ALLEGED SLANDER.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 1544, 29 April 1916, Page 3

ALLEGED SLANDER.

MANDL V. IIISLUI,’

THE BULL JUDGMENT,

Reserved judgment in the action for alleged slander, Dr Mandi v. Dr Hislop, which was heard at the last sittings of the Supreme Court at Palmerston North, was delivered by Mr Justice Edwards this week, and is as follows :

In this action the plaintiff claims to recover from the defendant the sum of £SOO by way of damages for certain defamatory words alleged to have been spoken by him of the plaintiff in his professional capacity, on the 29th November, 1915, The words complained of are alleged to have been spoken by the defendant to one Joseph Edward ’Warrington, a flaxmill hand at Shannon, whose wife the defendant was at the time tittending professionally. They are thus set out in the plaintiff’* statement of claim

1 think he* (moaning the plainlid' is (lie last doctor you should tliik of engaging. We are at Aar with Dr'Mandl. We are fighting Dr Mandl, hceause he, is a tierman, iind another thing. Dr Mandl doesn't understand a, ease like this. The defendant by his statement of defence denies that lie spoke these words. After referring to the material evidence at the. trial, the Judge continues : The question is whether or not the plaintiff has discharged the onus which lies upon him of proving the utterance by the defendant of the words charged in the statement of claim. In my opinion he has not. The plaintiff’s ease depends, of course, entirely upon Warrington's evidence. In the early part of the evidence Warrington fixed the defendant’s first visit to Mrs Warrington as having taken place on Saturday, the 27th of November, but he presently changed that dale, apparently unconsciously, to -Friday, the 2Gth -November, gi*.mg details of. what happened on every succeeding day up to and inclusive of Monday, the 29th of November. There appears to he no doubt that the date first given was correct, this may not he of any great importance, but it shows that the witness’ evidence can not hi* relied upon as strictly accurate. The letter of the 15th January, 1919, from the plaintiff's solicitor (<> the defendant shows (hat tlit* slander charged in the statement of claim is based upon a written statepient by Warrington which gave the actual words alleged to have been used by tin* defendant. If however, Warrington’s evidence upon this point, is compared with the words set. out on the* statement of claim, it will he louml that, alalthough slanderous words to the .same effect appear both in Warrington’s evidence, and in the statement made by him to the plaintill s solicitor, there are such discrepancies between them that complete accuracy cannot he relied upon. lor example, in the written statement made by Warrington to (he plaintiff’s solicitor, and reproduced, in the statement of claim, the defendant is represented as having said, in one consecutive sentence, “W e are all lighting Dr Mandl because he is a German, and another thing, Dr Mandl does not understand a ease like this.” In Warrington’s evidence he deposed that the statement, “We are all at ‘war with Dr Mandl because he is a German, was separated from the assertion attributed to the defendant, “Well get Dr Mandl it yon like, but Dr Mandl does not understand a case of this kind,” by Warrington’s explanation of wonderful cures which had been performed by Dr Mandl. It. is, therefore, in my opinion, plain that ' Warrington's evidence cannot be relied upon as strictly accurate, and in view ol the defendant’s explanation of what lie alleges really did occur, it appeals to me that to justify me in holding the plaintiff’s case to be proved, 1 must be satisfied that Warrington s evidence is strictly accurate. While not wishing to suggest that Warrington in his evidence consciously departed from the truth, it is, in my opinion, plain that he is a mt partisan of the plaintiff. As between his evidence and the defendant s, i think that the defendant’s m the more credible, and I believe it. The defendant must therefore have judgment 'with costs according to scale,