£2000 LIBEL CLAIM

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 16375, 24 June 1927, Page 11

£2OOO LIBEL CLAIM

NEWSPAPER SUED DAIRY BOARD SQUABBLE (Per Press Association.) WELLINGTON, this day. In the Supremo Court, before the Chief Justice, Sir (has. Skerrett. T. M. Titnpany, of Woodlands, Southland, a member' of the Dairy Hoard, proceeded against the New Zealand Dairy Produce I'N'porter Newspaper Co. to recover £2OOO damages for alleged libel arising from certain articles in the paper. Sir John Findlay and Mr. J. S. Manna appeared for the plainlilf, and Mr. A. W. Blair, with him Mr. R. Kennedy, for the Erporter. Tho allegations related lo reports in connection with Ihe ooiilesl bet ween plaintiff and John Fisher on the occasion of a. campaign for membership of (he Dairy Hoard in 1926. The article was entitled: "How ..Southland Was Misled." One of the ■statements contained the words "deliberately misled." Another was a reference lo the allegation thai. Tiuipany had communicated to the press the Premier's telegram lo the board, which war; of a ouliden'ial nature. The defence denies that (here was :u\y arrangement whereby the Dairy Hoard paid the Exporter for publication of certain official matters, and pleaded thai ; the words complained of were a. verbatim extract from a speech by fisher, and insofar as the words complained of were an expression of opinion and comment they were fair comment, nude in good faith, and without malice, on matters of public interest. If is also stated that the words used, with the exception of 'deliberate," were true in substance and fact, . In the course of his address, Sir John Findlay referred lo the cablegram, saying ir 'was not addressed to the hoard, bni to the Minisler of Agric'idture, or M.meliodv else. bae|, liieiUfflM' of the hoard received a copy. Mr. Tiuipany refused a New Zealand Times reporter a ropv. Later, however, in Invercurgill, Mr." Reynolds, a Government representative on the board, showed him a copy of the Times containing the cablegram. Any idea that it was confidential was dispelled, and Tiuipany gave representatives of the lnvercargill papers his copy. Tb,.re was nothing to show that the cable was confidential.