The Sun.
London, England, 1820-06-24 00:00:00

LAIV INTBLLIE;ENCE.

COURT 07 KING'S BENCH, JUNE 54
LIBBL. —RONAN 21. 13FLL
This was an action for a Libel against th? de-
fendant, as publisher of The Times Newspaper.
The alleged Libel was in the publication of eet.
lain proceedings, which were rt ported in tfie
Times to have taken place before the sitting
Magistrate, at the PublT-Office, Marlhornugh-
sit eel, on an occasion in which the plaintiff was a
complainant against a person named Palmer, with
whom he had sonic acquaintance.
The SOLICITOR-GENERAL,fer tijCplaiwiff,stated
the case to the Jury. Lie pro:esEed himself friendly
to the publicity given to. proceedings in Courts of
Justice, by publieati.n iu the newspapers, pro-
rider! it was fairly and impartially done. Such
publicity, he was convinced, was productive of the
greatest advantages i but whcbtr so much could
be said for the publication of Police Reports,
he would not now slop to inquire. The publi-
cation in question wottl,i be now read to the
Court, and tie was certain that he was justified in
characterising it as one of the most infamous libels
which .bad ever been puldished. He wouhr tri,3lta
no observations on the character of the Paper its
Which rite libel was first published, and from thence
copied into other Papers. He was not aware that
the Editor of Thentnes was in the habit of making
unfounded- reflections on the c!iaraciers of indivi-
duals; but it in this instance he had len‘himself
to the malice of another, he must be made to pay
in damages for the .minty done to the character
of his Client. What those damages ought to he,
he would leave to the Jiiry to
.decide, put-
ting it to them what they wouid consider a suf-
ficient compensation for such an injury..He then
Charles Preslrv, from the Stamp-office, who
proved that the Defendant was Printer and
Publisher of The Times newspaper.
Charles Stalker produced The Times of the 18th'
September, 1818, in which the article complained
of was published.
The Paper was put in and the article read ; it
was headed " Dandyism Extraordinary." It then
proceeded to give a •Itidicrous statement of an
examination at Matibarough-street, in which
the plaintiff was described as a little fellow of
.4 feet 9 inches in height, with mustachios of the
Most formidable character, preferting a charge
against a brother Dandy of, gigantic stature and
most extravagantly genteel, for an assault, which
was afterwards made up between the parties, and
the complaint dismissed. The furi-hcr detail6-con-'
tinned matter of grave charge against-the charac-
ter of both the parties, which •we forbear to de-
tail, as the falsehood of them was asserted by the
Solicitor-General, and the evidence on the point
was not gone into.
• .Wm. Stables, assistant clerk at Marlborough-
street,,Was called ; he, proved the charge was made
at the office by the plaintiff. Jr Was entered in the
hook as preferred against Samiiell'.lmer. •
On the cross-extulination Mr. :iCARLETT, he •
laid the plaintiff had mustachios when lie appealed
at the Office : they were about the usualsize Which
tienilemen wear them. He had seen the
in Court to•thy-, but he had not mustachios now.
11e Was a little man, and Palmer was a tall tat:so,
nearly twice as high 4 they were both dresstd its
rather an extraordinary manner. In answer to the
question of the Learned Counsel, whether the
chin only or the whole man was hidden by the
Cravat, the witness said they had a good deal of

•
cravat.
The examination excited a good deal of langh7
ter, and in his opinion the parties did make a
ridiculous appearance, and the word Ddndv, when
explained to mean a person dressed in a indiermio,
foppish; and effeminate manner, was, in his judg-
mew, well applied to those parties.
Mr. ScARLErr here made an objection hi timine.
James Palmer was named in every count of the
thelaration, but in the charge-hook he was called
Samuel Palmer.
.The SoLICIToR-GENERAL admitted the validity
of the objection, and consented to be nonsnited.
The other causes tried. were of no public
serest.