The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1871-04-08 00:00:00

tjcstour4ribgt 04serber.

SAIUItDAY. APRIL B. 1871

THE PURITY OF THE PRESS.

We beasts that the press of Britain otande
i,re-euAiutut in the world, not ouly fur Ate uaar•
ttlu.ukt coutprtuth•ivtute• win gii Lu LU•ke,
OUL lIA reepeeL Lu Lue yuri.y ni ALe LULU and 11,
ireetWW lrulu SOrwirl awl ecurr.lay. Auo w;
titArtily approve ot iv guitorte the..
it wry be utte•eb:y tAke u 0/11014;U, LeVU
ue, the walulouruk.e the. tome mut chat-att./.
It wry Lie ...p.0n..,00t0 another liOUletilLita
iri,er are mut kugett to go to eitravagaut length.,
of watutsuoug, •• they think, the purity of the .
prtba eau Lou uvuour of private character. At
611 e /1/.l.lBbtlai 4,,,e,re8 there have been three triai.
untly, Inc plaintiff being the Caine in tidal Case,
rad tile UCZCOUCLILC the publlebera of curtail,
newspapers. Air. Ihto u olobehuatit, hushauu
Aae lady rno ia better rullwil Ile Jtnlay
en uglit usuiabea tor abet. 'I
he procetoutge ate,
lengtuy, but the carcutuettu.cts soop.e.
tlytf.tui, puuiitutr ut A thue t/ontou, fu•trtto •
pai —AWL pereouatty, out iu tut tyt of tut
. taw— quoteu trout Cu kotritau paper, tue utuut
; awl mut ox Lot ALLer being *tuft given. Info
1 pthagtaph relittuto uu the ehulacter of Lht
luL,eL utal ILL the ',soros of LLat
cweil Clutt JUzLICe, •• libe/ won a hotel, teal,
ur....UUli anew:Lank ‘.llilt for wuieu there ‘i
uuL Lee bhrauw of fuiluilaLlun: Inc utleinialii
Uelued inalieloUa
Loe ii. ithsci-Liug LUL. paragrepu—ruu, Luuteu,
Lee couusei eh the °tilts eIUe Ulll lint Urge
Lie hau ; he pttatied that it wa• lu•ovtrttutly io-
evl tett CLC icr) curl anti tliat
..oe matter was htuught uativr hie notice he In-
serted r cue,plele denim aliti a luli almaulupit
.ipulogy ; uoue, at the trio, he nuteitLe.l the.
I.e' atta,k r tie s Iti•cv unit a loci clie:
nip JcUrtiiii LUAU ttiii a)
ili C Weal, Inept etalne inatiiici, sta.
.liat Win Web tlie hr.t reL.ou for llnel that nau
cite been beuht agaunn it. "the Lord CAn
ualice, bur-tver, aUwweti weet strongly
agaliket the deteuututt, Letting tue jury the) Intuit
int.thaule tise luiliuiec bj Inc !weenie' Quite, ahu
..uat the otleueu wra aggravated by the litttl buy-
mg appeateu in re•ptetable paper ; Wheicupot.
.ce littiA•LL ml LUL ih..11L1:111 -
g•ai, &loth

,
/Uo soi.lualt Cab, as ‘101.1110% tIIC Queen's prih-
.. Ls, Medals. NAJttae,nouut, aiuu 610 Out tuateil
ally u,tter hruh, the luilu“,ehtl tilt s.aue anioum
,71 damages was till.tlrUutl. 'mu third Call 4 sa,
against ..Ur. t,ill ; it arose outof the same ;
shd 1. .4e 06t-I,co • /hit n ulualA
be taken by Ct:/18'... Jls.e: Let slitws kreta.
..euri) that a, it.c t.vo other mmes tan, jucy
bohe beyond Whet Lae pieWLll.llleelte,, ok
,ed, 111/11 aiita Au I,.aritt LEAS& lo each OW,
the 411.iioutslb 11,/Ve 11J pal very heavy cost.,
meluidug toe uccessarnyoaltoajioe faos of the
a auntur tirenerai, Asr. C. Potluck, aud the lion.
Alhieu Inesiget, we think we are justified in
saying unit the jury—iu the two first cases 'ripe-
eaoiy swaroeu viudietive damages. We have
oot one word to say iu favour of the unknowt,
aiater of this seaumilous and abominable pars-
sod it is much to be regretted that au%
spectably conducted journals ni our own couu•
: ty should he made the meaus oi dissethinatius
such slander. hut, admitting all this, there is
si,mething to be sant on the other aide. Refer-
ring to alie ease of !pinion, as that alum
io Judy reported, we on not hod a tittle of evi-
dence that the delendaot (who was nominally tLe
offender) had any malicious laiuLiVe, or iu lac, ,
toy motive at all, in inserting the paragraph ; ii
was inserted, for all that appears to the contrary.
13.) a sub editor, Who gave "chapter and verse, '
d adied, " We hope this stattment is incur
rcrt." But, as the law stands, the printer and
publisher-- whether one or two persons—is, or
re, as the case way be, liable to be cast
damages in cases of libel. Now, printers ano
imblishers do not protest agaiiist this State ol
the law ; they ascept the perilous position ut
being reveneible for every line that appears if,
heir journals; but we nevertheless believe tha•
dl who have the editorial control of English
journals, or are connecteu suite their soechanicat
'lewd's, have a right to fair aid just consider..
Lion at the hands Of juries as wen as from tlo
To insert a ape!, know tug it to he so.
5051-ay merits severe punishment; but when the
,molisher of a newspaper is found guilty -wt
prefer to put it this way—of somebody else in-
serting el paragraph in the paper, without any
malicious motive whatever, and this paragraph
afterwards turns out to be a libel, it is quite pos-
sible, we submit, for an iudhzuant jury to indict
sludictive and "malicious" damages. Take
this case of Public ()piuinn. The legal defend
wlau there iii every reason to believe kuow
mabiog whatever of the paragraph t:II be was
• Ili rat to contradict it, v.•L'eli I ir-ntedi•
,• :o Ale 111.0,1 ~.!4111 .1
A. pay
••• rhup £1,1,, • • ‘,I.

e;yi.1•11t10-1, lieCt loi G:ie
:ion of 2i. liuldrelauitiVr ci,idacta, bic, witi.
thM of bib wife, cosmos out mod Web*

throughout the trial ; nor can it he necessary as,
a punishment for the Ilefendaut. The lowest
dsuisges that would carry costs would have been
adequate to these ends; and thus the purity of
the tree a and the honour of private character
would hive be n in .intained, without the suspi.
aion of uierceuary views.