The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1863-07-28 00:00:00

oil

don't r saentlier." But the feet was proved. Here there WWII
a men who wished to male theirs believe be had irer,
oonscientiona relkions ecrul ler,who could bare the di.-
houe.ty to act so dlseratefte. • part 5.3 to alter hi. hook.
1.. r a certain purpose, and now professing he could not
moonset. Could they believe ouch • man? Could the
jary for one moment doubt bat that so remarkable a
eircum•tanee most he firmly engrafted upou hi,
memory ? His learned friend wished them to believe
that Mr. Minton bore malice evilest the plaintiff be-
cause he would not attend I.is church; but was it not
far more likely that the doctor bore malice against the
vialr who was the instrument in calking the inquiry
which all bet wowed his dismissal. as medical practh
tioner for hiss Union ? But he alioull,ahow from Hr.
Harston's own lips that he had no malice, no enmity,
Po ill•will towards the plaint Mend theta than Mr. Hare-
ton had done WU legally and morally right in behalf of
his poor parishioners. His leareed friend Lad said,
In reference yo. the. commencement of the letter con.

t;in.ing the libel,—" I sin sorry to have to COuiplain,"
i !
ke., that when a man from prejudice and ill-will to- !
wards enoth, r wish. d to make himself very disagree. !
able, be always began with "a regret ;" and be might
have added that such a mode of expression would be • i
very apt one when • person from • sense of duty filt. it 1
imperative to melee • complaint. Then it win i
alleged that Mr. Hutton threatened Mr. 1
White that he should keep a look -out for '
him in order to get a case against him This was done ;
to show nmlicie eri the part of Mr. Marston ; but Sir. l
Huston would tell them that he never did make any '
such threat at all. Mr. Harston, having heard frequent '
tomplainte Afoot Sir. White's harshness towards the 1
Poor, and his neglect in attending to their want, an the !
medical man emp•oyed for the union, might have re-
monstrated with him : it was most likely he dud; but '
as for threatening that he would keep • watch over his
bonduct in order to injure him in any way, it was per.
fectly fallacious. Its could not help thinking that his
learned friend had been wrongly instructed, or in open-
ing his case he never would have tried to mis'emi them
in the way he hail done. He could not have known
anything about what took place in 1854. or he never
would have laid the commencement in 188 e But Mr.
White knew ell about the affair of 1834 perfectly well;
and notwithstanding his protested very had memory,
• was perfealy aware that if the real fade were
lurought out, the natural inference must be, that if '
ere wets malice on either side, it must be on that of '
the plaintiff, and not on that of the defendant. Now, '
n, as to the justification of the libel. The parish !
Sherbonu, of which Mr Marston wan rector, con-
tained about 6,000 souls. The clergyman's income de-
rived from all sources was £250 per annum. He paid •
curate 1300 •-year, thus receiving for himself the enor.
moos sum of £l6O a-year as rector. Of course Mr.
Harstou could mot do all the duties efficiently himself of
so populous a parish, nor *maid he even with the &idiot-
sea of • simile curate. He had therefore two crates,
on. of whom, as he had said, Mr. Hermon paid himself,
arid the other was paid by that excellent gentleman,
Mr. Migby. But besides these, there were also certain
ley visitors to what were apportioned certain districts.
?Woe from the most laudable snd benevolent motives
Visaed the sick and infirm poor, and it was bat natural
the* when they al with any cues where they should
diameter tress neglect of them, or harshness and smelly
When!. (Ws by the medical officer, they should feel it
their duty to report to the visor. And lie must say it
Was wet dateable that each should be the case. A
medical man might use the greatest harshnewa and cruelly
towards tam for years, solar some one took up the
eases for them. These poor people could not do so them-
helves. The guardians of aura would discourage, as
much as notable, all complaint. against their atom—
and he did net oomplaiii of this—they had a right to do ,
so : hut then, the poor ado required a friend and medi.
aloe, and this friend would be the clergyman in every
well-regulated paid,. In Shoehorne they found
the vicar performing this lendable duty, and inde- '
pendent of that gentlemen's own testimony, the
jury would find that the teeth taken as a whole, would
prove the amenmption that what Mr. Harstoo had done
eta done solely from & geese of moat duty towards his
poor parishioners. He had already hut proof of Mr.
