SUPREME COURT.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 58, 2 December 1907, Page 9

SUPREME COURT.

■■■";] CRIMINAL SITTINGS.. , DEFAMATORY LIBEL CASE. .',; VERDICT, OF .'* GUILTy." .APPLICATION -FOR A NEW TRIAL. , ' Tho hearing of tho'.charge against Arthur Boesonof having uttered a defamatory libol of and concerning William Jamos Pollock, of tho'Gity of Wellington, clerk; ivns concluded on Saturday bofore His Honour Mr. Justice Cooper -and a which Mr, John M'llraith was.'forcinnn. ~..,'■ :Mr. : Wilfo:d (instructed by- Mr. J. J. M'Grath) prosecuted,- and Mr. Gray appeared for tho' defence ■■'.'• .His' Honour read tho issues which ho insubmit to the jury. •. " v MiyGray: The'question as to whether tho publication of "the matters charged was lor the public, benefit should, I submit, bo left to tho Court. ' His. Honour: In my opinion, it is a question, for, tho jury under tho direction of the Court.; ' ..-. i- - ■ Mr. Wilford: j I submit that the Court, cannot take, from the jury -the-.right of deciding that .question. Tho question may, to a certain extent, bo 'a matter for tho Court, but only .to tho oxtcivjk that it is:for tho Court to direct.tho jury.His. Honour: No doubt the jury will follow iny direction. . Tho general question of " Guilty " or " Not guilty " will, of cotirso, »lso bo left to the jury. .. ; . ~. v '' ADDRESS FOR THE DEFENCE, -.'," : '! Mr;:, Grayy addressing tho jury; saidthat, if the chargos.inado against Pollock had been .substantiated—and-ho submitted that' tlioy had—then Pollock,' and not Beeson, should have;been .in tho dock. 'Pollock 'had not dared to go into tho witness-box'and attempt to refutetho charges. .' It was an instance of "Silonco gives- .consent.".: Counsel' also pointed out that;:in.Christchurch•, the Magistratodlad referred in scathing terms to Pollock's immoral habits. He had--remarked that the whole'case-stank. -Prior to making tho charges, Bficsbnhaid, it was. true, written in a vindictive strain. ;• It did not matter what motive had actuated him iii' making tho charges. .What tho jury had-to 1 -decide was whether Beeson had. acted in- tho pulilic interest,-' • Regarding -liis" methods, lie would say nothing.- Beeson was/ ho' pointed out;young vand impulsivo, and not accustomed to seo flagrant breaches of the moral laws lightly, passed, over. It had to bo remembered that Pollock had himself- ; told Beeson that ho was unablo to keep his hands-'; off .women.' Counsel contended that .'-Beeson had undoubtedly-.acted in the public iiiterest, as-Pollock a member of the ? , Civil Service;: and it; was of tho utmost impbrtanco that only persons who led moral lives 'should bo .in, the: Government service. In ■ conclusion, Mr. Gray pointed out. that Beeson had mado tho specific charges only to one person—tho head of the Department in whic;i I'ollock was employed. | PROSECUTING COUNSEL REPLIES.; . ;'Mr.- Wilford, whoso address to tho jury occupied an hour and a quarter, said that i£ was wibli asenso of deep responsibility that he undertook tho'task'or replying to the ovidenco, lor tho•■ defence. Of the antecedents: ot;'tho prisoner- littlo or nothing was' 'known • therefore he had n'ofbeon ablo to interrogate him with reference to.his past; Ho- (counsel) hoped that jurors would sco /that their wives'v-and ■ daiiguter's wore-not present in -church;--if- Beeson again mado '■ references' similar to thoso complained • of by the prosecutor.; When Beesoh,"told him his story, Mr. vAitken had only.'.cldno:what..was ri"-ht m accompanying him to the polieo station" Ho (counsel): would: not. be .surprised to learn that,the, police„had not.taken Beeson seriouslyy-,' It haOeen .pleaded that prisoner should bo parddiiecUon' iho; ground :tliat lie was led. away :by kia..feelings:...HeJubriiitted however,lliart r ; T tllr6u^ut^[i6'sonliad'acted dehueratqly-ni a,cold, calculating.manner. 1 "oi.'iawi..counsel continued;.very' wisely providet-that tliQ ! ,:par I tv..makiiig the': chargehad to, prove, riot only.,fhat ,tW. statements made, were true and that they were in the' public interest, but, also that they were in the public interest at the time-when they were mado; -, What was Bceston's- motive in making tho charges? In.one of his letters he had stated, that Pollock's nature could not be changed;. : therefore,,; his. object was not to .promote reformation'.