A NEWSPAPER ACTION.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 648, 27 October 1909, Page 8

A NEWSPAPER ACTION.

AT PALMERSTON. ■, .. (By Telegraph.-Special Correspondent.) '; '~' .Palmerstqn North, October 2G. .At the Magistrate's Court yesterday, before Mr. A. .D. Thomson, S.M., a case was commenced in whidh; W. H: Smith, lessor of the _ Manawatn Daily Times" premises sued E. D. Hoben, lessee and editor. The amount claimed, was £SS lls. Id., which was alleged to be balance due for rent, rates, discount of ■bills and exchange, on cheques,, in connection with the promises; also v£42 10s. for lise and occupation of certain premises adjoining the Times office/Defendant counter-claimed for .£79!)s.<9d. for installation of a gas engine, ortta type* and-erecting a stairway. , Mr. W.L. Jntzlierbert appeared for plaintiff and Mr. C. A. Loughnan for defendant. , W. H. Smith, plaintiff,'deposed he entered into a bailment with defendant in October 1807 and a lease was" prepared but not signed as witness .was arranging to re-build. Defendant gave a promissory note for the paper. Press Association rights, etc., taken over from plaintiff in December, IQO7, which noto matured in March, 1908, the amount being JJI6O Is. 3d. -Defendant did not meet the bill in full but. paid .£SO on account. On April 16 a further payment of .£3O was made, and a new bill : ;sued.. On -June li.the remainder fell due,;,but again defendant asked for a renewal, paying .£lO on account, and asking that the discount be debited to himV In regard to the second claim plaintiff stated that Watson and Eyre were in occupation of. part of the

•"■ The Government 'Tenders Beard/ presided over by the Minister for Public Works (the Hon/ E. MTTenzfe), has opened the , tenders for \ the Gfeneral. Post Office at Wellingtony whioh closed on October 21. . The building is to /occupy Vthe.-remaining- half, of the block bounded ;;by ' Grey, Panama/. and; Peatherston ;Streets, , -at the'-'Tear of the present General .'/ '■■"'■■■ ::^;\":'.;':, ' v : ; ', ::f, -^' 'Interviewed '.with reference *t«i. the subject, -the' Minister 'for, Public Works stated*he could.