White's treatment to a poor girl in 1e64, and be bad
besides filament complaints of his neglect of, and
harshness towards,his pauper patients sines that period;
while in the case of Crocker, he hod the evidence both
of Miss West and of Mrs. Crocker, the widow of the
damaged, as to plaintiff's conduct in the ease. Mr.
White econplaina that the minions, on secant of their
elated dignity,wished to force him into signing medical
esetilleatos for hospitals. He supposed the clergymen
knew that they had not the power to coerce him into
the al ; but it was his duty to do so, et the request
of lie swish cacao, omen the wish of the patients, if
It subjects ; and he should show that in no case did
Mr. Marston procure certificates for signing by the
medical officer. bat at the request of the patients them-
alas. But Mr. While, although a churchmen, as he
tilted itinutelf, seemed to have a great antipathy towards
persons sad lay visitors, and anything that they
Naught seemed to be viewed with greet
antipathy. Me ery bad seen this by his conduct and
expreasiou etem lath. witness box—and if than, might
they sot expect it would be more !rudest elsewhere?
They bed beard bow be bad epoken of "that girl West"
'oakum an application to him for a eertilicste for
Cooker. He should call Kiss West before them, and
they would then see if be were justified in the sneering
way in which he spoke of her. She would also tell
that that when she saw him, be pooh-poohed all idea
of anything Icing the matter with him, and said that
he was ealy feigning illness bemuse he shouldn't work.
Bet the sun died, and here was • proof that he was as
Miss West said, really iIL Mr. White had explained
that his objection to signing ctertilleetes was, that while
the patients were in hospital their wives and families
same upcm the parish. But was be more intended is
this than the dear, who paid his quota of rate.? And
who would conapesetly be an equal sufferer with other
ratepayer u? Then he wealthourine under the idea that
thosiargysoes were always watching him ; bathe thought
the jay would agree in saying, when they had heard the
evidence, that it was the doctor who had all the time
tan watching the parsons, and not the among the
doctor. The teemed counsel then alluded to other
(sets coetained in the evidence to show that if
there were India on either side it must be on
that of the plaintiff, and that the defendant had
goad grenade for what be had written, and that
his sole object was the protection of the poor. each,
then, brag the case the libel was • privileged communi-
cation, one that he had a moral and legal right to
transmit to the Poor Law Board,and he asked therefore
from the jury a verdict for the defendant The ground
an which the two were fighting was not equal. The
plaintiff could not lose anything. His affairs were in
the hands of trustees, wher. is the defendant had every-
thing to lose, and nothing to gain. Even if • verdict
was pronounced in his favour he must necessarily pay
his own code, as plaintiff had nothing to pay with.
Rey. E. Hannon and : I son defendant in thin action.
I am visor of Sherboree. My Jerome is ISO a-year,
without glebe. The population of Sherborne is just
under 6,000. When I ante into residues, in Sep.
Masher. 11454, the Rev. Mr. Horton was there as curate.
to °omegas's of some communiestioe snide to as is
seating Mary Mitchell. I enclosed his litters to the
Poor Low Board, and Mr. Godson came down. I saw
the plaletiff after that, and he made remarks about it.
The Rev. Mr. Horton resided there as curate till 1868.
In 1856 some eorriespoodenee pined between us, as
already referred to, and the same kind of conduct eon. '
hosed between us as heretofore down to 1863. We
Arad, acknowledged each other an we passed. Defeo-
ffsat wield sometimes nod, sad sometimes snort at me;
aout knout*, him to have a canoes temper I took no
mottos of it. I do not visit all my 6,000 parishioners—
that would be Uneatable ; but 1 Mire had frequent
ormtplifeh both from my two curates, and also from my
district ratan. One year, while I was guardian, I
andesawred to ides the salary of the medial officer. I
has. Edward Crocker. He had been an ostler, and MU
• weakly men. I aver sew hint drunk, end I never
hum that he was • drunken, idle fellow. On the 19th of
lebreary, 1 saw Mho West, one of my perish visitors,
and shs told as of Croeker's illness, and said he had a
area desire to be admitted at the hospital at Salisbury.