- Ho(counsel)-,subnlitted that prisoner was.actuated.solelv by a desire for personal revenge, (as ;-his letters showed), and• that he had not been, actuated solely by--.. ;a . desiro- to . .'serve '. the,- public. The-;.-duty of. the ~ jury was ' to say whether the statements ; madb l.y tho nrisoii.-r were tnie,ian'd whether it was in the'interest of the public that matters some years old should' be rehashed before the public' gaze; no matter whom they.mifiht-wound, or whose feelings they might embitter. ;/;':.,HIS HONOUR SUMS UP. ' ' "'■.'..-;/: SCATHING REMARKS. His' Honour, in; summing up, said that there could'be no question'that, ir the letters were written without justification or excuse, it was a. defamatory libel. That'prosecutor had not given evidence might .be she subject of comment, .but his counsel'.had acted within his-rights in .relying upon i the "weakness of tne -defence;;.;;, in cases of .this kind- the onus of-proof:rested upon.the defence. , What'.tlie jury had to decide was' whether the prisoner iiad-in the'.main substantiated "the charges, also whether' the. publication of'the charges was in the interests of the public;. 'The question of .motive should. not A man who was actuated by an evilmbtivo might do something that (was in the. interests of tho'public. Undoubtedly, it was a very painful case. It was-'clear thatl'in making the charges prisoner was actuated by a', considerable amount of, personal .feeling in addition to any desire he might'have had to benefit the public; and it was equally clear that the prosecutor had led a. most immoral life/-• And here ho would, in passing,, refer to the-terrible, state of' immorality existing in,this and other citios. "Every session," observed His \ Honour, "there arc casescivil, ; criminal,' and divorce—in.'-lyhich : it is proved that young girls—in some' cases with, in others without, their consents-have■ been interfered with by immoral men. I am sometimes appalled r by the' amount' of immorality'shown to exist in our cities. Tho way in which young ■ girls' aro seduced, and outraged,, and corrupted ;by :mon 'excuses somowhat tho intemperate'language. utteredfrom, the pulpit by;, those .who• honestly desire to:'seo our streets pure and allidangers and- temptations removed from--the young girls growing up in our midst..; ; l can't'help feeling that a good deal of this conduct is going on in our city; And' this I do say, that whilst you have a duty to porfornr to see'that no'man's character.'l's-vilified, yet you have also, a duty to perform to see that immoral men are not allowed to mix with respectable people and continue to corrupt the' female life around■ thorn:'.'•; / ' Referring to 'certain letters ■ written -by Pollock, His Honour stated that prosecuting counsel had very properly' said that no excuse could bo offered for them.<.. Ho (His Honour) could only describe'them.as abominable'.' It was his opinion that*it--was unlikely., the-writer would get much better as he grow older. As Mr. iWilford had pointed out, it Would be »: very' cruel -thing if anyone, without justification-or excuse, published tho fact that a man who was now leading a reputable lifo had at one;time been in prison; "Assuming that you find the charges proved," continued -'His' Honour, "you havo got to consider whether this is such a case.- If the'evidence bo true, here we have a man who' Committed a crime upon a girl who afterwards, became his wife; who same-years afterwards' attempted the same crimo on her half-sister; who has led a dissolute life; and who. has not the slightest regard for female virtue. If the charges be true, it would bo dangerous to allow liim to enter a'house whore there'' aro respectable females. Ho .(Pollock) has boasted in his letters that ' ho 'has : seduced girls, if ■■ those '. things' > . be true, was it for the public: benefit, that the head of'tho department in which prosecutor worked should know of-them? It has to be remembered that girls work in tho department in

