PALMERSTON SUPREME COURT.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 222, 12 June 1908, Page 7

PALMERSTON SUPREME COURT.

' ■'. ALLEGED LIBEL. ;, • (BT TEiEGItAPB.—SPECIAL CORREBPON DENT.) ! ; Palmerstcn North, Juno 11; At the Supremo Court this morning, before !Mi\ Justicb Cooper, tho hearing of the claim for damagoSi 'G. Anderson v. G.'Searle, was resumed.. For the defence, G. Soarle stated that ho was driving at the rate of eight miles an hour, and in the short time at liis disposal ho did all ho possibly could to avoid tho accidcnt. Other evidence for the defence was to the effect that plaintiff did not take' reasonable precautions to avoid the accident." • A verdict - was returned for defendant,, with costs on the higher scale. Richard Essex, ex-Mayor, of Palmerston North; claimed £501 damages from E. D. Hoben, editor arid 'proprietor of tho "Manawatu Daily Times," for alleged libel in loadarticle, published on February 21 and 22. S. T. Hunt, carrier, stated that ho road tho articles referred to; He, was a,, supporter of Mr. Essex. He gathered from the tone of the articlo that whisky had been supplied to the electors to. oaptivate votes. Arthur Pickering, who read the articles, considered they were a direot charge against plaintiff., '.. ■

, C. N. Clausen, a Borough Councillor, "did not attach very much importance as to the first article or even the Second. It would bo a hard matter to decide to whom tho articles referred. ' . . Councillor Stubbs Said it was- quite im-. possiblo to say w'hat the articles meant.' l ■ W. Collingwriod, Town Clerk; said that, a good many antagonistic articles to plaintiff appeared in the "Times." He. was of opinion that the articles referred, to the Mayor. J. Robertson was of opinion after reading the articles that whisky had been supplied to . tho workmen, and, that probably the Mayor was referred to. On investigation lie fount whisky had been taken to College Street. He'called to seo defendant to correct tho statements, and was told by defendant that ho had not published any articles which had reflected upon tho Mayor. Mr. Hoben Was rather annoyed, and said lib would >not bo dictated ■ to ;by' anyone as to what h6 would put in his paper. Witness left as he considered it useless to remonstrate. He saw Mr. Hoben again, and told him that nothing would satisfy Mr. Esses but a complete withdrawal. Mr. Hoben replied that it was simply bluff, and that Mr. Essex would not care to go into the box and have his past character brought up. Defendant also said that./there, wero men in the town who had offered to finance him to carry the matter through, and end Essex's public life once and for all. He told witness that ho was simply being-used as a tool to trap him into making an admission. ' The Court then adjourned.