The Sun.
London, England, 1866-06-02 00:00:00

PARR v. ELLIS.--LJBEJ,.

BAIL COURT, JUNE 1.

(Sittings at Nisi Prius at Westminster, before Ai
Justice Lush and a Common Jury.)

This was an action for libel brought by Edwin
Parr, the celebrated trainer, against the Daily
Telegraph. The defendant pleaded not guilty, and
that the words were not used in the sense alleged.
Mr. Huddleston, Q.C., and Mr. F. H. Lewis
were counsel for the plaintiff ; Mr. Hawkins, Q.C.,
and Mr. Sleigh were counsel for the defendant.
Mr. Iluddleston, in opening the case, said that
plaintiff had felt bound to bring this action, in
order to vindicate his character from the serious
imputation which the defendant had cast on it, and
he could not help thinking that when they heard the
case they would agree with him in thinking that
the defendant ought, as the proprietor of a respect-
able journal, to make the only reparation that
was now in his power, by retracting the insinua-
tions, and apologising for what had been pub-
lished. The action was only brought to vindicate
the plaintiff's character, and he was then ready to
'accept an apology, with such damages as would
carry costs. _ The plaintiff was a well-know❑
character, and it would appear that in 1864 Lord
St. Vincent, whose trainer the plaintiff was at
that time, purchased an Irish horse, Redan, for
£650. The horse was trained by plaintiff, and
during 1865 he won no less than £2,530 in various
stakes. In August the plaintiff left Lord St. Vin-
cent, and on the 12th December there appeared in
the Daily Telegraph an article headed " Sporting
Intelligence, Turf Topics, and Derby Cracks," and
in it was the following, which was the libel com-
plained of :—" Redan is a horse whose merits have
not been properly appreciated by either the public
or the backers of horses. He is undoubtedly one of
the most compact and neatest and racing-like Derby
colts we saw out all last season, every inch a stayer
to look at, and sure to be there or thereabouts on
the Derby-day if -he does well through the winter
months. During the summer he ran with varied
success, but there is more than a suspicion that he
was never half trained, and that Parr's pills and
Telescombe cookery (the learned counsel explaining
that Tclescombe was Lord St. Vincent's training
ground) had prevented Lord St. Vincent from land-
ing several handsome stakes. Nevertheless, Redan,
when only just coming into his proper form at Don-
caster, ran a great horse with Lord Lyon, and it
was urged that he would have snatched that race
out of the fire had a man been on his back instead
of a fashionable light weight."
The learned Judge suggested whether the matter
could not be arranged.
Mr. Hawkins said it never was intended that the
words should convey an imputation of fraud.
The learned Judge said that might be so, but still
it was for the jury to say whether the words con-
veyed some mismanagement which was liable to
injure the plaintiff in the way of his trade.
Mr. Charles Betts, a musician, and friend of the
plaintiff, was called to prove that he read the article

in question, and that he considered it reflected very
much ou the plaintiff.
The witness was subjected to a long and humorous
cross-examination by Mr. Hawkins.

The plaintiff, who it was stated was unavoidably
absent, could not be called, neither was Lord St.
Vincent. .

Mr. Hawkins then addressed the jury in mitiga
_ _

tion of damages. He urged that it was worse than
idle to suppose that any fraudulent imputation was
intended. The writer had only made a fair com-
ment upon racing matters, and had only, at the
most, said that something seemed not to agree with
the horse, which after all was a mere matter of
opinion. It did not impute any' improper conduct
to the plaintiff. The term ",Parr's Pills" was only
a skit upon the plaintiff's name, and everyone knew
that Parr's Pills possessed wonderful powers, espe-
cially with regard to longevity. It was certainly
strange, if the publication of the article had damaged
the plaintiff's character, that no evidence had been
given in support of it.
The learned Judge, in summing up, said that
editors of newspapers and others might comment on
public matters, and also upon the supposed capabili-
ties of a race-horse, but if they imputed improper
motives they were liable to an action for libel. The
first question for their consideration was, whether
the defendant intended to impute fraud to the
plaintiff.

The Jury, after retiring for half an hour, said
they did not believe there was any intention to im-
pute fraud.

The learned Judge asked them if they thought
;he article imputed incompetency or negligence on
;he part of the plaintiff, in which case they would

assess the damages.

The Jury found that point in the affirmative, and
assessed the damages at 40s.

The Judge said he should direct a verdict to be
entered for the defendant, with leave for the plain-

if to move to amend or to enter a verdict na

obstante veredicto.

