ALLEGED MALICE.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXXIV, Issue LXXIV, 28 September 1918, Page 7

ALLEGED MALICE.

SCHOOLMASTER AND COMMITTEE. .. MAN. By TELEGRAPH—PKESS ASSOCIATION. .. DSNNEVIRKE, Sept. 28. An unusual case of alleged malice was before Mr Dyer, S.M., on* Tuesday, when Barry Coventry, headmaster of the State School T© Rehunga, proceeded against T. W. Stanfield, now chairman of the school committee, claiming £100 damages. He-alleged that Stanfield at. a school picnic in March last remarked Ox plaintiff: "Look at the old German." Evidence given showed that plaintiff was born in Essex, England, a>nd •ducated -there and partly at Riga in Hueisia, and had never been in Germany. Soon after plaintiff taking over the iheadmastership ai Te Rehunga rumors ■ got into circulation that he was a German. Children attending school al-1 leged that he drew frequent comparisons between German® and British to the detriment of <$ie latter, and spoke of the school flag as "your flag" instead of "our flag," and from hlis re--marks they considered him a. German. On one occasion he allegedly told the scholars that German submarines "were better than British, and the boys met after school, held a meeting, and decided to ask their parents' permission to duck the master in a creek running through the school grounds. This, however, dlid not eventuate. ; Defendant alleged that what he did say "was that plaintiff "looked a. bit ; like & German.',' The Magistrate, in view of the conflict of testimony concerning the actual words used gave judgment for d* fendant with 12. guineas costs, stating that plaintiff apparently only had himself to blame for the rumorsi which got into circulation. He was undoubtedly English and possibly loyal, but the impression that he had conveyed to the children was that he was either a German or had German sympathy.