New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1845-07-12
The Press n nd the Law Of Libel.

II
thorough Constitutional and Judicial Reform Inc
argument would be sufficient and conclusive
For the last eighteen years, the Judicial power %
our State has been almost entirely in the hands oil
one political party How it has happened we 90
not say: bat il has happened that through an 'li'
time il has been very dangerous and often croeny
extensive for Wing to tell disagrecabie irain OF d
partisan Of the Albany Regency while " hig7 nav
hoen libeled ad AJ1tum, and generally with entire
impuniiy-
The fortune Mr.. Weed of the Albany Evening
Journal. affords notable example of this some
seventeen wears ago, he was accused IN Regency
Journal with the boldest circums'anuai'! anu Posi
,iyeness Of having shaved oil the whiskers OF ana
Otherwise mutilacd the corpse OF dead man found
in Lake Ontario in order TO make 1t pass Tor that Oh
William Morgan This atrocisus charge was every
where copied. repeated, aggravated, dwelt upon
by the journals in the Regency interest until thou
lands were made to believe, and many even yet be
eve that it mus, have had some foundation IN truth
| For wears Mr Weed devoted time and money 10
the task Of bringing the author and one or two prn
cipal endorsers Of this calumny TO trial. But Tue
Courts. the District Attorneys &c. were all against
him and in practical coniederacy with the ioe'e's
and the author of the charge never couid DC
! TO trial The case was thrown over from iern 10
term until the Cour; at length declared II oua"eu
and ouashed il altogether The Editor OF the Al
banv Argus. who bad repeated it almost daily for
wears. was finally worried into the nelghborhood Of
trial when finding the charge utterly baseless' he
retracted it in his columns and stopped the suit
But the hundreds OF little Arguses, which had not
been sued, never noticed the rctraction and their
readers believe to this day. for all they have done
to disabuse them that the gross calumny was found
ed in fact This is but OF many atrocious libels
upon Mr. Weed for which he has never received
any redress at the hands of the law
On the other hand thousands after thousands OF
dollars have been taken from him most unlusily
through the fundamentally of the New ork YER
sion OF the law of libel. One man has caused Mr.. w
TO suffer to AN amount no, less than Five Thousand
Dollars for expressing uniavorabe opinions OF him
which were not only essentially just and ustiiablc
but were felt TO be by nine tenths OF the commu
nitv. while the other tenth would have considered
fifty dollars liberal estimate for the damages sus
tanned The application of the Law OF Libel was
made worse and worse by successive decisions from
the Circuit Bench, until in the last trials at Coopers
town Of Messrs. Weed and Stone respectively the
utmost limit of absurdiiy and injustice appears to
have been reached and verdicts of $3.50 each were
obtained. carrying heavy bills OF costs, in cases
where no libcls had been perpctraed, and where it
would seem impossible that any impartial jury, un
less sisdrected from the Bench, could have given
over six cents damages ifthey gave any.
The Journal of Thursday gives the history OF
sill, worse case which was not brought TO issue be
fore Court but where Mr. Weed and the publish
crs of,he Journal for the crime OF not beng Judge
Monen of Chenango Co-for that 1t IN substance
was-aftcr making two several and earnest attempts
to contradict and suppress the injurious impua'ion
which Judge NJ iancied he was laboring under,
were compelled to confess judgment in the sum OF
$1,000 pay all the costs incurred IN the prosecution
of the suit amounting TO s407 3d. and including $50
10 Judge Mcneil himself) and submit TO be pub
iishcd as sclfconvic,ed lbclers This Is but one
among several such cases occurring in our State
So regular had this sort Of thing become that a
Loco Foco in quest Of the necdful bad only TO sue
! for libel Wing Editor who had any-tfor there
was the pinch of the CASE and he was pretty certain
| TO co, some by verdict or compromlse-his lawyer
was in luck for 500 counsel fee out of the de
fendant anyhow Ofcourse, prosecuting for libels
| was reduced TO a system. and Loco Foco whose
name appeared in Wing paper, the Editor being
in fnadsl considered himself in luck and put in his
sickle Thus Mr. John Costigan prominent Loco
Foco of Albany. who has many points ola clever
fellow let drive his action upon the Journals stating
tha, he had directed or supervised the bringing in
lot of "pipc-layers' or foreign voters IN 1873 TO
| carry the doubtful Wards of that City MIR. Weed
tried 10 settle the dispute. bu, could not, for when
the plaintiff became willing, the plaintiff lawyers
sent in their little bills for trhe OF hundred or
two each which Mr.. Weed was required TO pay,
according to custom. Not happening 10 have the
change to throw away. he chose TO 90 TO trial warn
| ing Mr. C. that he would be obliged to prore what
he had thus far only asserted. So said, done he
| did prove his charge 10 the letter by number OF
| good witncsses-a Loco Focos-who thought the
Journal had been victimized enough in the libel
way. He proved no, only Costisan but number
| of the most conspicuous LocoFoc OF Albany to
have been engaged in the "pipelayins
| being only an instrument. while his employers were
men of greater mark and acting forthe Republican
General Committee of Albany He proved until
Judge Parker who presided at the trial, and held
the scales of Justice event said there was quite
| enough. and no need of calling more Witnesses
The Jury promptly returned verdict for the de
| PENDANTS,
We trust this is the dawn of brighter day for
| the Freedom Of the Press in New-lork.
| ~" Capt. JONATHAN WAIVER. of Harwich,
Mass the history OF whose imprisonment a, Pensa-
cola for aiding in the escape of slaves is well known
to our readers arrived in the city yesterday in the brig
Lowder lie was liberated from prison on the 18th Of
June after a confinement Of IL months. He was also
punished by sitting in the plloy and being branded in
the right hand with the letters : $ slave steser) He
was tried and found guilty seven indictments. and
fined $l65 The whole amount OF fine and which he
has paid about 500 He freely admits tina, he attempt
ed TO carry slaves their request from Pensacola
to Nassau The voyage undertaken in open boat
and they had been days at when they
taken up near Cape Florida by wrecker from hey
West, Cap, Walker states that John NJ Blunt the law
yer sent 10 Pensacola TO defend him, turned miser
able swndlcr pocketing about 500 without even APP
pcarins in his behalf although he within few miles
OF the place while the trial going
Capt, Walker sus,ans high character for integrity
~. htrx,tv Ma ~lst.-