CAST IN DAMAGES.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2181, 20 June 1914, Page 6

CAST IN DAMAGES.

——» '.RED FEDERATION ORGAN. LIBELLOUS WORDS. \ JURY AWARDS PLAINTIFF £100. (By Teleerapli.—Frees Association.) Hamilton, June 19. An echo of the recent strike of watersjdo workers was heard before Mr. Justice Edwards at tho Hamilton Supreme Court'to-day, when Stuart Dixon, president of the Miners' Union, Huntly, sued tho Federation of Labour for £1000 damages for alleged libel contained m an article published in tho "Maoriland Worker." Tho statement of claim was to tho effect that plaintiff at tho timo of the events was a miner, and that defendants were, and still aro, a trado union and proprietors of the "Maoriland Worker." On December 10, 1913, defendants falsely and maliciously printed, or caused to be printed, and published, under the heading "Huntly Notes," the following words concerning the plaintiff: "Dixon (meaning plaintiff), the scab organiser who is still in the employ of. the Tailpiri Company, was sent to Auckland to try and get scabs for tlio mines. After spending three days there he returned with ono scab, but he, after being here a couple of days, left the town without going to work. Dixon then made another journey to Auckland, but again failed m his endeavours, returning this timo alone. The company in the meantime had a notice in tho newspapers also in various shop windows, asking men to apply for work so that tho mines could be started on the 4th. They stated no fresh men need apply. They did not like to toll tho public what they already knew: that they, along with a willing tool in tho guise of a man (meaning plaintiff), had tried to get scabs to take our w r ork, but this move had been absolutely a failure." That meant, said the claim, that defendant intended that plaintiff -was a traitor to the cause, of the workers and a dishonourable person, to be held in contempt and hatred by the" workers of New Zealand. Plaintiff in consequence Was considerably injured in business and reputation. Messrs. Reed, K.C., and .Newton appaered for tho plaintiff and Messrs. O'Rcgan and Donnelly for the defence. Defendants admitted publication, butdenied that plaintiff was ever a miner at Huntly.'!- They also denied .that; the words werojnt'ouded to mean that Dixon was a traitor and dishonourable." Mr. Rood, in his opening, said tho " proprietors of the "Maoriland Worker," in consequence of the Court's previous decision, were swell aware that the word "scab" was defamatory. Counsel gavo a definition* of the word as published in the "Worker," one of which was as follows: God finished the rattlesnake, theutoad. and the vampire, he had some awful • substance left, with which he made tli'o scab. Where other people had a heart the scah carried a tumour of rotten principles. Judas Iscariot was a gentleman compared with a scab. He had enougli character to hang himself, and ■« scab had not." Mr.'Reed, continuing, said that in any town in New' Zealand where the Federation had any sway the plaintiff would not get any sort of position. The jury, after sitting in retirement for three hours, returned a unanimous verdict for plaintiff on tho qucstionof libel, and, by a majority verdict of nine to three, awarded £100 damages and costs-according to scale. Plaintiff, was not put in tho box.