An I wss about to leave fora few days, I gave her •
paper, and requested her to get it properly fiUted for his
admission there, from • medical man attending him.
Om my return home I learned from Ilia Wed, and also
from one of may curates, that Crocker was dead. I subse-
quently went to Mrs. Crocker. end she told me all the
ePioddemese of the aue. MN eons ned bitterly of ,
Mr. White's treasnent to her bnsbaiaa. I then wrote a I
later to the Miens- At that time 1 boa no ill.
Ealing Mr. White, and I wrote ass letter
simply from what I ',Doddered my duty towards my poor
marishionera When the osee was bad by the Poor
Law Gurdthes, neither Miss West, Mrs. Crocker. nor
any one else beside plaintiff weaselled in, and I wrote
to the Peer Law Board. I bad every reason from iny
Inquiries that everything contained la the laser was
-tree, es that. were very general espartose smote( the
Clthresibold the of plaintiff's treatimatt of
I had an idea in staging in this am-
inedention that Mr. White by his treatment had
killed the man. I regret if such a eon-
"trades has been placed on my words. The hut
entesseit in my letter in reference to the expression of
dimatidadien with the doctor is true. I never said I
would watch Mr. White to get a coat against hint.
Creepexamined : If Mr VAite had shown the slightest
wish to speak to him he should have been glad to dose.
Be had heard, through the kindness of the guardians.
that Mr. White had made complaints ea to the wigtii:
which the clergy carried on their duties. Mr. i
wrote to the Bishop. and he (vitae's) had the corres-
pondence in his podia, (laughter).He advised plaintiff
to go to dearth on spiritual grounds—not to come to his
church. Mr. White said he was a churchman, but it
was • curious churchmanship. He did not put it to
him what church he visited; h's church was full, and
he was content Plaintiff Ann oommenoed morting soon
alter Mitchell's case. Had never told Mr. White that
he expected him to give certificates to get the poor
persons into the hospital. Had only asked him to do
ee from motives of charity and humanity. In 1861 he
told Mr. White, in effect, that he should stand by the
poor. Mr. White at that time wee too civil to him,
and he spoke to him severely. Ho did not dead to
get rid of Mr. White, but thought him an unfit pawn
to attend to tbe poor. He wsd to see Mr. White's
conduct improve. Had not 'reread a wish to get rid
of him when he wrote to the Poor-law Board. He mead
what be wrote in the letter. but before writing he did
not sa Mr. White to give an explanation. Mr. White
had aide some impertinent remarks towards him, and
he therefore declined to have anything more to do with
him. This was out the ground for writing the letter to
the Poor low Board.
Clue Crocker, widow of the late W. Crocker, said
tkot shoddy before lest Christmas her husband beam
in lir. white was atteading the child, and he oom-
plead to him of being unwell. Mr. White said it was
any so. Titef had applied for union relief, and on
s representation the perish relief was given
'IP' Th" th's west into the union, and aune out
SiFebruary 7th. er hubaud was ill this
ha ". bstc"' Elh• soticed that be had— too much
water' and sits Issathated it to Plaintiff Her husband
west to Mr. Whits .
tisk°. Os I.lwedeY the 84. Mr. W".llc4"lete ciatealetetA in.
the eyeing. Her husbead was to bui,
haat° lidasadDtiodeogr" "akwasBbe ettewerdesaa euvulatillei 1 1de.46411:41...,""m"P1aitnr:
teak plea between Mr. White sad her lieelead. The
dater said it was Gay the liver comniaint, and ...aid
Doom be well again. Her husband got worse, sod isi
the nut day she went to plaintiff's hoses again, sad
told Ma her hothead was worse. He said he 1111114 (4 .
011 with the seediethe, and sea hots powder. Oa th.
