SMITH v. SYME.

Otago Witness, Issue 2164, 15 August 1895, Page 29

SMITH v. SYME.

« The jury in Mr Alison Smith's libel action •gainst the Age found a' verdict which has excited some surprise. There were 25 alleged libels in all. In regard to all except four of these they found for the Age. As to the four, they found that they were untrue and were not fair comment, but that they were not defamatory ; and they awarded damages of a farthing on each. The amount of common sense possessed by this very extraordinary jary may be estimated from this remarkable finding. Four of the Age's allegations were found to be untrue and unfair comment, yet they were declared not to be defamatory; and though the plaintiff had not been defamed, he was entitled to damages. The Chief Justice suavely pointed out to this very extraordinary jury that their finding was inconsiltint and contradictory ; so they took it back, and obligingly deleted the little word "not" before defamatory. To account for the surprise felt at the verdiot, one has only to remember the expression of opinion given by the Chief Justice during the hearing of the case. The figures, he said, upon which the Age founded the .charge of extravagance against Mr Alison Smith were fallacious ; they were shown to the Age to be fallacious, yet they per- * Bisted in them ; they had not even the colour of truth, and they were calculated to do the plaintiff irretrievable injury. In spite of all this the jury awarded Mr Smith one penny ! and they added insult to injury by admitting the falsity of the charge?, bat asserting that they were not defamatory. The Ag«, recognising that amongst the thinking portion of the community, the judge's Bumming up would far outweigh the finding of what was evidently a very incapable or a very prejudiced jury, sot about reading the Chief Justice a lectuce. It devoted a good part of a leading article to him, in the course of which it said :: — •' While making all allowance for a very trying task, it was not too much to expect of a Supreme Court judge that before he under t oak to revile the official tables of the Railway department and express novel views about the accepted work of expert accountants, he should at least bays been reasonably careful about his Own arithmetic, and not have put to the jury a contradiction of the defendant's figures which is in itself a contradiction of official facts."

When the question of costs came np for settlement the Chief Juttice made what was virtually a reply to the Age article. It was a reply out of which that journal could take bat little consolation. Sir John Madden declared that he was uuable to discern upon what method the jury had arrived at their estimate of damages in the case. He could not see how the defendant could have arrived at any other conclusion than that he had aspersed the plaintiff falsely in a most grave respect with regard to the figures. He could not arrive at any other cone u*ion than that the deductions which had been drawn from those figures were practically untrue. Although, as he thought, the defendant most have known ht an early stage that the statements made on the figures were false, he did not apologise or withdraw the statements, or pay money into court, but, on the contrary, persisted in his plea of justification to the last moment.

Mr Alison Smith comes out of the action very much on the wrong side of the ledger. He has the satisfaction, however, of knowing that had the Chief Justice of the colony been the arbiter he would hare been granted substantial damages and had bis reputation as a locomotive engineer re-eatablithed. Mr Speight had a similar satisfaction ia his first case.

THE VICTORIAN TARIFF.

The Victorian Parliament has had a big fight over the spirit duties. To encourage the local distilleries there has hitherto been a differential, duty of 4s a gallon. The principal distillery is Joshua Bro».' Mr M'Coll brought a moit damaging indictment against this firm. He chewed by a comparison of the constituents they used with the quantity they manufacture that a considerable proportion of their output was left unaccounted for ; and his allegation was that to this degree their output was adulterated or at least of poor quality. Joshua Brcs have contented themselves with the sole reply to this that they rely upon their reputation to defend them against these aspersions ; but the public naturally fail to see much of a reply in this— they want the explanation that is not forthcoming about the tray in which the spirit is manufactured. Mr M'Coll also pointed cut that of the five partners in Jojhua Bros., only two reside in the colony ; three reside in E< gland.

The House was extremely indignant at these disclosures, following as they did upon those made as to "shoddy" in woollens, &o. Not that adulteration and shoddy do not exist in imported liquors and woollens. But the importer does not get a bonus from the colony. The colony sub>idis«-s the local manufacturer to the extent of 4s a gallon and 50 per cent. duty. It was naturally supposed that- it was subsidising the genuine article. Imagine the shock whtn it was discovered that the subsidy has been devoted to enabling the local manufacturer to control the local market with adulteration and shoddy.

The House therefore reduced the differential duty to Is — that is to say, imported spirits are to pay 12g and locally-made (at anyrate of the quality which Joshua Bros, and the others say they can afford to mike) 11s per gallon.

This is the severest blow the " settled policy " of this colony has yet received. The division list on this particular item was 44 to 30.

THB NEW SOUTH WALES ELECTIONS.

In New South Wales the Freetrader has had a very pronounced victory. In the city electorates the Protectionists scored two victories. One of them, however, was due to a Freetrader standing against Mr B. R. Wibb, wbose opposition to the Government wai reprobated, and a Protectionist slipped in. Bat in the suburbs Ereetrade made almost a clean sweep. And three members of the Protectionist Ministry — Sir George Dibbs, Mr Gopeland, and Mr Kidd — were beaten for country districts. These defeats bespeak a decided change of opinion. One of the most signal results of the election has been the defeat of Ike Federal party, which Sir Henry Parkes formed after bis dramatic coalition with Sir George Dibbs. The country was evidently convinced that this was but a bastard party, and it certainly mistrusted the Farkes-Dibb3 coalition. Not only have Sir Henry F*rk«B, Sir George D.bbs, and two of the Dibbs Ministers lost their se*ts, but what is of still more significance is that the candidates put forward to support Sjr Henry Parkea have almost invariably had tbe wont of the contest. Such a Freetrader as Colonel Good-

Ist, one of the most respected men in Sydney, s could- not hold his own against the Ministerial ' candidate, Mr Baviater, at Ashfield ; and the game story ha? to be told about nearly every metropolitan constituency where " Parkesites," oa they are called, came into the field against

Ministerialists. Mr Reid has reaped a glorious victory. Sydney will certainly ba a free pori> eie long.

