SUPREME COURT.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XV, Issue 4640, 6 February 1894, Page 2

SUPREME COURT.

Gioil Sittings. H. D. BELL V, imVLU NEWSPAPER, The Civil sittings of tho Supreme Court oommencod ynalerday morning, His Honour Mr Justice Richmond presiding. In the libel case, H. D. Bell v. Fair Play newspaper, Sir Robert Stout (with him Mr U. B. Morrison) forW plaintiff, applied to have the case tried before a special jury. His Honour said he could not see why suoh an application was hot made as soon as the defence had been filed. ... Sir Robert Stoat a summons had already beenWcn out n" show causewhy the case should not be tried before a special jury, but tho hearing of that summons could not come on until'to morrow, Ho asked for ono or two things—that the Court . should now order the trial to be by special jury or postpone the case until to-morrow, when the summons would . be disposed of, The amount sued for was £SOO, and a question of personal 1 character was involved, and there was a question also as to the interpretation of a document. He submitted that there was nothing in the rules of the Court,'nor inordinary praotice, norm' any statute, requiring air application ,to be made earlier. < The statement of claim seta forth! that on the 28th November, 1898, ibtM plaintiff was elected a member oftflP House of Representatives for the oSy of Wellington, and after the result of , the poll was made known, head» dressed the electors and. thanked them for the thrashing and broßbiog :" aside the froth and scum of political addresses and choosing their repre} ' sentatives on' solid considerations, Id the issue of- Fair Play newspaper oft ' the 2nd December, 1893, the defendants printed and published of ana concerning the plaintiff the wordl. following;—" Mr Bell seems to haveVi commenced bis career as a ilem-jl ber of Parliament with a mostjsl unfortunate—. We refer to s iia; I having epokon of % his rivals as froth end soum,. city had properly rejected.: observations; in a" .private .citizen'Mi would be'most objectforiable,y wh en; given- yeiit "to; | by' Ta; Mfltqi^ifiß