Tramway Cartoons Found Malicious

Chronicle (Levin), 14 July 1949, Page 10

Tramway Cartoons Found Malicious

DUNEDIN, July 13. For the second time witlnn a veai Mr. Justice Kennedy has foiind for four members of the Dunediu Tramways Union in actions which revealed dissension in the ranks of the union. In a judgment given Loday he lieJd that certain cartoons which had been post; ed on the Tramvvays' Union nolice boards in the tramsheds had 'been malicious and exposed the plaintilfs 1o ridicule. Previously four members who 111 the union executive . had charged witli ' wrecking activities ; ' had resisted. the payment of a levy and the Court up iield their stand under the then existing union rules. The plaintilfs 'this morning weri awarded £15 damages each, with costs, against the president of the union, William Benedict Richards, and 10 other members, and also against the New Zealand Tramways' Union (Richards is also president of the national union* and of the Otago Trades Council.) The .Judge characterised the cartoons as malicious and eonsidered that thev were an incident in a campaign of belittlement and intirnidation of the plaintiffs. The prime responsiliility lay with the president of the union. he said. After the publication of Ihe cartoons there was a series of spitefrul acts by Richards against some of Ihe plaintilTs in an attempt to make their employment intolerable-, There was a campaign of cowardly intirnidation of a man and his family by teleplioning him at his home from seven in the morning " until after midnight I for a period, in one case, of a fortnight and a dav, and as many as 32 .times dailv. The Judge granted a request for an injunction restraining the defendants from publishing in the tramsheds matter defamatory to the plaintilfs.