RESIDENT MAGISTRATE'S COURT.

Inangahua Times, Volume VIII, Issue 1332, 5 December 1883, Page 2

RESIDENT MAGIST RATE'S COURT.

Tuesday, December 4th, 1883. (Before W. H. Revetx, Esq., R.M.) PICCOLO CHARLIE IN TROUBLE. .Piccolo Charlie was charged on three informations with being drunk and disorderly, using obscene language, and using indecent language, at Uapleston, ou the 28th ultimo. Defendant admitted tha f he had had a drop too much on the clay in question, and was oblivious as to what had occurred. He was fined 5/- and 7/- costs in each of the first charges, and L 2 and costs for the last offence, in.default of payment 7 days'imp'risonrfient, the Pench remarking that it was absolutely necessary to suppress and punish such disgraceful conduct. James Banger was charged with using disgusting language in a public-house, at Beef ton, on the 27th ult. Defendant admitted that he had imbibed rathe)- freely, on the day in question ana had "no of what took place. Heshoulcl be very sorry to think that he had made use of such language as that imputed, to him Fined 10/- and costs, ■ ' , PERSONATION. — Roth well appeared upon the information of Thomas Hall, charged with personating the name of Kelly at the last County election for the Biding of Antonio's. The information was laid eighteen months or two years ago, but defendant had unil now evaded arrest On the application of Mr Lynch for the defence defendant was remanded for seven days. INANGAHUA TIMES V EDWIBD SHAW M.H.R. This was an ac'ion to recover the sum of L 4955, for advertising and printing executed for the defendant in connection with the late House of Representatives Election for Inangahua, and o her items preceeding. . . Mr Jones appeared^ for tho plantiff, and Mr Lynch foFtfyejaeifence - Mr Jonesfcjn6ved to amend the plaint. The summons had been issued in the name of "The proprietor of the Inangahua Times," and he desired to have the name of Mr W. J. Potts inserted as the plaintiff. : Ho pointed out that as defendant hid pleaded to the action aud alleged the payment into Court of a portion of the claim he could not be pre judiced by the amendment. Mr Lynch offered no objection to the amendment which was accordingly allowed. Mr Jones then called the following evidence : — W. J . Potts : I am proprietor and manager of jthe InainOHua. Times newspaper and plaintiff in the present action. Defendant is indebted to me in the amount sued jfof E^jf.ss. The ; amounts are made ujp as~folH>ws : L 6 15s for advertising notices of cancellations of mining leases in 1878. The advertisements were handed to me by Mr Shaw personally. The advertisements were duly inserted and charged to the Government account in my ledger. A voucher was in the ordinary course made out for the advertising and rendered to Mr Shaw for signature aa the person authorising the insertion. Nothing further was heard of the voucher for four or five mouths when it was returned, through M r Lucas, bearing innumerable departmental metnos, with a general direction at the foot that the charge was not one which could be dis ursed by the Government. Mr Shaw was then spoken to on the subject and he affected not 0 understand why payment had been refused and so the matter rea'ed uptil Mr Shaw . lefj; the;district. Wrote to Mr Shaw charging liim with the debt but it had not yet been paid. I presume the advertisements were given by Mr Shaw in his official capacity as Warden of the district ; they were signed by Mr Macandrew, the then Minister of Pu lie Works, The closing memo on the voucher was that the debt was not one which could be legally paid by the Government and the amount was accordingly charged to Mr Shaw privately. The next item L 3 10s is for printing and advertising in connection with a concert got up by Mr Shaw for the widow of a miner. I produce the authori y for the advertising in Mr Shaw's handwriting and the original of the advertisement, also in his handwriting. Mr^ Shaw was the secretary and treasurer of the concert funds. I have never been paid for the work. Forwarded the account to defendant on several occasions when he referred me to Mr Oxley, win-, he said, was treasurer of Mrs Leonards fund. Mr Oxley, however, was unable to tnid any reference to the account amongst the papers handed to him by Mr Shaw. Both the advertising and printing was ordered personally by Mr Shaw. \Vith referrence to the charge of ; 32 15s for advertising defendant's election address. At the beginning of the late contest for the Inangahua seat an address of Mr Shaw's appeared in another paper I sent a telegram to Mr Shaw asking him whether I should advertise his address in the lN'.i\GAiiu.v Times. He replied — "Yes please. Hope I shall have fanfield for tight." Upon the receipt of this telegram I instructed my foreman to insert the advertisement, and he did so and the announcement appeared in every subsequent issue of the paper up to the closing of the poll. As soon as the election was closed I made out the account and forwarded it to defendant in Wellington and some few days after "Mr McGafii'n called upon me aud said that he had boon re-

