JUST DOING HIS STUFF ?

NZ Truth, Issue 1188, 6 September 1928, Page 4

JUST DOING HIS STUFF ?

You Can't Always Judge Mileage From Speedometers

(Frpm "N.Z. Truth's" Special Dunedin Representative.)

By the same toi\en as a book cannot be told by its cover, neither can a motor-car, it seems, be told by its speedometer. This observation emanates from the evidence of motor-garage employees ''involved m ah interesting slander case heard at the Dunedin Supreme Court recently ■. \ ... ' :"" THE claim, which was for v £ 500 damages, instituted by Thomas

Henry Brown, company manager", against George Augustus Herbert,* manager for Todd Bros., failed. ' :'f The suit was given a sensationalclimax by the many scathing remarks of Judge Ostler, m a lengthy reserved judgment. i

His honor said: "The defendant's conduct is . inexcusable and I should feel that I should be failing m my duty did I; not send the matter on to the police, fpr investigation with a view to criminal prpceedings."

The action centred on the following statement, said to have been made by defendant: "The car has done a bigger mileage. Henry Brown got me to wind the speedometer back 5000 miles before selling it.' He told me he was to demonstrate. it .that afternoon." ' * It was alleged by plaintiff that the words were falsely and 7 maliciously spoken and • published to Frederick Carter, a motor salesman, employed by Adams, Ltd., bj r ;the defendant, George Augustus Herbert, on December 30, 1927.

The defence was based on the fact that the words were true and justified by law. ' '

Lawyer Neill appeared "for plaintiff and Lawyer Sinclair for defendant. .

In _an exceptionally lengthy judgment, embodying bitter censure of the. defendant for giving and producing

false evidence, Judge Ostler arrived at his decision on the grounds that the words did not! Impute- a crime and there was no. evidence showiiig the plaintiff having- "'suffered any 'special damages. ' ' v T* The ease was sensational from ; two points of issue; . First, the evidence of the defendant and William T'Kavanagh Mercer, motor mechanic,* employed by ■Todd-'; Bros., showed how siDeedometers might be^and are — tampered •■ with and "unwound" m a number of ingenious manners, with probably an ulterior motive; and, second, the judge's remarks^ mr stigating that the matter of' Herbert's evidence be put m ./the hands of the police. ' • :,- --| In opening his judgment, his honor ' said defendant admitted m his plead--i ing that m substance he spoke these 1 words to one Stedman and to another man,. but he- pleaded, justification. | The first Question for decision, therefore, was whether defendant had" discharged' the .onus resting on. him of proving that the words werq true m substance and dn- fact. ;- ; .' After, closely studying the.•.demeanor of witnesses, his honor was forced to the conclusion— not only that defendant had failed to jus-, . tify-T^but 'also : that h& had been' guilty of committing perjury and ; suborning at least' one other wit- •;. ness to commit perjury m order to

/induce the court to believe that . the Words he uttered were true. The. circumstances leading up to the claim originated' in January, 1926, -when plaintiff purchased a Chrysler car from the- ■ firm ■ .'with' which defendant was employed. For 15 months; plaintiff hadothe car m his possession. In Mai-ch, 1927, he agreed to sell the car to a Mr. * Newall, of Distributors, Ltd. The sale was arranged through

the agency of Frederick-. Carter, salesman, of Adams, Ltd. - Owing to the need for certain repairs, the sale was delayed. On April 6, the car was taken to defendant's garage for repairs and taken out again the next day by plaintiff. » When Newall took over the car on April 21, the day plaintiff left Dunedin for abroad, the speedometer registered 1800 miles. The new owner ran the car until December, 1927, and then (agreed to trade' it m to- Adams, Ltd. The speedometer, then registered 27,000.. A few days later Carter had occasion to visit the garage, where Herbert was manager, and it was then that the alleged conversation took place. Returning from abroad, Brown, heard what' had been said by defendant and the action ultimately followed. In the witness-box, Herbert stated that Brown came to his,.rgarage to get his speedometer "run down" ; the job was done. His Honor: When a man asks you to run his speedometer down, do you carry it out as any other • ;. job and help a man to swindle some unfortunate buyer?— lt is treated as a customer's instructions and we do it as any other 'job. Counsel (for the defence) : Did he niiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuuiiiiiiiiiiii IIIIMIIIIIIIIIIIUIIItIIItItItIIIIItIIIIIIIUIIIIIIIItIinItItIIUIHIIIIIIHIIItIIHIIHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIUIIHHIIItinuHU =

say why he wanted it set back? — He said he was going to give someone a run that afternoon. Continuing, Witness declared that he instructed his mechanic to set the meter back to a certain mileage. ....'; He could not remember what it was, but it would be whatever Brown had instructed. .7 Describing further what happened, witness said the speedometer was then registering about 24,000 or 25,000 miles. , The mechanic dismantled it and took it to the work -bench. • A speedometer was produced ln court, but witness could not identify It* as the one belonging to the Chrysler. His Honor: "You set back the meter on a car for which you are agents . : . . The public would say the car had gone to pieces m 5000 miles under the actual travelling ..." Detailing how he operated on the speedometer, William Kavanagh Mercer, the mechanic, said he took off the face and took out the odometer, then worked the' figures The meter produced m court, he thought, was not the one he had worked on, as there were no marks. After observing that., the ;;. matter should have been thrashed out la ef ore a jury, his honor reserved judgment. Further extracts from his honor's judgment read': "What motive had the defendant for making this false statement about the plaintiff . . . : "I think it was apparent. It was not malice against the plaintiff at all. The Todd Motor Company had been trying to sell Newall a new car. They were unsuccessful. Their trade competitor succeeded, m selling Newall a rival car. "The defendant was annoyed and he made the statement to Carter to induce him to think he had made a bajl bargain." . . :." . '."■.,■■■"