The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1824-10-28 00:00:00

LAW L till ENCE.

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corwr OF KING'S lIENCII, Vricoxtensv, OcT.
DUNCAN v TIIWAITES.
Mr. Lorin, at the sitting of the Court this day, resumed his
moment in the support of the pleas entered by the tit:fondant, in
jassailication of publothing certain proceedings at Pow•artel.
The commencement of the armament appeared in the British
.Terits of yesterday. Ile (Mr. laws) would suppose that the
jpiannfr was guilty. Ile was tinder the charge still; he war not
yet pmace dial, and not yet convicted or acquitted. Suppose him
ailed and eonvictcd, whereabeutv then was the injury sustained Crow
tits publication ?
Mr. Justice Bar tri—ls it no injury to a man to be put upon
kb trill with a prejudice nosed imgainst him?
Mr. LAW ES—I thank your lordship for the observation.
Mr. Justice Ilos• Ev—No; I point this out as the malt of
yO.Ol argument. ISo.you mean to go vu far ?
111 r. Irasea--I)istinctly. 1 suppme the plaintiff put upon his
itiltistsed convicted; I ask whether any lawyer, whether in this
Venn, or in any Court of Law, a lawyer could contend that
tet!levier ought not to pass upon that conviction, solely because the
3//orßing Root., had piablisheri ebbs statement of the prnceedinga
at kow.street ? If, then, he is found guilty, and sentenced, where.
abottta Is the injury niettained from this publication ? Ile next
urged that the report wan manifestly i mitigated account of the
actual prneertliagm merely setting forth that the accused denied the
filigree, that there were alight variations in the evidence of the
gni, and another girl of the same age, and that the accused was ad-
naitted to bail. It had heen admitted on the other aide, that there
wee no; a single rise or dictum in favour of a civil action, but all for
as meneitient. Ile pioceeded then to point out the many distinc-
t.* b., wrens mittl'c and a private rittitin. This was a qtaestten of
grist importance to the public. There was a strict analogy between
01%v-dings before Magistrates, and proceedings in this Court.
The opinion of Mr. Justice Lawtenee upon the great importance
of tot public being fully informed of proceedings in court, of
dce, was clear acid forcible. That Learned Jade had re-
worked that the inconvenience to individuals was nothing compered
so tot general and public advantaoes of such publication. lle put
the au of handbills published, describing persons suspected
of eff:timi. Where was the difference between that and the pre*
sent rase ? Ihe whole force of the objection of prejudicing a fair
wakapplied to the one as much as to the other. The publication of •
*re. bill found in the Old Jtailey world be a libel. according
to the new modeling which Mr. Duncan would give to the law.
Did any man in this cannery suppose that proceedings to a police.
office were a full trial, a conviction, col condeninatiou ? Did any
wean take them for any thing else than ex-parte proceedings ? The
ilaglatrate committel only for inquiry for trial, and every man
canon resd a newspaper knew that. To contend that this was creat-
lag an undue prejudice, was to wonder into the regions of itnagina.
non, and to abandon fact, experience, and commie sense. Suppose
all the Kim's subjects present—all i have a right to be prevent ;
there are spectators, in fact, present. 'Ex argument oa the
other side mourned that they meat keep what they bear quite
tocret. This was impossible. Therefore the restriction pro.
prod nn the press was not only ureitial, but nugatory. A whole
temmtull of people may hear the proceedings • but if this case was
maintainable. uny one of Coosa spectators, should he utters word
of what he had hearil in his own family when he went home, was
liable to an action ; and if the accused was an attorney, he was sure
to be •isiteml by an action. He ronicitiliered, when a bill was
brought into Varliameot to prohibit the publication of police re.
ports. that it was rej: curd.
The loan CIIIET Jr3TICE and Mr. Jitsilte BATLEY ex.
pressed a desire to know when the bill was totrmaluced, and what
progress it load made.
PATTISUX referred to Alikrson's Reports to thew that it
was ir. 1710, and that it was dropped in consequence of the opinion
of enlightened men, that such publications were productive of
many benefits.
ilr. Law La resumed.—lt could not,he contended, he fairly said'
that the repon of an accusation was scandal; the accusation itself
rnieht be at, but the mere report of it was not. It was a auong
fry ire in this case that no prevention or prohibition was made to
the publication, and indeed it was not asserted that it was tither
maturities or mistaken, or that it was unsupported by what teeny
took plate at 1:ow-street ; and it was maintained on the other hand,
that it was true, correct, and just. in all actions instituted fur
slender it was rohnitted that the absence of mattes .was an answer
to the action. Unless what is complained ef•te hill male
the aetion does not hr. It was so decided in thetas of 1/elannix
anul Jens*, which was an action brought by the plaintiff for an
advertisement in a newspaper. endeavouring to ascertain whether
the pisiteira first wife was living. This inainuated a charer of
biaranty against the plaintiff; bit the interest which the defendant
had In the inquiry warm an available justitic;.tion For his instituting
it, red it appiored that he made it with no improper motive or in-
?mum tnartrds the plsintiff. In the case of Moutton and Clap.
tan lb; *iiistiticatiun was grounded on the circumstanceof the matter
of complitott having been uttered In the course of legal proceedings,
'el:, cases of Iltdson and Sear/ett, and Trotman and Ihmii, to
width he begged to refer their Lordships, went to establish the
IMMO point. On the same principle, the characters which masters
gave their servants were not suliptwvii to be given with malicious
intention, anti were necessary for the security of those to whom
they might atterwarls apply for employment. The sane imniu-
aity extended to clergymen for what escaped them in the piing,
as was established in Greenwood's ease. The Learned Gentleman,
after Javiito, cited several other cases, in which, such as were between
roast-is and servants. and clergymen and their congregations--tha