quested by Mr Shaw to withdraw the advertisement after it had appeared a few times, but there had been some mistake or error He said he had told one of my printers to take it out, and suggested that I should reduce the demand and make some l-easonable offer and he would advise Mr Shaw to pay it. He asked me to thiuk the matter over which I said I would do. A few days latir he again spoke to me on the s ibjuct, saying he would like to see the mat er settled quietly without any trouble, and if I would accept Lit) in. full payment, he would advise defendant to pa}' it. I told iim that I had inserted th advertisement upon Mr Shaw's direct authority and that as both he and Mr McGaifm had had the fullest opportunity of withdrawing the advertisement during its currency if they wished, and had failed to do so, I considered myself bound to seek payment in full. I told Mr McGaffin that I* did not know him at all in the transaction and was not aware that he was au horised to act in any way for defendant I did not recognise any communications he had had with my printers, as they had nothing to do with the management of the paper. I met both Mr Shaw and Mr McGaffin almost daily during the time the advertisement w;is running, and neither one nor the other ever mentioned the matter to me, . nor did my printar ever tell me that McGaffin had ordered its withdrawal. I have been a newspaper proprietor and manager between sixteen and seventeen ••years,- and - tire '"invariable rule is that all advertisements sent for publication without directions as to the number pf insemons are continued till countermanded, or till the expiration of some date limiting tl* usefulness of the announcement. This is a generally observed rule in the management of all newspapers By Mr Lynch : My printers do not manage my office work in my absence. They have nothing whatever to do with the business department of the paper. If advertisements reach the office in my absence they are taken and placed on the tile to be dealt with by me. Walter Beyer : I am a printer and compositor iv plantiffs employ, I recollect Mr Shaw's election address, Mr McGaffin requested me to insert the advertisement in tht. Times and I did so, Mr Potts subsequently instructed me to insert the same announcement, I believe I told him at the time I had got the advertisement, or something to that effect. By Mr Lynch : Mr McGaffin did not tell me to withdraw < he advertisement, after it had appeared three or four times he came to me in the street and, said something about the number of times it had been ill, but he 'did not tell me to take it out. I did riot repeat any of this conversatinto Mr Pottos, nor speak to ,him on the "subject. It 'was on! Mr MeGaffin's instructions that I inserted the advertisement. The rule, ill newspaper offices is that whon there is no dir. ciion as to the number of inner ions of a casual adveruaent it is. continued till countermanded This closed the case for the planti. John McGaffin - lam an hotel-keeper at Reef ton, and know the parties to the present action. I had instructions from defendant to advertise the election address ; I cannot find the letter. Defendant thought i' advisable to advertise his address once in the Ixangahuv Times, after the first appearance of the address I went to plantiffs office aud told his man to copy the advertisement ; after the third appearance of the announcement I went across jhe street and met Beyer, a printer in plantiffs establishment, and said" I noticed he was keeping the advertisement in. He said he did not understand that I had ordered it out, I said distinctly " see that it is taken out." I am positive I said this to Beyers. Shortly afier this Mirtin came to me and said he noticed the address was being continued and that I had better mind what I was about, but I did not bother with the matter any more. With regard to the charge for printing and advertising for Mrs : eonurd's concert, Mr Shaw was not the treasurer, Mr Oxley was and he said he knew w nothing about the account, I believe a atatement of the recipts and expenses of the concert was published. By Mr Jones : believe Mr Shaw was treasurer of the Concert fund, Mr Shaw •said he squared up ali the accounts and handed the credit balance to Mr Oxley, Had I been aware that Mr Potts intended to charge for publishing the address I should certainly haye t spoken to him. I did not speak to him"; the I^angahtu Times was hostile to Mr Shaw's candidature. Charles Mirfin : I have been twentythree years in the profession. The practice is when casual advertisements are given to a newspaper without instructions sis to the number of insertions, to insert them once only. The custom is to get instructions and failing that, to only insert them once The rule is when advertisements are not marked to insert them once only. By the Bench: An election address is a casual notice, and according to the rule would only be inserted once If such an advertisement as Shaw's address were handed to me for publication without instructions I should only insert it once. If it was put in further, payment would rest with the good-will or liberality of the. advertiser. In a case such as the present I should consider I only could claim payment for one insertion This closed the defence. M r Lynch addressed the Court at some length, after which Mr Jones reviewed the evidence for the plaintiff. He said, in the first place Mr haw had sworn in his evidence that he admitted certain of the items char-red for, and had paid the amount into Court. at Wellington. He (Mr Jones) could produce a telegram from the R. M. Court, Wellington, stating that no moneys whatever had been paid into Court there by Mr Shaw. He asked the Bench todisb - lieve the whole of the evidence given by the witness Mirtin, as being utterly unworthy of crence. The Bench had dealt with many cases where the custom and usage of newspaper offices had been proved, therefore His Worship knew perfectly well that the custom was very different from that stated by the witness in question. For the plaintiff there were two witnesses of long experience who had sworn distinctly aa to the custom, and everybody who had the slightest dealings with newspapers knew perfectly well that the custom was as they had both stated The case for the plaintiff was that he had made a distinct contract with Mr Shaw relative to the advertising, and that contract had never lieen varied or countermanded. Mr McGaffin was not known in the transaction. [ His Worship said the first thi-ee items, L 6 15s, in the bill would have to be recovered from the General Government. The whole of the other items, with the exception of the larger one for advertiing the address, would be allowed. As to tie larger item three inseitior.s would be allowed for, as it was shown that Mr McGaffin had ordered th<j with.h'awal of

tl c address af • its^i'i rap ...r.mce. Mr Jones sLa he would ptofer to take a non-suit. Mr Lynch objected that it was too late, judgment having een given. Mr Jones said he would proceed by the w vy of ap[ eal. Judgment for plaintiff for LlB.