The Sun.
London, England, 1837-07-01 00:00:00

PALACE COURT.-(YESTERDAY.)

i ,Li
.WfNELSON V. TcCNO.
'1 The plaintlff, Mr. J. Nelson, who appetred its person, stated
the en F.'C to the jury. It was an action to recover compensa-
eetion ire a breach of contract, brought by the plaintiff, a repor-
t' ter, against Mr. Young, the proprietor of The Sun News-
.`. PE'S:cr. The plaintiff had been employed by the defendant as
f- sere reporter at the commencement of the present session of
`f„ Parliament, and had been dismissed a few days afterwards, as
sibe alleged, without reasonable or propablc cause, The action
;
was brought to recover a sum of ninety guineas, being at the
~.- rate of three guineas a-week for six months (the probable do-
ration of the session) deducting six guineas paid by the de-
Pendant, and for such further damages as the jury might think
, e
s proper to award for the loss and injury sustained by the plain-
t'_tiff: The defendant had pleaded first that no such contract
ekhad been made by him with the plaintiff, and secondly that if
isAte any such contract had been made, the plaintiff had been found
r'irl<
;,.6i wholly incompetent, unable, and unfit to report Parliamen-
t;, tery proceedings and other news," and that therefore he (the
r defendant) was justified in dismissing him from his employ-
egment. In the course of a most extraordinary address of nearly
Othree hours, the plaintiff repeatedly told the jury that lie had
'... been treated as if he was "not fit to carry guts to a bear," and
that he had been considered nothing better than " an illiterate
iclown," or " an incompetent jackass" and " dead in heart
and soul."—( Loud bursts of laughter.) He would now
tpoint out what appeared to him to be the moral equity
1•_. of the pleadings in which the defendant at one point
e de-
lnied the pleadings, and at another admitted them. Why, the
l'iefendant first gave the Jury a little gnat, then a little bog,
land then he required them to swallow a camel, to enable them
elto do which they must have the capacity of a boa constrictor,
s`fs saturated with saliva. The defendant had assailed not only his
i. property, but his life, in those pleadings, for without characters
life itself was valueless. All he asked was, the reward of his
:- labour—for labour, mental or manual, was of the highest class,
and far superior to any other description of property. The
e. witnesses he would produce were of three classes; first, the
hostile, or those who were connected with the defendant by
I
dependency, inte.eest, or intimacy—second, the reluctant, or
I 1
those who eveected favours—and thirdly, the indifferent, who
se were men ei very high qualifications; but he had no witnesses
who were favourable to him. He would give them a plain and
simple narrative of facts, not for clap-trap purposes—the
sacred majesty of the law, which constituted them Judges,
forbad them to be eener6us, and even if they were, he (the
eleint:We eould accept nothing from their generosity. He
0 then proceeded to expatiate upon the great advantages of a
classical education, and an acquaintance with the orations of
• Demosthenes, Cicero, and Burke, in forming the "raw mate-
erial of a Parliamentary reporter." The House of Commons
. was supposed to be composed of 650 of the most intelligent
• and able men in the kingdom, and it was necessary, to consti-
tute a first-rate reporter, that he should be able to comprehend,
1. not 'only all the 650 differences of style in speaking, but to
be acquainted with the 650 various branches of science, political
5f economy, jurisprudence, and other matters, for which the
.0' Members of the House of Commons were severally distin-
, • guished. There might then be said to be 650 degrees of ex-
eecellence in reporting from zero, at which he presumed the
r defendant estimated him "an illiterate clown," up to 650,
11 which was a very strong boiling point.—( Much laughter.)
