The Sun.
London, England, 1864-12-17 00:00:00

FRANCE.

BOURSE, Dec. 16.—The market continues heavy,
and prices have again slightly declined. Threes
are now at 66f. 20c., and Mobilier at 926 f. 25c.
R tilway Market quiet, and with little variation in
quotations up the presen
tinued heavy ;0 the close,
It per Cents .. 93 50
Do. end month...,
3 per Cents
Do. end month 66 25
Credit Mobilier..., 922 50
Do. end month 920
Bank Shares 3587 50
Credit I. oncier 1227 50
Roman

t time. The market con•
and left off as follows :
Italian Loan 65 45
Do. end month 65 55
Ditto Threes —
New Mexican
Russian .. —
Austrian
Spanish Threes 45 25
Rome Debt .. —
Deferred

RAIL WAY.

Orleans
Northern
Lyons and Mediterranean
Southern
Western
Eastern
Sardinian ......
Austrian
Lombard
North of Spain
Saragossa
Ditto to Barcelona

Cash. Account.
850 850
992 50 932 50
872 50 .. 876 25
580 592 50
513 75 .. 515
492 50 .. 492 50
310 .. 310
428 75 .. 431 25
505 505
366 25 366 25
428 75 .. 425
.. 190

AN ACTION FOR, LIBEL.

(From the Builder.)
In May last we received a letter from an architect de-
scribing the evil condition of a fishmonger's yard into which
the window of his office opened. Knowing the writer, and
considering it to be e duty to endeavour to remedy the state
of things therein described, the letter, after much considera-
tion, was inserted. No name was mentioned, the locality
was merely hinted at, and we did rot ourselves know to
what premises the letter referred. The occupier of a supper-
house and shell-fish shop, however, in the neighbourhood
indicated, brought an action for damages against the pub-
lisher of this journal, and the cause was tried last week at
Westminster.

The plaintiff, being examined, denied the correctness of
the statements published, and said his business had fallen
off in the month following the publication to the extent of
of £54. A boy in his employ gave similar evidence so far
as related to the state of the yard. The local inspector of
nuisances said he had never seen anything in the yard more
than would be there in the usual course of business. In
1862, he continued, there had been a complaint, and the
plaintiff was summoned to Bow-street in reference to his
copper, when it was arranged that there should be a hood
to it. There had also been a complaint since: The medi-
cal officer of health said that, sinoe the summons at Bow-
street, he had received complaints of the yard from Craig's-
court,place on those occasions.
he never ex-
that would warrant him in giving
anything
he t
faadvievifsrietenid thethe
shellfish,
noticeprcieenlit
etaeendtdthhe vestry of a nuisance to be removed. On the
h
part of the defendent, the architect who wrote the letter
swore distinctly and positively to the truth of every word of
it He
had
had suffered great inconvenience from the state of the yard.
Another architect, who had occupied part of the same
been complainedunable
toat
openthe is
house, his assistant, a fourth gentleman who had formerly
lived in the house, his clerk, and the housekeeper, confirmed
various portions of the first witness's testimony.
window for the smell, vestry-houseand
of the nuisance.
He had
The editor of the paper deposed that it had long been
devoted to the furtherance of sanitary improvement, and
that the letter, vouched for by a known correspondent, was
inserted simply on public grounds.
The Judge (Chief Justice Earl,) told the jury that, un-
less they were of opinion that the defendant had proved the
tea, h of all the statements in the letter, they must find a
verdict for the plaintiff. He further,? after beating testimony
to the excellent character of the paper, laid down the I
extraordinary doctrine that the conductor of a " powerful
organ" such as that was, should not permit the insertion
of any statement reflecting on the conduct of a fellow-man.
Thus a statesman might sell his country, a general betray
her armies, or a judge her liberties; but the conductors of
powerful organs were to admit no word of warning or expo.
sure. There may have been qualifying terms in the Chief
Justice's address, though we did not hear them; but the
impression left on his hearers was what we have stated ;
and the jury, after a brief retirement, returned with a yen-
diet for the plaintiff--damages,

In the interest of social improvement and the public
health, and in the interest of the press as a public safeguard,
we feel it to be a duty to record here thus briefly the facts
of the trial, leaving our reader to draw their own inferences.
They will ask themselves which set of witnesses had the
least reason for disingenuousness, and they will doubtless
reflect on what the doctrine of the Chief Justice would lead
to if it could be enforced,
The counsel for the plaintiff, whose general knowledge,
by the way, seemed to be like a joint stock c,,mpany he
alluded to, "limited," pretended to be very indignant that
" this Mr Editor" should seek to expose sanitary defects
and dangers, and obtain improvements, when there were an
Act of Parliament and local boards ef health purposely to
regulate such matters. We take the liberty of telling " thi
Mr Barrister, that when the very act of parliament to which
he referred was brought as a bill into the House of Com-
mons, the government showed the necessity of passing it
by reference to the investigations made and the statements
as to the sanitary condition of the people published by this
very journal. Moreover, that the advantages resulting,
spite of the obstructions offered by the ignorant, the preju-
diced, and the interested. tram the efforts made in these
pages with that end in view, have been thankfully recog-
nised from time to time all over the kingdom.
With strong conviction of the enormous importance of
the subject, and abundant evidence that our well-meant en
deavou,s have rot been without avail, we aro not likely to
be deterred from pursuing the course in which we have now
so:loug, and with some personal sacrifiee,;luboured earnestly
however humbly. We are not the first who have been
made to suffer for disinterested efforts in the service of the
public.

The Kreutz Zeitung states that Prince Henry
VII. of Reuse, formerly Secretary to the Prussian
Embassy in Paris, and afterwards Prussian Minister
at GieSE'l, has been tamed sinister Plenipotentiary
at the Court of Bavaria.

THE LETTER H.—Sir J.ltnea scatlett, when at
the bar, had to cross-examine witness whose evidence it
was thought would be very dainaging unless he could be
bothered a little, and his only Vulnerable point was said to
be sell-esteem. The witness presented himself in the boa—
s portly, over-dressed person, and Scarlett took him in hand.
"Air John Tomkins, I believe?"--"Yea." "You are a
stockbroker ?"—" I ham." Starlett regarded him atten,
tively for a few moments, and then said, "And a very fine,
well-dressed ham you are, sir." The shout of laughter
which followed completely disconcerted the witness, and
the counsel's point was gains 4,