The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1825-02-26 00:00:00

LAW INTELLIGENCE.

COURT OF COMMON PLEAS, FRIDAY, Fag. 25.

Befitm tla CHIT? JUSTICZ and a Special Jury.
LIBEL IN THE LANCET.
?THRILL V. WHAT/LIT.
Only eight Special Jurymen appearing, Mr. Sergeant Vex o new
prayed a tales.
Mr. Sergeant Kettle/EAU then stated the case to the Jury. It
was an action for a wilful and malicious libel, published in 7th No.
fith vol. of the Lancet. There were two ways of proceeding in cases
of this kind—forbearance or prosecution. The first would be con-
sidered as a consciousness of the truth of the charge, and often pro-
duced a repetition of the injury. Prosecution could be instituted
civilly or criminally if it was by indictment, greater circulation
was given to the libel, which served to gratify the malice and cupi-
dity of the party ; and in that case the prosecutor himself became a
witness, and the defendant would not be on a level with him, nor
could the defendant stand upon the truth of the charge. The only
course, then, that remained to be pursued, was by bringing an
action. The distiretion between oral and written slander was, that
the first left but little trace behind it, and dwelt not long in the
minds even of those that heard it ; but, when it was written, it
was widely circulated by means of the press, and no man could
tell to what extent it might be spread, and the mischief diffused.
That party, therefore, who published any statement, took upon
himself respoosibillty to an extent that he himself even was not
aware of, which rendered it necessary, however reluctant the party
felt, to appeal to a Jury, in self-defence. Mr. Tyrrell was nomi-
nally a plaintiff, but in reality he came here to make a defence. and
that defence was to protect his character. He would now state the
circumstances of each party : The plaintiff was a member of the
College of Surgeons, and son of the City Remembrancer. He (Mr.
Sergesnt Vaaghan) would not nay he possessed a rising reputation,
for it was risen. He was one of the surgeons of St. Thomas's
Hospital, and it was due to that Institution to being this action ;
for they must be aware how necessary it was for its members to
have an unblemished reputation ; and it was equally due to the
Institution as to the plaintiff, to have a full vindication. It was
necessary to 'ward the pablic from the belief that he had raised
a spurious reputation by thejoublication of another rean's labours.
There were 401) pupils in St. Thomas's Hospital, and they all knew
to *hat circumstances to impute the writing of the libel. It had been
necessary to exclude the defendant from the attendance at the
lectures delivered at the Hospital. Ile had been a pupil there;
and, by the courtesy of the plate, those that had been were per.
mined to attend the lectures, anal be present at dissections. It had
been observed that the defendant had abused this privilege, by
publishing false statements of what had occurred, which it became
necessary to prevent. In consequence of this resolution, the plain.
tiff had put his name to the paper by which the defendant was
excluded : it was this which was the root of the malicious libel.
The defendant, who was also a member of the College of Surgeons,
had published a hook whose chief reconitnendation was its cheap-
ness. It had an extensive circulation ;it was every way calculated
to gratify his own and the public taste for slander. He should have
no difficulty in proving the defentlent to be the proprietor of the
libel in question, and should therefore proceed to matter more
important and more worthy of their attention. The libel was
published on the 20th of November last. Mr. Tyrrell ass con-
nected by marriage with Sir Astley Cooper, who had observed that
his lectures were incorrectly given to the public, and he therefore
thought it necessary to publish them through the means of the
plaintiff, his kinsman. These lectures did not issue from the press
till October 2, last
.year. He would not say any thing of its
legality, or whether it was or was net an unworthy service of profit
to publish what was designed for the private information of the
students. He should nut have noticed this had not the defendant
I set himself up an the guardian of the moral rectitude of the medical
world. The lectures of Sir Astley Cooper, by Tyrrell, were illus-
, crated with notes by the letter gentleman. Among them he hod
given • case which occurred in the hospital; and this case the de-
fendant pretended to give a correct copy of in the Lancet. He
would compete the account in the Lancet with what it professed to
be a copy of. The case in the Lancet was thus given—
" Thomas Denman, set. 22, was admitted into St. Thomas's
Hospital, August 31, 1824. He had been struck by a hammer,
b accident, on the superior part of the frontal bone, to the left of
the median line. The blow had produced a compound fracture,
with depression to the extent of half-a-crown. He was perfectly
sensible. and said he only felt a soreness at the injured part. I re-
moved the whole of the fractured bone, which was comminuted;
one small portion had penetrated the dttra mater. He has been
treated just as the former patient was, and has not had a bad
symptom since."
Now this, Gentlemen, was dated in lilt. Tyrrell's book, 20th of
September, and only professed to give an agebunt up to that period.
The work was prepared, and it went to press with this article in it.