se. A reporter should be occasionally a tailor—( Roars of laughter)
g.,—to dress up in a becoming or gaudy suit the Member, pre-
-Ik.. vious to his appearing upon the drawing-room of the news-
;ft paper. He should be also occasionally a butcher—(Renewed
se laughter)—to enable him to cut up and dissect the orations of
;re the speaker ; and he should also be a baker, to put the proper
es stamina into the speaker's head. He should also act occasionally
• as the tyrant of old, who had an iron bed upon which be
e5.,..,1 stretched his victims, and if they happened to be too long be
cut them short, and if they were too short he stretched them
. out. A reporter was a piece of the most beautiful and exqui-
site mecha.nism—the voice of the orator floating in the air ar-
e; rived at the reporter's ear, and tapping at the "port" of the
ie ear for admittance as upon a drum, was thence conveyed to
the beautiful alembic of the reporter's brain, from whence, by
a species of extraordinary electricity, it was conveyed along
es his hand, and oozing out at his fingers' ends, went pop, pop,
es pop, upon the paper.—(Roars of laughter.) After stating
• that he had been previously engaged on the True Sun news-
"...:paper, from whence he had gone to the defendant's paper,
The Sun, the plaintiff concluded his address, in which he had
been frequently interrupted by the Learned Judge, by saying
, that he would now begin the battle.
Mr. H. Tilsey, from the Stamp-office, produced the affidavit
•'''' of proprietorship of the defendant.
Mr. Garrett produced files of the Times, Sun, True Sun,
--:' and Constitutional newspapers, from September, 1836, to
--'. February, 1837.
11 Sir Wm. Gossett, Serjeant-at- Arms to the House of Com-
et mons, was applied to by the editor of The Sun, at the corn-
.'
mencement of the present session, for nine cards of admittance
.to the reporters' gallery. No person would be admitted to the
... reporters' gallery without presenting such a card. Any person
ss, presenting the card would be admitted.
'ye Mr. White, a schoolmaster, residing at Connaught-terrace,
-i Edgeware-road, was employed, in September last, to engage a
ei, tutor for a school, of high classical attainments. The plaintiff
s Applied, and was examined by the witness in Euripides and
''' ether works, and found to be an excellent 'classical scholar.
Witness was not a reporter, and thought if he tried his hand at
reporting he would make a very indifferent attempt.
Mr. Henry Byron was educated at Cambridge University.
Was a reporter on the Times newspaper part of last session.
,K
Is at present a reporter on the Morning Post. He was not
'. aware that the Times exacted proofs of classical and scientific
acquirements from the gentlemen employed upon it. Was
lot very long a reporter, and therefore not much acquainted
le ,vith the press. Was not in the habit of comparing the reports
. n The Sun newspaper with the other morning papers.
There might be occasional errors arising from hurry ;
se but -he should say that The Sun reports were on the whole
- remarkably accurate. He considered
The Sun reports, so far
-is he had looked at them, gy accurate. An educated
s' man was likely, prima facie, to make the best reporter. The
I Parliamentary reporters are, so far as he wasere acquaminted with
~" them, well educated men. The witness hat soe length
letailed what he believed to be the custom of the press in
• London, which was, that a Parliamentary reporter, going
from
1 r
•or an annual engagement. A person who had never previously
1 been in the Gallery as a Parliamentary reporter, was put upon
trial, by having an experienced reporter to take notes with
him, before he could obtain and e
in ng
a ag
m en.
Witness had
ss had
seen the plaintiff write 140 wor !
Lord's
t.
_
seen the plaintiff write was the Prayer, but never any
other 140 words in a minute.
Mr. Geoweee—Evidently a clap-trap.
Witness should not think it possible for a highly educated
. man, with a knowledge
• report Parliamentary pof short-hand, tobeheinbcaodmpeteihnotustioy
rocceohngads,
practised in the Gallery, and ,
proceedings of the House , •
tiserience, he was become provided
acquainteNrieeit the
of Commons. Without that cap
likely to ue. ir?compete .. .atseen nt —[A tre i
aseishort-hand written by the plaintiff was put in.] Nl.itness had
and had received instructions in short-hand
6iseen that treatise,
1
from the plaintiff. Parliamentary reporting was the highest
grade; and persons might be very competent to report in
üblic meetings, who would be fo d
ss courts of law, and at p ..
of . House un
quite incompetent in
Mr. James Scott
• the Gallery the Hof Commons.
