IN THE TOILS.

Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume III, Issue 447, 29 April 1890, Page 2

IN THE TOILS.

As will be observed by the report in anothern column it will be seen that the Standard is in the toils of the law. The editor has been convicted of a breach of the Electric Lines Act, 1884, and has been fined £t and costs, while two other cases are pending against us. We must admit that we were surprised, considerably surprised, by the decision given in the case, and this although we had received a private warning which should have prevented us from being too confident of success. But the whole case was a series of surprises, and all the objections raised by our young and spirited counsel, who did his best under very heavy disadvantages, were overruled as fast as they were raised. With regard to the technical objections we are not competent to speak, but it certainly does seem to the lay mind on the reading of the Act that we had a good defence on the merits. Of course Mr Booth has disabused us of that opinion, and we must also regard the counsel’s opinion in Our favor which has lain in our office drawer for some time back as worse than useless, as so much money wasted. No doubt the giver of it will be surprised also. Another person )waB also extremely surprised, and that was Mr W. L Rees; who ( had he not

been ill, would have represented, us in Court. An account of the case was read to him as he lay on his sick bed, and when the reading was finished he expressed himself very strongly on the way in which he considers the Act was ridden over roughshod. Indeed, so strongly did he feel on the matter that he expressed his intention, in spite of the fact that he has not properly recovered, of appearing for us this morning, when the other cases come on. He advises that on lour distinct grounds at least the conviction cannot stand, and we shall not of course be content with it.