Seat eves* she went mid told him her hulloed was
Peel deal we" end be gore bee fusilier powder. ii;

Pd not come to the house front the Tuesday till Hi
followine Feiday evening, end then uked her hu.band
hoar he was. He a great deal word... and 11r. White
'aid "I wrs just like yutt • few weeks since, and am now
quite well." He gave another powder, and her husband
was a great deal worse all night, and elm and her sister
set op. Neat morning early she went to Mr. White
again, and told him how ill he war and he sent some
pills, and afterwards wine to see him. In to, afternoon
of that day her husband died, lie was relieved about
an hour-and-R.134f before he died. The only time her
husband left her was when he went to Weymouth for
work, and he came hack two days afterwards as he
was unable to continue it.

Harriet Coates West said she had been a district
vlintor over sines and before the time Mr.
Harston came to Slierborne. On the 9th of February
she called on Crocker, sod he was very ill. She spokt
to him about the hospital, and be raid he should like to
go very well, but hod never had a chance. She then
saw Mr. Harston, and he left some papers properly
signed, for her to get filled up by the medical man. At
she had had other eases she knew she should go to Mr.
White. She accordingly wrote to Mr. bite, and sent
the letter by the s,rvant but received no answer. She
next me-fling saw Mr. White, and he told ben,. never
answered notes. She then spoke to him of Crocker,
and he said there was nothing the matter with him.
He was a next& idle, drunken character, and would not
work. She told hue the man looked exceedingly ill, and
be replied "0, well, he may be a little weak." She still
urged his, to give a aertiScate for the hospital. and he
said bs would not, and all the osmosis in the parish
could not help her. She then asked him whet she
should do to get the man into hospital, and he told her
the application must come from the Guardian& She
said she would go to the Board on Thursday, and he said,
"0 don't go there—they are only farmers and such
like and they'll laugh at you. Send his wife." On
Feller she again applied to him to sign the certi-
ficate, his then said Crosker was too weak. He had
before said he was too weak, but that Ours was
nothing the matter with him. Cracker died on Satyr-
,' day. and oo Monday *hen she saw Mrs. Horatian she
told her the circumstances; and 11115 soon as Mr. Harston
Same home she went and told hisn wLat she bad heard
In her visits. . _ .

The Rey. 0 Philip.. one of the curates of Sherborns,
said I have resided there four years. It is part of my
duty to visit the poor of the parish allotted to
me, and in the course of those visite I have
frequently heard complaints of Mr. White's conduct
to the poor—many of these oases I have reported to the
vicar. In the course amy duties I heard of the ease of
the lad Bryan. The boy was eery iB and the mother
complained that she had sent tar Mr. White the
previous day, and he would not come. I wrote to Mr.
Whin, and be did not come till half-an•hour after the
ehil ,'s death. I al. recollest tha case of fl,orge
Mason. fly said Mr. White swore at him, and toll blob
he Gould do him no goof. The only thing to be done
was for one of the parsons to get him into the Bath
Hospital. I afterwards gave Mrs. Mason an order for
the hospital; but she told him Mr. White would not
11l up the onler unlem she paid him ball-a-crown. I
then saw him myself, and he said be had • right to
charge half-a-guinea : and I told him I would write to the
Poor Law Board. He then said " don't do that—send
the wife to me. and I'll fill it up." I told Mr. Haraton
of this. I also communicated the eau of a peruse
named Vinoeut, and informed Mr. Hereton of it. I also
recoil, et Utica.. of Mary Jane Mullett. Tb• mother
told to. • lady for whom she washed wished her to
ask the doctor if it was fever she had ; bat he refused
with an oath to tell her. Site also &eked him if her
daughter might have wine He salted her who would
give it, and she said Mrs. Morgan, one of the district
viaitors. He then told her Mrs. Morgan and the visiton
might go and be d —d.
Cross-examined He told the rector when a serious
oomplaint was made, without speaking to hr. White
about it, as White had cut him for the last three years.
Miss Emma Morro m 4 My mother is cue of the
district visitors for Sherborne. I remember the case
of the Molletta They told me Mr. White er,s very
irregular in his attendance, and that he used very rough
language—that he swore, and refused to tell what was
the matter with the daughter, and odd he did not can
for any one but the Board of Onarthaus. She some-
times told what we. said to the chop.
Rev. R. Huston recalled: I-learned from Mr.
