FULL COURT

Hokitika Guardian, 13 September 1930, Page 6

FULL COURT

JUDGMENT DELIVERED

(By Telegraph—Per Press Association WELLINGTON, Sept. 12. The Full Court to-day delivered judgment in the appeal brought before it in July last by Thomas Benjamin Slipper, solicitor, formerly practising in Samoa, from two convictions of the High Court of Western Samoa on information laid under Sections 153 ana 154 of the Samoan Act.

The judgment Of of Sir M. Myers, Justices J. C. Reid and J. H. Adams were delivered by Sir M. Myers. In his judgment, His Honour held that conviction under Section 154 could not .stand as the section contemplated the spoken words only, and that, therefore, the letter written by Slipper to the Administrator of Samoa would not constitute an offence under that section.

Dealing with the conviction under Section 153, that Slipper did publish a defamatory libel against the Administrator of Samoa, His Honour said that the. letter was full .. of . most objectionbbiej; and insulting (if■,not .perhaps" '"'seditious) expressions. The Chief Judge of Samoa, liftd held, that . several statements in .a letter,. andparticularly thosein the latter,portion, were defamatory of the Adrftini stratum letter itVs. published to the Commodore, ly in agreemnet - with this " view. - The. letter was published to a Commodore, a copy.being sent-to him by Slipper. On his instrumtions there was also a publication to some Samoan women, also to an interpreter: It was contended, on hehalf of the appellant at the hearing that the publication to the Commodore was one to which a qualified privilege was attached. His Honour held he could not accept this contention, for the privilege could onfy attach if the Commodore had common ■interests with those for whom the appellant was acting, hut this was not so, and further that if a qualified privilege did attach to the letter by reason of the fact/that it was written by appellant first solicitor for, the Samoan womenjvtlie privilege was lost as Slipper/jiad' I ’".introduced a defamatory statement of his own., ; .Th? Court, refused.to vary the sentence imposed on 'Slipper for"'the,, .expressed .reason. that in imposiilg sentence,,-, the High Court of Samoa"had; to take.; all the circumstances into consideration, i and was in a better position than .the Full Court to determine what penalty should have been imposed. The libel was a very gross one. It was shown to a number of Samoan women, and His Honour said it was difficult to imagine, the.circumstances under-' which-a - libel', was more likely to be widely-^disseminate!.

Mr/Justice Headman wrote concurng in the judgment.-. ': . - -

that board is happily^heyend•political' influence. To change the policy oi the institution would ball for a change in the constitution of the bank, or a complete severance of the Note Issue Department from the bank; and neither could b(’ done without 'the sanction of the Senate, even if the' House of Representatives should be so misguided as to agree to it. Vet the clamor; for an increased note issue, even though it comets to nothing, docs our credit harm; and we cannot narm our credit without it costing us something. We have heavy bills to meet' and we, must Jprrow, to meet them; there is-no • VnlE : Every wild utterance by a. supposedly responsible ' person .puts Up. tlie price of the accommodation against us.