New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1842-12-12

II, al
party, but il often does net cover all The srnpn9
embraced in the former. | cannot wait. wh,.
news of general interest reaches me- until al j.,
details may be judieiaily established. PUBLISH
whatever of it | believe TO be true and ,rp,, -
Time to enable me, if NOT wholly true, 10 CORE,
il. know well that | am liable 10 an action =,
damages sustained by my misstatemeat in any
case, however innocently may have fallen into !:
Il claim no immunity from the proper conss.
quences of my own msjudged or misguided ae,,.
am here only to contend ,ha, the proper remsS,
in such case is aot an action for libel; becsn,,
the malicious intent which the Law supposes ana
declares necessary in that action is not fairly No,
nationally nferrible against the Editor of a publ.
journal under such circumstances.
trust, Gentlemen, that You have seen tina,
claim no immunity at your hands but an immunity
from presump:ive or legal guilt in case where ali
the circumstances forbid the idea of actual guilt:
and that the immunity claim for my profession
is one plainly founded in the nature and absolute
reason of things, and clearly recognized by the
principles and fortified by the positions of the
Common Law.
Here followed our legal citations ana comments.
which, since the Judge though, very small beer OF
them, we will omit, and consider their substance
when we come to speak of His Honor's charge
desire you to consider in the next place, gen,
temen that this action for libel Is founded on no
invasion of the sanctuary of private life |, grew
out of public trial for libel, ON an action broush,
by the plaintiff, in this suit himself, in Circuit Of
this Court That trial was n matter OF public in,
terest, and legitimate subject Of newspaper pub,
LEGATION; il was my dnty to give an ncccun, oft
6. IL IS, Of rsho
have been Mr. Cooper's purpose, in bringing ha
action, to have the result proclaimed and CON.
mented on. An accountcame to ME by Mail, from
a friend attending the Circuit Mt Fonda: ] read it,
believed its statements Of facts, and thereupor
formed the opinioa that its structures on Mr.. Coop
ers conduct were warranted by the facts, when
a few days afterwards, MIR. Cooper, withou. vii
ting to me or in any way asking of me correc.
ton of my report, gave public notice that he had
directed an action to be commenced against me-.
| waited only till his missiye should have reached
mo- 1t came, as you will have seen, in the like
ness of an olive-branch; and | immediately pub
Iished Mr. Cooper's own version of the whole mat
ter In doing so. intmated no doubt that he
was right on all the points of difference as TO facts
between the two statements. l virtually admitted
and intended to admit, that his statement, being
last made and in view of the other, was rishton
those points. assumed the correctness oil bis
statements, and then, looking ut the whole case
from this point Of view, | still considered that Nj
Coopers course at Fonda had not been Honorable
or magnanimous. So thinking, SO said; and the
bare expression of that opinion, in words as 'ent
perate as the language affords, forms part OF my
alleged offence and the second count in the decla
ration on which | am now before you.
Now, Gentlemen of tue Jury, it is no part Of
my case to prove that my opinion was tho sound
and correct one. 1t is enough that it aas my
opinion, and that, being accompanied by Mr. !
Cooper's version of the facts on which it was
| avowcdy based, it could work no injustice to him.
think l need not argue before you, Gentlemen
that in this Free Land had right to cherish AN
opinion and express it. And yet Gentlemen,
YOU canno. declare me guilty of Libel in this
without assuming that had no such right, or that
this was not my opinion but pretence-a ground
less and malicious fabrication.
And now, Gentlemen. while do NOT here
sume TO set up standards of honorable conduct or
feeling for the plaintiff or any other man, I do say
that if had stood in Mr.. Cooper's place on the
trial in question, having sued the Editor of lead
ing and powerful journal for what believed fla
grant libel, could not have felt justified in going
to trial in the absence of the defendant-especialy
an absence caused by the holiest anxieles, the
keenest affections either on the first or the So
cond day of the term. If had resorted to a e
gal tribunal for the vndication of my character
and not Cor the palry dollars | might wiring from
poverty stricken class By system OF legal brow
beating and annoyance should have desired
nay, insisted-that my opponent be confronted
with me in the trial, and the defence of which he
had given notice be heard. My honor would have
been satisfied with snap,judgement-with no
purse, however ghiy, torn from the wrnging
hands of the distracted father Us he bentn anguish
over daughter lyiag at the gates Of deatb.-And
even if had suspected, as Mr. Cooper strangely !
processes to have done-thoueh then knew as
now know the fact to be otherwise-that the de-
PENDANT was making domestic Affections preleX
for protractng his absence, should still the more
have insisted that that defendant be representedin
Court, Or at least that the longest practicable time
be allowed him, that the verdict of my vindcaon
should be not merely triumphant but conclusive
beyond cav.
will not detain you. Gentlemen of the Jury,
by examining in detail all the paragraphs or parts
of paragraphs which the plaintiff has culled out
of my TWO articles to form the basis OF his SUIT
because ! desire you to consider, not detached
sentences but the whole matter. No one sentence
has any distinct force and significance apart from
the rest; for al! the judgements of each article
rest directly its facts, and are simple deduction;
therefrom Take, for example, the sentence Of
my correspondent on which understand by Nh
Cooper's letter that most stress is laid by this /
prosecution
" The value of Mr.. Coopers character, there
fore, has been judicaly ascertaned. 1t is worth
exactly four hundred dollars"
The value, therefore, Why therefore?
Simply because of the facts jus, reiated-becaa's
Of the undeniabe truth that MIR. Cooper sued
man of ample means for defamation of charac'efin
a journal Of commanding circulation and influence