Railway Traffic Returns for the Week,

__,,____

3111 es Opened. Receipt,
......____%,.—..-..........._.
1865. 1865. 1906 1865
£ t
lelfast and N. Counties 9)l 991 2,012 1.995
Belfast and County Down—. 49 41/ 657 638
Blyth and Tyne 33 06 --
Brecon and Merthyr
1 Bristol and Ex'ter 1214 121/ 7,422 6,933
Caledonian, Scottish Central 4171 408 26,287 20,350
Cambrian
Cockermouth IC & Penrlth .. 311 311 664 4-.
Cockermouth and Workin .. 9 9 435 326
Cork and Bandon 2O 20 461 463
Cork, Blackrock, & Passage 6l 61 227 240
Cork and Youghal
Cornwall 634 654 2,2. q 2 3;4
Ceeside l7 17 ,25 527
Do Extension
Dublin & Belfast J unction .... 63 63 1,405 1.233
Dublin and Drogheda 75 75 1,769 1.799
Dublin and Meath
Dub. & Wicklow and Wexld lO6 911 3,456 8,082
Forth and Clyde Junction
Furness, &c 5O s') 4,063 3.245
Glasgow & South-Western
Gt. Eastern,Nrfk~&E.Union
Great Northern 422 401 35,438 34,449
Great North of Scotland 5B 53 2,046 2.C7d
Do Branches 42 41 1,511 1,036
Gt. Northn. & Westn. (Irel.) B2l 711 731 5.4
7t.Southn. & Westn.(Lrind.) 3871 1187} 9,374 9.455
Great Weqern 1292 1280 76,773 69,5 S 4
Hull & Hornsea

Railways.

246 3,410 3,110
145 1,561 1,637
403 63,752 39 751
241 202 147
261 119 )87
461 68S 770
201 471 461
12731 121,933 112,036
4904• 29,981 24.816
2b71 24,942 19,7.9
124 i 12,775 9,533
Ilt J 3,329 1.450
27 1,760 1,750
42 1,686 3,5(4
246 26,582 17,695
9} 1,452 1.454
28 1,712 1.349
31 4,856 2,805
6631 55,01 G 45.717
2601 5,143 4,7E8
44 2.966 3,045

Highland
Irish North-Western 145
Lancashire & Yorkshire 403
Limerick and Ennis 2ll
Limerick and Foynes 261
Lianelly_ 461
Llynvi Valley
London & North-Western
London & South-Western
Lond. Brighton, &S. Coast 2931
London, Chatham, & Dover; f 1351
all Metropolitan Extension I 12}
Do. Kent L oast
Lou., Tilbury, & Southend
Ilan.,Sheilield, & Lincolnsh
31 mall. S.J un.& Altrincham 9l
11aryport and Carlisle 2B
Metropolitan 4l
Midland linel. N.-Western) 677i
Midland Gt.Westn. of hind 2601
Monmouthsh. Rail. & Canal 44
North British, Edin., Perth
and Dundee
N-Eastern and Stock. & DarL 12071
North London ll
North Staffordshire 258
Pembroke and Tenby lll
Rhymney l9/
Scottish North-Eastern 143
Somerset and Dorset 66
South 'Devon
South-Eastern 315
Taff' Vale 6l
Ulster
Vale of Clwyd.
Waterford and Kilkenny 3l
Waterford and Limerick 77
W'haven,Cleator,& Egrmnt lO
FORE!. ta4 AND COLONIAL. 828 43,910 33,':24
Austrian B2B 662 286
70 "I 4,7 35:1
Bahia and San Francisco ..• • ~„, 261 . fAs 5. 00
Belgian Eastern J unction. t;7 37)? 206
.;,253 6. 76
Bombay, Baroda, & Ccn. luau. is, 189
6,299. 5.8 .
Detroit and 111ilwattkie
75
()51.1
Data Rhenish
,1,4- 1,31 ,
Eabt‘iu of France. ......... 1665 1:51
110 2,774 2,778
: ... ll'
Eastern Bengal ..
East Indian .......... .: .
... 1377 12'
./ 23,333,
.... ... ... : ... 1119 101073 i 43 118
,4269:8. N
Grand Trunk of Ca%ium.... 285
68 J 7 6,531
892 38089 24,439
Grand
Cinednitanralr'efulsintil.a, ............ 1639441 131 5,914 5 2,37
urg, ..•
79 Great Luxeinhot,f
66!
.75,)
34:i 315 12,706 12. 24
Great Western
.... U
611 571 8,32 i 6,329
lisdr" ..... ;-: BsalAiicant 778 713, 17,505 16,176
Madrid, Sara„
.........:
(11
Great Southe.mo. ....180.ndaidaa 79
9P - 2,757 2,429
Northern of Canaria
764 721 C 0,268 58,035
Northern of 1 k
41 44 1,112 660
ottoman . .... .. 4Bl
182177 17E7liii 710J7481 721:2'4999
Ir.StunDlediterrn.... 2000 - I'7 i 659 ZO 6 138,974 142,6x4
Paris and Orleans
pNaorrins:/,,,-;:s.
Recife and and San Francisco. &c
105 305 2,5.3 1,454
Do. Punjab, Sze 253 . 45 2,320, 216
South Austrian. &c
Southern of France 9.0 823 23,244 29.911
Victoria
251
Welland 251 9, 73 0,43
West dt N-Wn. of Prance ........ 25 25 259 ' 218
.. 1155 1016 51,6:33 15,683

7074 27,711 25.532
116o} 73,795 69,05

-
9 5.341 3:508
258 9,070 7,785
111 185 -
191 9;5 910
138 5,480 5,557
66 1,305 977
791 4.5 4 4,369
308 29,722 22 3 9
:
01 6,020 4,8 t 9
1051 2.393 2.51 w
18)
10 210
31 .195 460
77 1.261 1,335
10 909 744

THE CRUSADE AGAINST DOGS.—One police-con-
stable at Hull, who has been commissioned to hunt ujl
the dogs in the town for which taut are not paid, kas
bagged no less than 1,500.