The Sun.
London, England, 1840-03-11 00:00:00

LI:BEL-IMPORTANT DECISION.

(Front the Hampshire Advertiser.)
The criminal information laid against ourselves by the
Corporation of Chichester, in which the Jury gave a yer-
diet in our favour, is one of the most important cases that
has been tried in connection with the " Liberty of the
Press" for many years. In this verdict, and in that of
the Jury, in the cause, Parmiter against Ourselves, at the
last Midsummer Assizes for Hants, the liberty of the
press is fully and clearly recognised and defined. We
heartily congratulate the public upon it, and felicitate our-
selves upon the fact, that through us the law of libel is, at
last, distinctly laid down. Antecedent to the trial of the
cause last alluded to, the law of libel might with justice be
considered as a mere chaos of wordi, and capable of being
moulded to as many different shapes as there were judges to
propound it. It will be seen thai the new Sergeant, Mr.
Manning, laboured to revive the whole enormity of the
libel law, but was utterly defeated in argument by
Mr. Erle, and his assumed law overruled by Mr. Jus-
tice Coltman. Mr. Erie acknowledged that ho had,
in the case of Parmiter, argued strongly in favour of
the view Mr. Manning now assumed, but that he
was overruled by Mr. Justice Coleridge, who, in
that cause, bad laid down the law of libel as regarded
public men—his decision had, in all subsequent cases of libel,
been acted upon as a precedent, and it was now, and would
for ever be, the law of the land, that public men were
public property, and their public acts were open to
censure as well as praise—that their acts might be scru-
tinised, canvassed, and discussed, without scruple and with-
out fear—it was not only legal to do so, but even " coarse"
language might be used in censuring any violation of proper
conduct on the part of a public man. So far from his public
capacity screening him from observation, the moment he
accepts office his public character is open to discussion, and
it was of no avail for him to say, " I will not have my public
measures canvassed—censure is annoying to my feelings"
—the public and the press had an undoubted right to do so
even in " coarse" language—in language of reprobation--
and their right was a legal right.
This must be considered a most important decision to
the public generally, and particularly to the Press, as show-
ing what will, hereafter, be legally admitted as fair die-
cussion without being libellous, and how far frivolous and
vexatious suits for libel can be maintained. It is no trifling
matter for congratulation to those who are engaged in the
public Press—the decision is paramount to all others upon
the case given for many years, and we shall, therefore,
take effectual means to furnish to the proprietor or editor
of every newspaper in the kingdom a copy of our paper of
the present week, that they may be put in possession of
the rule for guidance in their labours, and be no longer
subject to the capricious interpretation of the so-called
easy of libel.
In the case of Parmiter against Ourselves, Justice Cole-
ridge said—" With regard to the law of libel, it was
enough to say, that with regard to public men and public
conduct, he believed there had been considered to be a
distinction from the case of private men and private con-
duct—a distinction founded on reason and common
sense. * * • It was necessary for the public in-
terest that the public measures and the public conduct of
public men should be examined with great freedom, and
the mode was by the public press, and the press was
a free press—not a press free from the restraint of
the law, but still a free press as much as English-
men were free. He who made comments on public
men in a spirit of honesty was only doing that which was
allowable. Let him suppose a man to be in Parliament, or
take the conduct of Parliament itself—the Administration
—would any one doubt that they might, with the most
perfect freedom, even with coarseness of language, ex-
amine into the wisdom or folly, justice or injustice of
their proceelinga. It was
idle for such a person to say, You have wounded my feelings,
and it annoys me when I am sitting down to dinner."
Such is the law laid down by Mr. Justice Coleridge ;
upon this law the present case was decided, and it now
stands as the precedent for all future cases of libel. Fur
this reason, it claims the utmost possible publicity.

LOUIS PHILIPPE'S MOVEMENTS

Louis Philippe, although excessively lethargic, always
rises early. As soon as he is up he reads diplomatic des-
patches and the private reports of his Ambassadors, throes
a hasty coup-d'ceil over the interior administration, and
then breakfasts at eleven to twelve. His sobriety is pro-
verbial. For the last twenty years his breakfast has always
consisted of a small loaf of bread with a glass of beer; to
this is occasionally added a little butter. After breakfast
he receives his Ministers, individually if possible, and then
receives the visits of his private friends, before whom he
displays a vast technical erudition on mechanics, masonry,
commerce, &C.
At three he retires to his cabinet, reads the papers and
public reperts, receives confidential friends, and at five he
goes out. When at Neuilly he walks on the balcony,
which looks on to the garden; when at the Tuileries he
inspects the repairs which are going on. lie returns to his
chamber at six, which is the dinner hour, but he is never
waited for. A valet de chambre announces to him that din-
ner is served; Louis Philippe then shaves himself, makes
his toilette, and entersthe dining-room when dinner is nearly
over. When the family resided at the Palais Royal, the
restaurateur Pestel supplied the table of Louis Philippe, but
complained sadly of the stinginess of hia Royal customer.
The habits of the Palais Royal have undergone no change.
Louis Philippe generally sits between his sister and the
Princess Clementine; he eats a little soup, and a boiled
fowl is then ?laced before him, which he carves with
great dexterity, eats nearly the whole of it, then drinks a
cup of tea, and then leaves the table, taking in his hand a
pear and an apple, which he munches whilst giving in-
structions to the workmen with a technicality which would
do honour to a mason or a carpenter. He then passes a
part of the evening with his family. The Princesses em-
broider, Louis Philippe converses with his sons on geo-
graphy, geology, numismatics, history, &c. Political
subjects are rarely touched upon, but no mercy is shown to
those who have not deserved well of the new dynasty.
M. Thiers was for a long while the subject of their jokes
and wit.