A few days atter bad symptoms arose, and the man died. His
brain was diseected, and the appearances were given in the Lancet.
In consequence of the man's death an erratum was inserted in 31r.
Tyrrell's book, giving an account of it ; but this erratum the
Lancet did not e. nose so give, as it did not suit its purpose, but in-
serted Mr. Tyrrell's note in the Lancet, with its own comments—
"SlVe will not contrast the drawing up of this cane by Simon
tare mitt the Report in No. 10, Vol. IV., but sill proceed he
show the real termination of it, es detailed in the faithful pages of
the Lancet, No. 14, Vol. IV. On dissection of this case, a
large abscess was found in the fore part of the left hemisphere of
the brain. ecoutekaing (but two °naps of kw/shish-coloured pus.
The abscess extended to the level a/ the carpus calk:sum on the
inner side, and was very superficial towards the external surface of
the hemisphere on the left side.' "
Now this mere statement of the fact, without mentioning the
erratum which was affixed to the book, made the plaintiff appear
to leave the world in doubt whether the man was dead. 'file
Lancet upon this make: the following attack upon the plaintiff on
this particular case. He must first inform the Jury that Simon
Pure was a name given to the plaintiff:—
" Il'e had indulged the hope that we had nearly completed the
anatomy of the real Simon Pure when we had crrived at that put
of the volume which treats of Injuries of the head, as we found
only three cases detailed, in which we, naturally enough, expected
to find nothing worthy of particular notice. We concluded that
This manifest want of talent might be compensated for by his
fidelity as a reporter—we expected to find one redeeming quality—
we thought that the merits of his heart might redeem the errors of
his head—but even in this expectation we have been deceived. We
only beg the attention of the reader to the following case, as de-
sallied by the real Simon Pure."
What language could be stronger ? The libel then went on to
state the case before mentioned. A charge was brought against his
client because Denman died after he had sent his book to press.
Mr. BROUGHAM here said, that be hoped his Learned Friend
(Mr. Denman) would still live to a good old age, though he was
not under Mr. Tyrrell's care.
Mr. Sergeant VAUGHAN continued--The absurdity of this
charge against his character was manifest. It was impossible that
that it could have been by mistake that the note was falsely copied,
for it was placed in inverted commas. It was therefore with a ma-
licious design. The Learned Sergeant proceeded to read the libel :
"We consider this as the climax. We have toiled through a jum-
ble of cotntnon-place remarks, stale truisms, and long-spun cases,
much to our own editimtion, as well a., no doubt, that of our
readers. These, it is true, we might have overlooked in benevolent
compassion for the imbecility of the lead that could think of add-
ing to the value of Sir Ashley Cooper's lectures by such paltry
trash ; but we cannot, consistently with our professed character as
guardians of the moral rectitude as well as interests of the medical
public, allow this last attempt at imposition to pass without expos-
ing it in its true colours." Could any thing be more libellous than
tlus ?—could any person read it without believing Mr. Tyrrell to
be a man who could not be depended on ? Ile would read another
passage :—" He might have been content with palming upon the
public our pages for kis own production ; he might reasonably
enough have satisfied himself with the enormous profit which such
unpaid-for plagiarism could produce, without having the un-
blushing effrontery to publish false facts, which a little reflection
(if the real Simon Pure ever does reflect) must have told him
could not long remain without exposure." This was the part of
the charge where he was accused of literary plagiary sod piracy
from the Lancet. He would tell the Jury what was the meaning
of a plagiarist, as laid down by Doctor Johnson—it meant a lite-
rary thief. He then alluded to two eases in the Lancet, in order to
show that its suppeed genuine Reports were full of blunders. He
then again readesW " The world will hardly credit that an
hospital surgeon could pntlish, as a successful case, one that wo
had already given the post martens examination of; such, however.
is the fact, as may be proved by a reference to our own pages."—
Such, however, was not the fact, for the report of the patient's
death anpeitredett the sane time, as he had before said, among
the errata. It was necessary the publication should come out as
early as it did, as the students were to assemble in October, no hear
the lectures, and It was desirable to publish the Report; and the
fact of the date being annexed, would satisfy any candid mind of
the real state of the patient. The last passage he should trouble
them with he would now read.
" We feel it but justice to make one or two observations respect-
ing ourselves : the lint is, to request that our readers will compare
the original matter (which we pledge ourselves to have fairly given
from Mr. Tyrrell's velume) with the original matter, extiacts from
foreign works, and hospital reports, contained in those numbers of
the Lancet which give Sir Astley Cooper's Lectures, and then to
form an unbiassed judgment of the comparative merits of the two.
We also feel it our duty to repeat, that, were it not for the exist-