had employed the plaintiff as classical
tutor to instruct his son for about six months. Plaintiff' had
,-' requested him to use his influence to procure him employment
Knew nothing of his capabilities as a reporter,
es as a reporter. d I l
'-' but believed him to be a very goo sc io ar. When a Perlin-
'''. mentary reporter went from one paper to another, the engage-
':. ment was either sessional or annual. If the reporter had ne-
e-
ver previously been in the Gallery, that was at peculiar case, and
then the reporter was
tbe considered as pon trial. Pad
kown many able and Well-educated men, who had entirely
anded as Parliamentary reporters. When arepester was upon
trial, an experienced person
the i
took a note neth him, that the
Paper might not suffer from ncompetency of the person
eon trial. Had known many instes,ees of
persons having been
se. so put upon trial, and after a few nights dismissed for incom-
ee: petency. The reports it 'The Sun are wonderfully accurate,
;;,seconsidering the haste with which they arc got up, and which
kl. must occasionally give rise to trifling errors.
By the Cot: RT—lf witness saw a gentleman taking notes in
Lhe Gallery, and another reporter from the same establishment
taking notes at the same time, witness would infer from that
',. 'lle.S the editor of the paper was not satisfied of his competency,
and that he was merely upon trial. The reporter must be
ible to write out a correct account of the proceedings, and the
weader could only correct verbal inaccuracies.
Plaintiff—Are there any of The Sun reporters to sshom
~. you would confide the education of your son?
e,. The COURT—Really this is not to be endured. The Court
, is willing to allow every latitude to a person conducting his
.owa case ; but what right have you, Sir, in crying
up your
''.own abilities, to throw ' aspersions upon the characters of
others ?
Wi :., tness—l have no objection to answer the question. I
•know nothing of the attainments or qualifications hof the gentle-
,: men connected with Tie
Sun newspaper, except
asßeporters.
Mr. John Boulgcrknew the l • ' p aintiff as a general reporter in
rs the True Sun newspaper for three or four months previous
‘to the commencement of the present Session of Parliament.
He was
~.. employed in the Rolls Court and at the Police offices.
.No fault was found with his reports. He had been sent on one
-7, occasion so attend a Church rate meeting at Brighton. Ile
s•
eas not engaged as a Parliamentary Reporter on the True
r Sun, nor could witness say whether he would have been so
smployed, if he had remained on the True Sun. Cannot
state the precise time witness left, but it was a few days previ-
sus to the commencement of the present Session.
James Ellsey, a messenger on The Sun newspaper—His
luty was to take " the copy" from the reporters to the office.
..- Saw the plaintiff on one occasion at the Old Bailey. (a laugh);
old him 'at'- Yonng wanted to see him. Saw him two or
House of Commons. Saw the other gen-
- e times at Ills . /eel. ,
son s COcopy, it was so badly written.
• en correcting
,-, teh laughter.)
rk'
:,‘, -:ass thought that with a little practice
Nort as well as plaintiff. (Great
ould be able to A him to say so—that was his era
, liter.) No persona bad reports. (Renewed laughter. )
ion, plaintiff gave
s't The Sun office, paid the plaintiff
r. Timmins, 1 ns, cashie. 'l4 dam's orders. He has not
I guineas a week by the en
, htate whether he paid him one
ohs with him and can i
' 0 weeks' salary. Sun ,
has
R. 11. Tolcher—ls a reP
ortett , The ~„
laintet for tasioo ort
' °as been so for some years. Saw VP
. I. nights reporting in the gallery of tbtleese of (-3
DI
-
Saw Mr.
in the seat allotted to The Sun repoite
the same
''S sitting behind plaintiff and taking notes s
pwhat
lain-
' Had seen Mr. Ferny subsequently correctinte
reports, and Mr. Ferny had pointed out to wit'
'
f been obliged to do.
d
e from
r. James Woods—Has been for several years ctecte
11,10 London Press. Engagements are made sit" Seg"
'Y or ann l
( ual y. A Parliamentary reporter gc,i_
_e_.
Paper to another, is considered to be engaged foams..® e 5 s
_____—amees