A COLD SNAP.

When I wrole leu days ago, I boasted of the mildnees of our winter. But within a day or two, Victoria, New South Wales, and South Australia experienced the coldest snap they have perhaps evor known. In this colony there was snow in the Wimmeri and Mallee country— an unheard of occurrence. In the Wimmera the glasa fell to 34, which is the lowest reiding on record. At Horsham and Natimuk tho snow was deep enough for snowballing ; and at Rupauyup the townspeople built a great snow mound, and bad it photographed. The natives of the place had ncvor seen snow before, and their interest and delight in it may ba imagined.

THE BROKEN HILL FIRE

The fire in the Broken Hill Proprietary Company's mine is an extremely serious affair, and has created no little consternation among the shareholders. At present there seems but little hope that it has been got out. The Oregon timber with which the drives are built up is co resinous fchut it may barn for weeks. If the company has to pump the carbonic acid gas into the workings to extinguish the fire, the result will be^hat no one can descend possibly for months.

Meantime the loss to the town of Broken Hill is tremendous. The fire has thrown fully 1200 men, or two-fifths of the employees at tho Broken Hill Proprietary mine, out of work. The underground miners and surfaoa men who had to suddenly cease operations in Block XI and portion of Block XII, adjacent to the ill - fated portion of the mine, alone numbered 530, and the shutting down of the smelters threw about another 450 men out of work. This nieaus that while the fire lasts about £3000 a week will be withdrawn from circulation.

The company will also be a heavy sufferer. The largest item in their bill will, of course, be for water from Stephen's* creek. Th-3 supply in round -figures has been drawn upon to the extent of a million gallons per day since last Monday morning, and a great quantity is still likely to be needed. The minimum rate paid by the Proprietary Company in ordinary circumstances has been 3s 6d per thousand gallons. No doubt some special rate will be agreed upon, bub in any case the cost will be enormous. The laying of water-pipes has been another considerable expense, no less than six miles of mains having been put down. These items, added to the cost of the blasting operations at which 40 men have been engaged, and the loss occasioned by the restriction of smelting operations, will heavily encroach on the Proprietary mine's reserve fund.

A WELL-LIGHTED CITY.

Melbourne can now boast of being (he best lighted oity in Australasia. Tho busy places of the city have for years been brilliant at night with electricity — Bourke street corner, for instance, when the thoates are coming out, has been a brilliant spectacle for years; but the lighting has been done by the private companies. Now the corporation hts taken the lighting of the whole city into its own hands ; done away with gas, and substituted electricity. Where the tram lines run the poles have had to be placed at the sides of the streets, and the effect is not all that could bo wished ; but where there are no tramways ths poles, which are of great height, run along tbe centre of the street. The great arc lights make the roadways very bright, and the spectacle is a marked contrast to the old system of gas. The work has been carried out very thoroughly. Every right-of-way and ally is now illuminated by an arc light. Up in Carlton, for instance, the whole place is as light as day. Along the St. Eilda and Sydney roads, too, where the roadways are three chains wide, the effect is magnificent.

MISCELLANEOUS.

Tbe latest swindling dodge in Melbourne is exposed by the Rev. S. C. Kent, of Albert Park, in a letter to the Argus. Mr Keot writes :: — rt On Saturday moroiag l*st a welldressed lad came to my door and asked to ba told where Mr Ricket lived. The name being unkuown he said he would apply at the next house. He went there, and said that I bad gent him, as I h»d no silver, to borrow half-a-crown, which was promptly lent, with the mesBsge that if I needed 2s more I could have them. He came again to this house to say that they did nob kcow next door where Mr Reckifc lived. He then went back and obtained the 2a and disappeared." A singular case of a man who was believed to be detd turning up alive and well has come to light at Ballarat. John Craig Beck disappeared from th*t city 14 years ago, and nothing having been he&rd of him for years, his wife obtained letters of administration in his estate from the Supreme Court in the belief that be was dead. The other day, however, Mr Woolcott, chairman of the BalUrat' Exchange, received a letter from B<-.ck, who is now a resident of Milo, in Queensland. He enclosed a letter for his wife, of whose address he was ignorant. As he makes no mention of the recent Supreme Court proceedings (though they wera reported on divers occasions in the press), it would seem that he knew nothing of them. Mrs Mackay, the wife of a furniture m*ker, attended a skating carnival in Bendigo on July 24, and on leaving the hall about midnight trod on a lucifer. She was drewed in light clothing, reprerenting the oharacter of "Snow," and it immediately took fire. A constable threw his overcoat over her, extinguishing the fUmes. She was badly burned about the atms, chest, and face. News has been received of a frightful crime in New Caledonia, at Paita, about 12 miles from Nonmea. A tic\cet-of-leave man named Piercourt murdered Madame Fricotte by means of dynamite, and then committed suicide. A child seven years old of Madame Fricotte was badly injured. At the inquiry it transpired that the perpetrator of the deed had been employed at Madame Fricotte's station, and was recently discharged by her. The deed w«s committed by placing dynamite cartridges on the breast of the victim, who at the time was sound asleep, and firing them. The body was blown into fragments. Having taken the woman's life the convict drew from bis pocket another cartridge, which he placed against his right temple, and igniting the fuse took his own life.