" Times " 'premises till February, 1009. Plain-. tiff: gave notice to-defendant that ho should remove ' a partition' which had been erected,'- cutting. , , off;S.; part / of /'Watson : and , Eycr's ;• premises '"'for , : ,his; ' own; use,,':;.as - plaintiff. \ required ...the'.- . premises.: Plaintjftj-^enjedjthatjhe'iwas-':trying to.get de : : 'jferidanMout' .ofrr.the..s'fTimes;'' but-wanted , to get ■ rid' of * him - if : - he ■ did") hot. pay Ms rent. Plaintiff .had.seijt- defendant an advertisement on .'November ;-s,'; 1908,"to \be. inserted, in his.', paper;' offering the ;;''Ti_me?",'for '.sale,'.■.because 'defendant. ■ had notf.'rpa/id. hie. rent regularly". At that: I time defendant offered', to '■'■. buy the. ."Times"' for ~£9OOO. While- tho rental to.bopaid by defendant; for. the. |'Manawatu Times" plant, and business, sum equal to half the" profits • of the business, "witness had not;. during, the.:two years that defendant Hobeni.had.,had li the .paper,.received one single penny from I-him \ for- such rental. .'Also, since the previous'lessee,; had had the paper, ho had added: JE2OOO worth of new-ma-/ohinery and plant to ; the'.bnsiness:' , '; ,, : ;.•• ••'• .'Plaintiff absolutely/denied' liability; for the iteme in, the .connter-<:laim.-' He had "objected all along to a gas .engine being put in, as' he '.considered it. unnecessary..,: v- , ■•:.?. ■ <..;. ■ ...-.•, ; ■/ G. A.Preece,' land-agent,-stated'in 1 evidence -.titat,' at the end of Jflly,'.'defendant was" ap-' preached with a. view to witness seeing through the premises, but replied, thai he, had \the,,u6e •of, the premises till plaintiff, gave, him access, to the. upshure :porijon, and , did not want to go in. Later on!:witness!-Mr the premises to Mrs. •M'Curdy, but 'defendant,would not up possession till plaintiff had given him access to the- upstairs/portion/ -'Defendant -allowed Mrs. M'Curdy to get into' the premises.; with ■her furniture. He had never stopped anyone' from being-shown.over the premises, and.his occupancy/had not militated against the. place.being let. .'■'■/ '••■■.-■'"'',: ■..-■'■ . .'; ■• . ' : .For the defence, the of Chrissie Crichfcn Imrie, ; ■taken-.some time--ago,' was' read. She started with; defendant on ■ July .1, 1908.• 'Entirely new machinery, had ..been .put. in by plaintiff. She-did not : kiK>w whether the ~machinery-had cost ■ .£2OOO, and did not know that years in the paper,iand thatplaintiff had-not,had .a penny, out.of the paper./ .The expenses of riinhing.the paper in the , previons lessee's, timg,.were only about half what they- were; under" ; defendant. ; Since defendant took;over' the; paper the. whole Of the: auctioneers' advertisements" had, disap.peared,'which meant a considerable los3.'in [ revenue. ■'■~ ■ '•'=■ -■: .■■ ■ ."'•-' •.'■■'■•.■. ■'/-.:.-■ '• ' The case'was continued -this- morning.- Ernest Denis Hoben said .a .collateral agreement was prepared .between the parties for the rent "of the premises at £2 ss. ;per week,, but, .when ■defendant, caino to :sign it,'.he found'that;the rent, had been increased to £2 10s. and.refnsed/.to sign.-" Abont October," 1907,- Simplex machines were put in,'and the .staircase removedibecause' it was impossible to put.in the machinesiwhile the staircase was there.: . Plaintiff arranged- to have temporary access to the upstairs portion , of his office .by Messrs. -Watson /and Eyres', staircase., Plaintiff, also arranged, with Messrs. Watson and Eyre :to :have', a doorway: cut in the wall: upstairs.' The Simplex.'maohines were then'installed, and driven from a big gas , engine. They"were;continually'.breaking down. .The gas engine-was "not even capable of running a .big printing machine, and the result was that, when both were being driven, the Simplex; -.machines were constantly being stopped.: An expert was then procured, and he told plaintiff that-the engine. .could not run the machines. V •Finally,'.defendant wrote to •plaintiff pointing'out the necessity for an'extra engine; The -work was continued .'-with constant breakHowns;-"and. finally' matters came toa'crisis. Plaintiff, then, said: see what you can get an engine for. I- haven t got the money at present.: If you -will pay for. it I will:refund -the'money .to.you.: . He- also expressed regret; at"'misrepresentations about ..the olirengine; and- defendant then negotiatedjEor the'purohase of an' engine.for A question then arose ■ as to .where; the engine was to. be : p ut. Defen'dant/'instrncted by plaintiff, employed a.man, to-ouf/into the 'right of way. This man (Lawson) was■.:instructed to make a ,furaKr cut into ,the right of way to,accom-i modate the engine, and .it was' placed _in . a position, chosen by plaintiff and Stewart, deFendarifs expert.. On December 9 plaintiff and defendant . had , a .consultation m oonnection with the {auctioneers, -.anil,'.at, the same, time, plaintiff asked ■ about the signing of the .lease of the-promises. ' Defendant' refused again to sLn. as he considered'the be £2 10s. : He had the. entire/control of the business under ■ and Plaintiff ,was:;:to''have half/tho net realised. ! His Worship said that he, thought,that plain/tiff might easily object to any-expenditure oB the business'. over which t he .was not consulted, and. of which he would have to .pay:half.. ; -Defendant .iepUed 'that,: if., plaintiff-- could nrovo that - defendant was • not .conducting the business properly, he could terminate the agrce:nient ■ Defendant had .already lost over ,tho Pa Stterswer'e priiduced showing' that defen-, dnnt oonieiided that plaintiff had at first said that the items referred to in various' disBUted accounts -weri- ohargeable to plaintiff, and afterwards repudiated them' entirely; .and that:there had iiot -been enough;type ordered ; Defendant' fnrther.'.tsated that !there iwas, an agreement with plaintiff that, should Watson; and Eyre , leave' the' premises and thus' deprive defendant, of tho- front oc«, dcfondtiUt/akoald,

have access. There was considerable trouble over the staircase, plaintiff finally blocking up all entrances to and from' Watson and Eyre's 'promises, with the result that defendant had to put in a staircase , himself. ' Defendant denied that he had over consented to pay rates and insurance. OifOotober 1, 1907,' an adjustment of accounts showed'that .£IOO Is. 3d. was owing to plaintiff, and a bill was given "for that amount, plaintiff saying , , that he would not require defendant to meet the bill on the due date, but when it canw due plaintiff pressed for payment. The Jeed of bailment provided that defendant was to- carry on business wth the plant supplied; hit defendant contended that the plant had been misrepresented, and, when plaintiff discovered that, ne agreed to put in the gas engine. Defendant contended that plaintiff had never repudiated his liability with reepect to the gas- engine until he wanted to put defendant cut-of the paper. Defendant could produce. r.o documents from plaintiff agreeing to pay for the gas engine. . . Ihe case was continued this afternoon and evenine and then adjourned, till Friday.