THE SYDNEY LIBEL CASE.

Pahiatua Herald, Volume V, Issue 589, 31 December 1897, Page 2

THE SYDNEY LIBEL CASE.

Extraordinary Divorce Proceedings. By Electric Telegraph.—Copyright. Per Press Association. Sydney, December 29. In the Carruthers-Norton libel action Mr Leary, Chief Clerk of the Divorce Court, produced papers to show that Mr Carruthers (Minister of Lands) obtained a decree nisi of divorce from his wife in August, 1895. He stated that the application was made on Saturday morning. No one was present except witness and the tipstaff. The case, at the suggestion of the plaintiff’, was taken early in the morning before Mr Justice Windeyer, and lasted less than half an hour. Witness admitted that the time and proceedings were unusual. No report of the case appeared in the press. Norton went into the box and made a statement that he ha 1 had public and personal knowledge of Mr Carruthers for ten years. He I said he had always regarded him as a tricky, dishonest politician. He charged Mr Carruthers with telling lie 3 about him. lie considered some of the plaintiff’s transactions with regard to the exchange of public lands as inimical to the interests of the people. He detailed conversations with ministers, in which he had made certain accusations against Mr Carruthers, He had told Mr Reid (the Premier) that Mr Carruthers was giving it out that he intended to have the Premiership and was caballing with the Labor Party. Mr Reid replied that the trouble of Mr Carruthers and others was that be slept too well at night, and said that if ho could not hold the Premiership excepting at the will of Mr Carruthers he had better give it up. Later. The Premier was called as a witness in the Norton case. Counsel for the plaintiff endeavoured to elicit information regarding Norton’s statement on the political relations between Carruthers and the Premier. The Judge ruled that this was irrelevant, and the witness was not further examined.