The Sun.
London, England, 1867-04-15 00:00:00

" A letter exposing the falsehoods of Lord Chelms-
ford and Lord St. Leonards in order to deceive the
House of Lords and stifle inquiries into the charac-
t
At the Guildhall Police-court on Saturday, Mr. ter of the Lord Chief Baron." He then asked Mr.
Rigby Wason applied to Alderman Sidney for a Wason whether he did not consider that libellous.
Mr. Wason said they could bring their action.
summons against the proprietors of the Times for
Alderman Sidney asked, in the event of their de-
libel, and Alderman Sidney requested the presence
ciding that the report was not libellous, had Mr.
of Sir John Musgrove to hear the application.
Wason any other remedy.
Wason said his application was very shortly
Mr. Martin said—Yes, he had an action for
as follows :—By the present law anything published
damages in a civil court.
in a newspaper of a character to bring a person into
Mr. Wasou said he did not want damages.
ridicule or contempt was a libel. The publication
The magistrates then retired with Mr. Martin to
.of reports in Parliament rendered the parties pub-
consult, and in a short time returned into court,
ailing them liable to an action for damages or a
criminal prosecution. In the present case there when
Alderman Sidney said—l thought it right to save
would be no action for damages for himself, but the
our time, Mr. Wason, if I ascertained the opinion
question was, whether in the paper he complained of my brother magistrate after going in ; and I have
of there w.as prima facie evidence that there was a
libel in the publication. just put my decision—because your application is
really to myself as sitting magistrate, Sir John Mus-
Alderman Sidney asked what was the nature of
grove having kindly come here to hear your appli-
his application. cation—down in writing, and it is this :—" I have
Mr. Wason said it was a summons against the
duly considered your application, and having read
proprietors of the Times.
the paragraphs of which you complain, after con-
Alderman Sidney wished to know for what pur-
ferring with my brother magistrate and our legal
pose. adviser, Mr. Martin, I am of opinion I ought not to
Mr. Wason said fora report in Parliament and
an article in the imes. grant the summons applied for."
Alderman Syney asked if it was for a false report. Mr. Wason asked to have a eopy of the decision,
Mr. Wason said—Oh, dear no ;it was not fora as he wished to take it to his barrister, and get him
to take steps to try the question in a legal manner.
false report.
Alderman Sidney wanted to know which House The request was courteously complied with, and
of Parliament it was in. Mr. Wason, having thanked the worthy alderman
for the attention they had given him, retired.
Mr. Wason replied that it was in the House of
Lords. There was a bill in Parliament which had
already passed the House of Commons and the
second reading in the Hoase of Lords which would
make the publication of speeches in Parliament
privileged, but that was not the case at present.
No doubt their answer would be that it was quite
true, or that it was no libel.
Alderman Sidney asked Mr. Wason if he expected
the Bench to grant a summons without considering
whether the article complained of was a libel.
Mr. Wason said— Decidedly he did.
Sir John Musgrove said it might save Mr. Wason
a long statement which might be irksome to him if
he would read the libel complained of.
Mr. Wason then referred to a copy of the limes
of Wednesday, the 13th of February last, and said
the first of the report that he had to complain of
was in a speech of Earl Russell's, in which he says :
—" I did this that when the petition was presented
there might be a full opportunity of an answer to
the charges which it contained. That opportunity
the noble and learned lord on the woolsack has fully
and properly availed himself of. lie has given a
complete answer to all the charges made, and it
appears to me a matter of the greatest public im-
portance that the character of our judges should re-
main, as I am happy to think they have hitherto
been, unstained and pure in the eyes of the public.
It appears to me, my lords, it is better that before
an assembly such as your lordships such charges
should be heard ani refuted and shown to be totally
destitute of foundation, than that every peer should
refuse to listen to a petitioner, and that a person
aggrieved should not have an opportunity of obtain-
ing a hearing in the House of Lords." The next
was from a previous speech of Earl Russell's—" In
the next place it appears to me that Mr. R. Wason
could hardly have refrained from pressing his charges
from any feeling of personal tenderness for Sir F.
Kelly, but rather because he felt his proofs
were insufficient, and that he could not
bring to the test of inquiry the grave charges
which he desired to make." The next part he
complained of was the speech of the Lord
Chancellor, in which he said--" Now, my lords,
assuming that every word of this position is as true
as I shall prove it to be false, we must not forget
that the facts upon which these most grave charges
against the Lord Chief Baron are founded took
place no less than 30 years ago, and that during
that long period my right hon. friend has twice held
the office of Solicitor-General and one of Attorney-
General," &c. The next part of which he com-
plained was in a subsequent portion of the same
speech—" Therefore I must ask your lordships to go
through the charges contained in this petition as
briefly as I can. In doing so I will refute them
utterly, and leave it to the judgment of every im-
partial man to say whether there is a single word of
truth in them." In those speeches he was accused
of fabrication and making a false and unfounded

Application for a Summons against the
"Times" for Libel.

X iscellaneous Foreign News.

(From Correspondents of the Auglo-American Times.)
PARIS, April 11.
This has been a week of unusual political excite-
ment in Paris. I may, therefore, be pardoned if I
touch for a few moments, on the " bones of con-
tention."

charge.
Alderman Sidney observed that Earl Russell had
presented a petition from him (Mr. Wason) to the
House of Lords, and it was his lordship's remarks
. upon that petition that he complained of.
Mr. Wason said that was so.
Sir John Musgrove asked to see the act on which
the application was made.
Mr. Martin (the chief clerk) handed him the Ist
volume of " Russell on Crimes and Misdeameanors."
Mr. Wason said that Earl Russell never told him
the course he intended to pursue on presenting the

petition.
Sir John Musgrove said he wanted to see that
they were proceeding rightly, and he therefore
wished to know whether Mr. Wason went on any
other ground than the report of the speeches in the
House of Lords.
Mr. Wason said he also went against the 7 rues
for a leading article.
Mr. Martin observed that he did not rely on that
the previous day, when he made his applicatiou to
him.