Cue that an inquiry was to take place. I went direct
to the Poor Law Board to ascertain if I was to appear
myself, or by • solicitor. I ascertained that I was to
attend myself. Mr. Cane examined the witneese's, and
after he had Sniabed I was asked 111 had any questions
to ask. I had • legal adviser on that occasion, who
was turned out of the room, and Mr. White bad not.
Crese-examined : I stated that Mr. White was in the
habit of supplying to the patients what the people
I called garlic waters. I did not say it we. garlic water
I myself.

—Mr:Coleridge then replied to the case, arguing that
the original dispute, or rather the hatred of the doctor
against the defeighint securred in-1854, when lit. White
mu censured by the Poor Low Board in consequence of
his neglect of Andes to • pauper which was reported to
thins by Mr Marston, and that the dislike was on the
part of Mr. White and not of Mr. Harden. They had
seen Mias Wed and Miss Morgan, aod one of the caratm
and they had heard from them whether what they had
communicated to the vino was what they thoroughly
believed to he true, and that they were persons in
whom he could place implicit reliance—that they spoke
what they had seen, and what they had related to them
from the parties in question.
Mr. Collier then replied upon the whole ease, and
The judp then summed up at great length. The
alleged cause for bringing this action was, that the libel
would tend to lower the plaintiff in the eyes of the
public, in reference to his profeesional reputation, unless
met in the manlier it had been, and damage* obtained
commensurate with the injury it was calculated to inflict
upon him. lie would, however, pm over the amount
of damages claimed, and leave it to the jury to say what
the amount should he, provided they should believe he
was entitled to any, through the publication of the libel,
after he had pointed out the law in the ease, and placed
the facts adduced in what he considered its proper light.
And he must tell therm that it wale rule in law, that,
in order to obtain damages, it mu not sufficient simply
to show that defamatory matter had been published,
bat it muse be shown that such defamatory matter was
publiehed with malice, with • view of injuring the party
thus libelled; but ati they could not look into a men's
motives, the fact of defamatory matter being published
warranted the presumption of malice, unless the contrary
were proved. Bat there were a great many relations
in life in which malice •aa not to be presumed, and in
which the party libelled could not sustain damages, the
party thus libelling being morally bound to
speak the troth for the benefit of society,
however injurious the thing might be to the party
libelled. Thus, if • man had a bud servant, and that
servant should get a situation elsewhere, the muter
that had just been left was bound to speak what be be-
hewed was true of the servant, if • character were
applied for, however that might injury the servant.
Even if he mid things of him whish were not true, if he
really believed they were, the oront could not obtain
damages. It meet be shown that there was malice
existing, and that the defamatory character were given,
knowing It to be false, simply for the purpose of spits or
revenge to injure the man. The position is which inch
men were placed was one of privilip in reference to
certain relations in life with regent to others. So in the
present case. The plaintiff use the out-door surgeon of
the Sherboree Unioe. The defendant was the clew-
man of that parish and a ratepayer, and as mush he sus-
tained such a relabel towards the defendant, that if he
published what, site. clue and prom hooirv, be be-
lieved was Hight, having in view the well-being of his
parishioners, be WS/ both morally and legally justified
In his act. As a rate payer, and also as the clergyman
of the parish, who would if he performed his duty
rZeriy to his poor pareshimiers, feel an interest in
speritual and temporal good, be would be justified
if after proper inquiries being made he believed that
Mr White had neglected his duties towards the poor,
be fully justified in writing to the Poor Law Board.
asking for an invertigation into the ease, even after it
had been dismissed by the Poor Law Guardians. If,
however, his object in writing the letter was from
spleen or malicious motives, or to get him discharged
from his office, to bring in some private friend, or one
who would attend his church, then such letter could
not he considered a privileged communication, and be
would render himself liable to damages. The Eolion
therefore for the jury to consider, whether Mr
wrote what he did write from a conviction that
he was thereby acting in a right and honourable
discharge of duty towards his poor parishionen,
or whether he, on the ooetrary, was simply
actuated by malicious motives to injure the
plaintiff. 'The more fact that the letter sem calculated to
injure the plaintiff was not in itself seMeient to obtain
dosages. If the motive was a sense of daty towsrds
the poet, them no danocce mold be gives. limb if ties
motive arose from malice towards the plahatiff, then •
verdict moat be given in his fawner. His lordship then
proceeded to comment upon the miners.' opiate in the
evidence. Mr. Collier had laid oonsiderable stress upon
the fact that the plaintiff had • very lop district to
attend to, and that be was inademately paid as • pro-
fessional man for the (intim he preformed • bat be (Use
judge) felt bound to tell the jury that these things were
no justificatice of neglect, for improperly attending
to his duties in any single cage. And if Men were but
one complaint made to him of gross neglect, Mr.
