ALLEGED SLANDER

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 138, 28 June 1937, Page 8

ALLEGED SLANDER

i Our Own CQrrospondent.)

Engineer's Action Against Board Member DECISI0N RESERVED

(Fron

WAIROA, Saturday. The actiou for alleged slander by C. J. P. Drewit. electhcal etfgineer to ' the Wairoa l'ower Boara% against H. L. Harkcr, Mayor of Wairoa and a ineniuer of the ijoard. came to a close on Friday rnornmg, when his Worship said he would reserve his decision as there was a good deal of matter to De gone through. / , The amouht claimed was £75. and the plaintiff was repieseirted by Mr L. T. Burnard, and the defenaant by Mr H. Bcaufoy, with him Mr. G. M. O'Malley. In continuation of the case ror tbe plaintiff, the first witnese called on Thursday was D. D. Fry^le, a member of the board, who s; *.i that Mr Harker 's attitude was hoBtile at all tho meetings bnt one. and rince then it was about the same, per.iaps even more hostile. it was just an ill-fceling towards plaintiff. Oross-examined by Mr Beaufoy, witness said that defendant took a good deal of interest in the wortt of the . board, and nioved a number of resolutions while wateliing the expenditure and the revenue of the board. Tliis closed the case for the plaintiff Case for Defendant. B. G. Signall statod that he had kuown tne defendant for about 25 years, and had been associated with ffim iu local body work since 1931, when he came on the -board. He was a man of understanding and seemed out to watch the interests of the rarepayers. G. G. Ormond, retired farmer, stated he was a fornier member of the Power Board. He did not think that the defendant had ever done anything unfair to the plaintiff. , Defendant, in the witness-bos, said that the Borough Council's engineer mentioned the possibility of trouble whieh might.- o.ccur at th'e pumping station intake in consequence of what the Power Board proposed doing tnere. Iiivestigations were made and at tho meeting of the Power Board lie disagreed with the board's engineer and said his report was not a reply to what the council wanted to know. There was extraneous matter in the report which he considered just bluff. Tho w'ords he used, ■ and no'w^ tbe cause of action, were substantially correct subject to the fact that he moved that. tho board should nominate three iudependent engineers, that he would piclc' one as capable to make an investigation, and if ' he was right the board should pay, and df the engineer was wrong the boardishould pay. - ;The positiou was serious at the time and in making tho offer, in case. he was not able. to prove his contebtion, he sto.od to lose £50. Witness went bn to detail his councction with Smith Bros. and Aqnett, and said he dad not take part in the discussion as he , was an interested party, and on Mr Carroll (a member) saying, ' ' surely a solution of fhis difficulty can be found," witness said tbat there ~was an opportunity to get it settled if tbe board would handte it, but he never usfed the words quoted against him. He never got a demand for an apology. AVitness ihen dealt with varioa» matters of which he complained, iucluding time sheets, and various discrcpancios, all in the board's interests, offering all tbe assistance he could give. The eilgineer did not try to co-operate with witness Witness stated in reference to his al* legations respecting the action of the engineer in allegedly using the board's car and taking up tlie board 's time, to forward a certain petitioh for .a loan poll, that the engineer had no fixed hours, but' was the same as a clerk, unless called out on some particular job, and then the staff carried out the worlc. He would - not deny references he made on Anzac Day about people who worked in the dark, but that did not include tho plaintiff. He was not in liis mind at the time, as he served. his country. "Current For Nothing." Regarding the allegation that some people at one time got electricity i'ur uotliing, witness said that all such catse-. found were brought before the Power Board as recorded by the meter reader He referred these to the chairman oi the board, Mr. E. H. Ulcndiniug, aml Ue said he could not understand how it had occurred, aiul even after all thc -; informatiou came to hand the chairman. : could not understand it. . . Witness said he had never refused to s coucede to plaintiff a fair and Teason- : able remuneration for his work;, on the contrary, he supported the chairman in increasing the salaries of the cierk and engineer, and was the proposer of the motion. It was truo the relatious betweeu tlie Power Board aud tbe Borough Couucir wero at times straiued, ' but tbevo, was on personal ununus. P. J. G'Kane, president of Ihe local. branch of the Farmers' Union, and WY J. Sinclair, clcctrical engineer, oi' Gisborne, also gave evidenep, after which Mr. Burnard quotcd a number of law cases "and decisions bearing on the action. . His Worship said that as tliere was a good deal of matter to lie gone tbrough he would reserve his decision.