which prosccutor was employed. -I.havo.no hesitation in saying—and 1 say- so with a duo sensor of responsibility—that it was for tho public benefit that the head of the. department referred to should know the character of this man in order to prevent, him from becoming a source of danger and corruption to tho girls and young men ill tho department. It is not- a case of a man who has committed a lapse years ago, and who has been struggling all his life rehabilitate himself. It, is a case of a man of a. lasciviohs, lustful, and libidinous nature, who admits that ho cannot control his passions,, and says so in tho letters in front of me. If these matters be true, then it. was fpr the public benefit that they should bb disclosed to tho head of the department. In my opinion also tho jury will be justified in coming to the conclusion that there were .mixed motives for making the charges. It sooms to mo that it is impossible, to say that prisoner's action was purely that of a man who desired to perform a public service. He shows in his letters to Russell and prosecutor that ho has strong, revengeful, malicious feelings. That, however, ,)ins nothing to do with the question. If you find against prosccutor on the issues numbered 1, 2, 3, ancl 4, you must answer no. THE FINDINGS. . Tho jury, which retired at 1.10 p.m., returned at 5 p.m. It answered tho issues as' follows: — (1) Did William James Pollock, in tho lattor part of-1897, or in the early part of 1898, forcibly, aiul without tho consent of -—, and wliile she was unconscious, liave improper relations with her?— Answer: No. Did the said William James Pollock, in the year 1901, attempt, without tho consent. of , and while slio was unconscious, to have improper relations with her at Maranui, Lyell Bay ?—Answer: Yes.' / (3) l)id tho said William James Pollock, in the year 190-1, at tho house in which the sjid '-— was then living, attempt to havo improper relations with the said — and whilo she was unconscious? —Answer: \es. , : (4) Did the magistrate at : Christchureli, in tho yoar 1897, stigmatise the said William James Pollock with a certain name? If-so, was it in the case against Watt or in tho case against Pollock?— Answer: Yes; Watt's case. ' . _ . . (5) Was it for the public benefit "that'tho matters alleged in the letter of Juno 18, 1907, addressed to Peter Heycs, should be published to the said Peterlieyes?—Answer: No. (6) Did the prisoner, at tho timo he wrote the said loiter, honestly believe in tho truth of tho matters alleged in the said letter, and publish the said letter to the said Peter Heycs in performance of what ho honestly believed to -be'his duty in the public interest ? —Answer:. No. - • x His Honour: Tho findings are equivalent to a verdict of "Guilty." I direct you to return a verdict to that effect. . Tho jury returned a verdict accordingly. His Honour :'l'shall reserve for decision by tho Court of Appeal the question as to whether the 1 prosecution was properly launched. In the meantime, sentence will be postponed. Prisoner will be admitted to bail in Ills own - recognisance and ono surety for £50. Ho will bo required to appear on April 13, 1908, or such later date, as t-lio Court may fix. Mr. Gray: I formally ask for leave' to move to; apply to ,tho Court of Appeal for a new trial on issues 1 and 5. t . Tho hearing of the application was .adjourned until December 16. '•_' This concluded the business for the' sit- . tings. , - ...IN CHAMBERS. . Mr. Justice ]3utton, sitting in Chambers on Saturday, 1 h'eard an application by Hannah BevaiVs, of the Manaivatu district, for. registration of a title to certain land under the Land Transfer Act. against which -a caveat'had been lodged by; Hakaraia To Whona, Otakiy who claimed to be interested in tho land in question. Tho matter had ,boon adjourned pending consideration-by the' Cabinet, with a view to. enabling tho Native .claimant to commence proceedings under tho Land Titles Protection Act, .1902, .within the time specified, UStipp;,Cooper, ,on< N;o-,-,vember 8. " An order" was granted extending tho time for ono month;-with liberty to apply for further extension if.-the-'mattor was not dealt with in the meantime by Cabinet. If tho necessary',- loavc was . granted' by tho tbe caveat was to-extend to March 1, 190S;but -if -the consent of the Governor was refused, the, caveat to.lapse. Mr. Organ (liolton and .Organ) appeared, for the Native claimant, and Mr. M. Myers' oil- the other side. ■