Harston, if he fully believed the complaint to be true,
would be instilled in drawing the atteation of the Poor
Law Board to it. Then it bad hese said Mat lathe
first sentence is the letter, Mr. Hendon had
charged the plaintiff with causing the man's
death at the age of 46. They had Mr.
Huston's explanation of this, and he denied that
this was the construction he intended should be put
upon the word,; that what he meant was that the
man died at 45, and that the treatment he received from
Mr. White Ira such es was, according to the beat
information he could obtain, very unsatisfactory to
him and that the circumstance ought to be inquired
into. Now it was • fact that the man Crocker died;
was the treatment according to the best information
Mr. Harden could get such as justified him in writing
the letter! The demoted went to Mr. White on the
7th February. Mr. White examined him and found no
organic diatom—the only ailment he could discover was
weakness, and be gave him stimulating medicine the
next day the wife came to him and told him be wag worse,
she told him of his having too large • quantity of mater;
but he seemed to take no notice of this, but continued
to treat him for weakness. On the 9th Miss West
applied to hint for • certilicate, but he took so notice
of the note His own explanation was. that he wee
continually having notes sent him frees some parson or
another. Min Wed, it seemed WWI 000 of those ladies,
who, from the most laudable motives undertook to visit
• certain district to find out and administer to the
wants of Ho sick and iefinn. Mr. White, it sweated,
had a dislike to sending patieott to the hospitals, as it
threw the wife and family of sash patients upon the
ficeda of the pariah but was that • sulacied
justification for big refusal? He said there was •
rigmarole to fill up, but it appeared to him (the judge)
that there was only to stage that the patient was • pro-
or subject for melt trestinent and afila his signature.
The day after the note ems sent Kim West called
upon the plaintiff, and urged upon him vary straggly to
op
the certificate. He believed the man WM mu
and most lanctable was her motive to try sad gee him
Into a hospital where he could have bitter advice, and
batter attendee than be eould possibly have at his own
house Mr. White still refused, mid the man wax
an idle-drunken fellow, and that he 1/1/ dummies
illness simply to get rid of work; that he had MOB
absconded from his wife and that there was nothing
the wetter with hint but • little 'oakum Now the
wile had Wag celled, and she rid the on* tins be.

husband left her was when he went to Weymouth to
seek for work, and that heretunied two days afterwards
because ho was unable to do the work. Hr. White
sub equently went to ('rocker's house, and saw him,and
Ice then samertained that he was exceedingly weak too
weak to be removed. lie then probably was,
but there was no evidence to show that he we too
weak when the applicatson was lir.t mole. And stein
days after XL White drat treated for him the man died.
The man was ill in bed seven days, during which time
Kr. White raw him three times—the last time shortly
before be died. Now was the trestruentthe man receive.,
Pallas to justify Kr. Harmon in the course he adopted
Ulm what were the motives. A oonsiderable deal had
been said about the High Church and Irtw Church.
and thy jury would have to weigh the evidence of the
pLiintiff on the one side. and that of the defendant and
his witnesses,with &lithe connecting circumstances, and
say whether or not Nr. Harston, after the numerous
complaints had been made to him, was doing more than
what he conscientiously believed be was morally bound
to do towards his poor parishioners. If they thought
he had not, they would return • verdict for the de-
fendant ; but if they thought otherwift they would liod
for the plaititiff, &ad give such damages as they believed
the ease de131115140d. .

The jury. after consulting awhile, expressed • wish
tn retir., and after being locked up for an hour and
a quarter returned into Court, and gave • verdict for
defendant, at the same Buie expressing their mgret
that defendant should have written to the Pour Law
Board • lettvr liable to so uncharitable • construction
against the plaintiff.