The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-03-31 00:00:00

of the press
press in this country

Why is it that we can attc

because of the strong-sense and good f

Itants of this ciuntry. I believe th

of the good taste of thi

whom the garbaze of private

Such wilt not sell;; and t belft.ve 'that is a great
reason why we can afford to have a free press ; it is
because the public opinion which sustains the press, the
readers, who pay for it won't stand attacks on private
individuals, won't stand the slandering and back-
..

sbei
it
vi teig of s
forward persons,
rward
in pubic
iu noutugin havingunt
toh thrust e
ftyreemed--
there by those who eater for the evil passions of
violent m:n. With reference to what firnee
the
escuwsusriodns
is, the question may be answered
of the philosopher who, when asked what was so and so,
said "If you d Aft ask me, I understand." So it is with
reference to a publication of this description. You cannot
exactly lay down definite lines where free discussion ends,
and the slandering of private individuals begins ; but
without laying down precise lines, there is no great diffi-
culty in looking at the thing itself, to say whether it ist
free discussion or slander on an individual. A man i. as,
much entitled to have his character unsullied, as to have,
his p-operty or life secured, because without it he cannot
earn his livelihood. Is this article calculated to bring the
plaintiff into hatred, ridicule, or disgrace ? If you Halal;
it is so, and that it is therefore a libel, your verdict will
be accordingly. You are next called on however, although
nothing is proved against Darby, to suspect something—
to come to the conclusion, because of what is not on this
paper, that there is something behind, which, :because It
does not appear, you may imagine to be the most
dangerous thing that can suggest itself to your minds.
That is the notion, and it is said " there is no use to ask
Darby anything, because he, being full of the doctrine of
evasion and mental reservation, would surely perjure
himself." Having said that I approved of the
learned counsel's own statement with reference to
the character of Darby, 1 must say with reference to
this, which is no doubt suggested by his instructiopa,
because no learned counsel would put - farayar4
such a statement unless suggested by his instructiona,
that it is nothing more nor less than imputing
to Darby, who has come here for the purpose of clearing
his character from the imputation of being a rebel and a
traitor, the further offence of being capable of perjury to
maintain this action. You will say what you think of a
man, if you think that he is a libeller, in having published
this article, who can come into court and instruct his
counsel, having no proof of that with which he charges
the plaintiff, to turn round and charge him with being
capable of perjuring himself in the witness-box. You aro.
then told that there is no malice. Gentlemen, is thare no
virulence in attacking a marl of whom he knows nothing,
and imputing to him faults of which he had no proof ? I
should expect next to hear if a man is knocked dowel
and robbed in the streets, that there is an absence of all
malice towards h'm, because the man who robbed hint did
not know him• before. Again, we are told that this is
a great scheme to destroy' the press of the country. I
have had some little experience of the law, and if this be
true, that it is part of a great scheme to destroy the press
of this country, all I can say is that the press is unjust to
itself, because nothing of the sort has come to my knos-,
ledge in any of the papers that I have read. It is theu,
said there is no imputation on the plaintiff's charactet.
I have read in an amusing book, by Mr. Dickens, of a,
society wherein any imputation, however bad, be explain•
ed away by the party, saying that he only used it in a
" Pickwickian sense." That seems to be very much
like the explanation here, that there is no imputation on
the plaintiff's character, although he has been charged
with being a rebel and a traitor, and of being
capable of perjuring himself in the box. There
is one other statement which has been made—of
there being no protection for Englishmen travelling in the
Papal States, and of their being persecuted in various
ways. I must say I have been in many parts of the world
occupied by Protestants, Papists, and Mahommedans, and
I never knew one in which an Englishman could not
square his shoulders and hold up his head, nor did I ever
know one in which he has not; and I am not myself pre-
pared to think that any association, or any religion, will
s considered, me nA
ny
ever bring about any other state of things in anyh part of
the globe. That is an appeal to you as
be En
faigri
appeal founded on just groundwould
but when
it is
henitmiasd me ai
nd e
supportin suppoorrt
aonf
nanpbrroeavcohk of
when
eesaandin t 1
pprivateanie
aby
character,ch,wge s
f virulentlyfurther offences,
o P
tchoeurctaopr ajusticeb for the purpose of vindicating his charac-
ter—lilility of perjury to the person win
cannot help thinking that that appeal is made by a
person who has no right whatever to appeal to any of
those sentiments which are supposed to be embodied in
that word Englishman. _ His Lordship then concluded,
evey woi d of his impressive and luminous charge, having
been listened to with the deepest attention, by leaving it
to the jury to say whether the article was a libel, and
cautioning them against giving vindictive damages in
event of their being of opinion that it was so.
The Jury. after half an-hour's deliberation, returned_ a
verdict for the plaintiff, for 4645 damages, with costs.

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