ALLEGED LIBEL.

Otago Witness, Issue 2170, 26 September 1895, Page 51

ALLEGED LIBEL.

At the City Police Court on Thursday Samuel Lister was charged with publishing, in the Ot»go Workman, on the 11th inst., a false, malicious, and defamatory libel, as follows :— " Mr A. S. S. Adama mint fairly be charged with a breach of faith towards tho public. Ou the night of the meeting at the City i Hall he favoured his audience with his views on horac dealing, saying that it was a busine-s tl,at [ invariably led to deceit, lying, and sundry other interesting little vices He set up thisskifcUe for the purpose of knocking it i'own ligain, which is a favourite device with orators of hi« class, and he did so by saying that there waa only one other occupation more immoral, and that was keeping a hotel. In proof of his statement tbat there was something absut horses that produced immorality, he instanced a clergyman, with whom he himself was interested in a horse. This clergyman said, it appears _, that he had a buyer for the animal, aud that he intended to get ri-i of it without, mentioning its f.»ults. The public would like I to know a little more about Ihat bowe transaction. How long was it ago ? Did Mr Adams con- j rent to the Biipprossion of the truth? Did he profit by it? If Mr A. S. S. A<lam3 wilt s-»ii»fy this natural curiosity, then the public may CODf-uler whether it will accept his moral guidance in the matter of prohibition. Aud there is another matter I often hear mentioned. It ia firewood. . . . What can a solemn vlsaged lawyer have to do with firewood ? It I* not to be supposed tbat black piny or maplo form part of the equipment of a limb of the law, and y«t, if all stories be truo, these hare h*d a wn» idera.bln share in shaping tbe destiny of this particular m-mber t»f tie ' Devil's Brigade.' It is a ia,U of a long suffering settler who nan contiinialiv ini.^ed his lircwood. It koob on to say bow stt length, de>i>eratt), he laid a plant how he bored hole* in the logs, and put powder therein How the rightly BUBiiect^d pvrtius were aftrfi wards tcared ulnnat to death with unaxpe-ted explosions in the tireplace, and how the uureg.-nenite Luighod In this connection let me rofcr for further details t) Mr WiLiorj, L-vte browdr, at the W«ter of Lci'h." Mr Sim, with him Mr Ilanl'in, up <«arvd for the iuforrnai t, and stated tbat Mr Solomon, counsel for the dcfeiico, could not be present, and asked for an adjournment for a week, to which request they (llr ti:m aud Mr Haulon) ha-l uo ohjectitin. — Adjourned accordingly-

The rainFftll for Angmt was iva^'eAt <vt the U[>ier Hutt (9*lo n) a.nd IT^kitika (lO'.VZin). At Auckland the t&U w<js 1 63 in, Weltngfcou Z'iG a, Chridtchurch 2'36iu, and Dunedin 3 56m.