sibienee ofinallce was deemed a satisfactory answer to the action,
contended, that In a ease like the present, where no intention of
malice ciliated, and where the parrot. of news was the sole purpose
ofpublication,en action would not he. The cases he had cited were, he
admitted, only analogous, not precisely similar to the tease now before
the consideration of the Court. The greatest advantage ccealted
frequently front studi publications ; he did not place reporters ea
aro high u grade of respectability and station when he said tiv., wets
public instructors, and had an important lafluence ire society. These
were sufficient restrictions already upon time press for all usefal per.
poses, and they ought not to be unnecessarily increased. 'Would it
be saal that a report of such cases may should go to the s orld as
when clismisiods were the result of investigations before Magistrates?
lie was sure his hemmed Friend wintlil not maintain Inch n position.
Una report should be given where the conduct of all 311,11'.11:tial was
animadverted upon, he was at a loss to know on what round
could theatrical criticisms he justified ; and Were it was not
ucees-
sary to detail minutely the names and action of all the performers,
to to :ernisli a copy of the play and music. This had been esta-
blished is the case of Dibdun v. Swan. In literary weeks, the
same principle held good, as was decided in the case of Carr:
the ;unification was, that the defendant entertained to malicious
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Mr. Justice BAY LEY.—It was jitstilied on the ground of bring
attar critique.
Mr. Lsw es assented, and in continustion contentlei, that as
theatrical entotainments and literary works were reported:, a similar
private le should eatcnd to pollee 'Crate; and that it wts unneces-
sary that the whole report should in either case befully gii eii, provid.
tad the indistinct was fahly given. In the case of Lewis n..ii%Valters,
which was an indictment &a conspiracy against an attorney, the
gravamen of the complaint was, that the Counsel's speech was fully
Kisco and idstead of giving the evidence as it was dclivered, it was
stated generally that it supported the speech. If it was essential
that the whole Case should be reported, that would not only be ex.
homely itteinivenient and improper. in cases where public decency
would lie Aimed, but he would go funkier, anti sac, that it was int-
r./oil:le, notwithstanding the assistance and facility of short-hand.
Vise most expert shart.hand writer could net give every word that
was uttered. It was worthy the attention of 104 Lordships, that
if they now decided that it was unlawful to publish this report. every
accused person who hale been brought up before the Magottates for
the last sic y.mrs, and Wheal: cast has been reported, will have a
tight of action against the editors of newspapers.
Mr. Justice BAYLEY—I believe a great many of t::C1/1 are not in
a condition to sue. (A laugh.)
Lawns said that, however a great many were. He did not
knew, indeed, with what propriety it could be afterwards malts.
mined, that the ex-parse publication of criminal proceedings was
allowable. and he was apprehensive that his Learned Friends,
fif nen,. Bareewail and Cressertli, would be affected by the restyle.
tam which such a decision would place upon reporting; generally.
It would not only oblige sham to soma tide reports, but would :was
vomit others in future trout taking them up.
Mr. Josuce !SAY cal was net aware that all the reports alluded
to ny the Learned Counsel, contained reflections on prisons.
Mr. Lawts resumed, and after having cited a variety of cues in
s.ip;eyet of the right of publication, in the absence of malicious in.
tatuon and atbe iseecsdic of orly giving the substance of what
soak Owe, concluded v tos:rcesing a hope, that their Lordships
would not deprive the publit if a privilege which was tolerated by
the Legislature—by their Lordships' own Conti theother ;•tib-
be Court of the country, anal which •ititicient reasons existed
Cr withholding from 'mewling' in tether others.
Mr. PATTISOK briefly replied. When he said that the whole
evidence shouiel be given, he did not mean every word, but the
material shitement ; anal dwel. particularly o:a the omission of
the evidence of the surgeon in this case, which wits favourable to
1116 client. His beamed Friend had spoken of the advantages of
reports of this description. For his part he was at • her to know
what the advantage of such reports as that now under consideration
was to the public. It was not, in his opinion, a matter of useful
infoentation. As to theatrical criticisms, they were defended on
quite a different ground.
vlr. Justice BATLEY—They were justified be' the occasion.
!dlr. PATTISON—There was a similar jurifiection for the criti.
noms and reviews of literary works. But reflections on tienona
Fusions to trial were of a far more serious nature, as they created a
pretidi:c a,:aittst the accused patty, and anticipated proceedings
whish should be remelted tee a Court of Jostles. Evert where dec_
mm!' wan the result of au accusation Wore. a Magistrate, he
tbgaght it improptr anti unlawful to report it in the newspapers.
he- &Ingisirate's OSee was not a public Court, and he would
even go 'AJ far as tomb that if persons sought industriously, even
by word 41110e:h. to circulate ehaiess which may have been pre-
ferred against an individv.a les a Magistrates Office, that indivi-
dual would be entitled to aright of action against such persons.
llc would nut say that be OM nut bound to say a word of what he
heard there, but the gising it a wide circulation was aetiottable.
The mare eatended .C4C11::6:1011 which a newspaper had the mewls
and facility of giving, rendered the offence even greater. The
Learned (*cattleman proceeded to cenmteut at considerable length
on the cases cited by his Leuded Friend (Mr. lames). and con-
' tended that none tilde:lu afTetted the argument which lie addressed
to the Court yesterday, against the fairness of the report. on account
of the material OlUalaialle of evidence farnurable to the pleintilf,
mt the absence of soy right in die defeudant to publish anything
- oft his charatter. •
at rising, did not intimate when it would give

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