ALLEGED LIBEL

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXVI, 21 February 1935, Page 6

ALLEGED LIBEL

DAMAGES CLAIMED HEARING AT WELLINGTON (By Telegraph—Pre*» A«oclatl«n) WELLINGTON, This Day. Four claims, each for £2OO damages, for alleged libel on Wellington detectives against the “New Zealand Sunday News” Publishing Co., Ltd., William Henry Bowman, publisher, and Hutcheson, Bowman and Johnson, Ltd., printers, were heard in the Magistrate’s Court, Wellington, by Mr W. F. Stilwell yesterday. The statement of claim set out that in the issue of the newspaper dated 19th January, 1935, under the heading of “What is Intended Sedition/?” defendants falsely and maliciously published and caused to be published a statement concerning plaintiffs, which defendants meant, and. were understood by others to mean that plaintiffs (a) were guilty of harsh and cruel conduct to inoffensive citizens contrary to the provisions of the Police Regulations; (b) arrested men, named, without preferring a charge against them contrary to the provisions of the law; (c) were guilty of harsh and cruel conduct towards a man named Brockie in detaining him for five hours without water contrary to the provisions of the Police Regulations; (d) were too ready to use the baton when other methods were available to them; (e) were guilty of an unprovoked assault upon two men, named. The defence counsel said that malice was not admitted. It was submitted that the question was how far had admittedly false statements damaged each plaintiff. Much of the article had been derogatory to the police force in general, and had no possible application to plaintiffs. As to their status in the public estimation, detectives were not popular idols to the man in the street. It was not a question of damage done to them, but a question of what the damage was in the public estimation. The apology was a complete and unequivocal apology, as good an apology as could have been composed, and made as much amends as any apology could. -