therefore she had no venom against him. Mrs. Thomas ought to Be exonerated, and he trusted that Mr. Bates would be successful in tracing the writer of that anonymous letter.

Mr. Haddow referred to peculiar coincidences in the correspondence. It was not merely similarity of handwriting, but also in expressions and habits of thought. They had two letters admitted to be written by Mrs. Thomas. It was peculiar that certain words in those letters were wrongly spelled and were similarly wrongly spelled in the anonymous letters. One was "absorlute," another "concernea," and a third "intire." He considered that as far as identification was concerned, "absorlute" was absolute. Decision was reserved.