At ten Louis Philippe enters his cabinet, into which no
one dare penetrate. M. Montalivet, however, avows that
he has seen the gates of this nocturnal sanctuary thrown
open. Here the opulent proprietor gives himself up to the
details of his immense private fortune.
It is midnight—Louis Philippe shuts up his account
books, puts by his bills, rouleaur of Louis, &c., and poli-
tics again become the subject of his deep meditation.
It is then that those polished, elegant autograph letters
are written to Prince Metternich, Lo rd Melbourne, Maria
Christina, the secret instructions to his Ambassadors and
foreign agents. This lasts until two or three, and frequently
daylight peeps through the shutters, and finds Louis Phi-
lippe at work. A valet de ehambre who stands at the door
then informs his Royal master that it is bedtime. Ano-
ther valet has orders to call him at seven—sometimes at six.
Enjoying scarcely three hours sleep in the night, Louis
Philippe frequently falls asleep in the daytime. In his car-
riage he invariably sleeps, and after dinner, if the weather
does not permit him to inspect the repairs, &c., he throws
himself upon a sofa, and sleeps through the noise and bustle
around him as soundly as if he were in his own chamber,
Gazette de France.

Messrs. Blagrove, Gattie, Dando, and Lucas's
Third Quartett Concert takes place toll a,care of
-morrow evening
nirT.tig;
at
half-past eight. Our
these readers are
Concerts.
we
opinion we entertain o h,
IrV
ofo Rt.hlie
THE To
A 0-k1 N.-( From a
Metropolitan Anti-Corn-law Association, auspices
tlhileT
night at the Hall of Science, City-road.
aka lectured last l
ti-Corn-law Association, Mr. Sidney Smith
y notorioussusiw o
tsuspected,
, at-
The place was very
per-
son:, in the
tempted to interrupt the proceedings
but Mr. Smith at once assured
needed no chairman.cahasihrom,a.no;f
these eminent citizens that he
pay of the daesd.is sChreeritvadinl
.byprporpoopin:inag
Upon a gentleman : of
Smith thenproceededwith his lecture, and .
at short intervals
hands, the Tory spies were left in a minority 9O to 1. Mr.
was most enthusiastically cheered. A
Tin-
canister party again and again essayed to in
but were as often put down by the unanimous
the meeting. Mr. Smith then proposed a shoterrupt the lecturer,
execrations of
small. section of the w
of hands in
favour of total and immediate repeal of the Corn-laws, when
upwards of seven hundred persons held up their hands. Three
tremendous cheers were given for repeal—three as loud, and
one cheer more, were
• given for Mr. Smith ; and the meeting
concluded, with the announcement of a third lecture to be de-
' livered for the following week, amid great applause. Six hundred
additional signatures to the petition were adhibited on the spot !
So much for Tory and spy
opposition. The landowners never
spent their Carlton Club secret-service money to better pur-
pose, than in bribing their great allies to get up such opposition
as this.

COURT OF REQUESTS
Couints, recovered a week's
Court of Requests,. Yesterday a chorus-singer, named' Ati\YES M T
T---NsTER,
salary from Madame Vestris, at the
was. enter-
vent Garden
West-
minster, for having been dismissesdomeo„mu
conduct
Theatre without reasonable cause.
on had.
tain,Nl that Mr. Atkins was the author of :.Plieetottefenr which had
been published in a Sunday paper, complaining
of Madame Vestris, but it was denied that sasseut,shipebic,ii
anything to do with his dismissal, which was to. his
having neglected his duty. Considerable interest was
by the case, in consequence of its being supposed that it would
entitle Mr. Atkins to his salary till the end of the sea.
second action, brought by another chorus-singer, against- the
same lady, failed, as in this case it was held that the cause ofe
dismissal was sufficient.
FOSSIL ELEPHANT.—We have just been shown
the upper part of the thigh bone of an English Elephant, found
by Mr. Lawrence Rogers, of this town, in the ruins of the late
extensive fall at Round Down Cliff. The internal part, while
it shows its osseous structure, is tilled with sulphuret of iron or
pyrites; and, from its correspondence in size, and the situation
in which it was found, it appears to us to have belonged to the
sameanimal, a portion of whose remains we noticed some
months since as having beer, found and placed in the Dover
11"• urn• —Dover Chronicle.