David and Goliath And

Gilbert and Sullivan

Paterson Vs The College Council

A Student does not sue the College Council every day: J. F. D. Paterson did for the sum of 8/- and on a matter of principle. Moreover he appeared for himself.

But if the plaintiff Paterson had dreams of glory as a budding lawyer of carrying off the case in his portmanteau; cold facts, unproved submissions and the Magistrate shattered it all with a non-suit.

In brief he claimed 8/- the amount deducted from his Weir House deposit. This sum the College retained because although Paterson claimed that he had paid his board at Weir in advance and was not liable to pay the increase, the College thought not.

Nevertheless the non-suit entitles him to try again with probably as much sympathy from the students as he had this time. Law offices in Wellington were temporarily short of staff during the hearing, and the Magistrate's Court was short of space.

In all the whole 8/- took a little over four hours which is uneconomic activity even if the work of those who merely came to listen is not counted. The result was a pyrrhic victory for the Council . . . which did have counsel appearing for them.

Salient's reporter expresses no opinion on the judgment, on the justice of the claim or on the advocates but he notes for your information that it is said that Magistrate Thomson once had a similar dispute with a College Council while he was a student. This dispute concerned exam fees.

Providing that rumour in not a tickle and lying jade, in which case we owe an apology, it appears that there is evidence of justice being its usual undeniably impartial self. Still we cannot help sympathising just a little with plaintiff Paterson ... a student does not sue the College Council every day.