The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1893-11-02
OPINION OF THE COURT BY rREAR, J

| OPINION OF THE COURT BY FREAR, J.
Question reserved by Judge Viii
ting at the last August Term of the
| Circuit Court of the First Circuit as
TO the sufticiency of the indictment,
upon general demurrer.
The defendant is charged with
having published in a newspaper a
ibellous article of and concerning
one Claus Spreckels. The Indictment
contains Introductory averments and
eoLIoqutd to show that Claus Spreckels,
who Is not named in the article, is
the person referred to therein, and
sets forth the article in full, with in
nuendoes. The passages, with the
innuendoes, which are especially re-
lied upon as showing that the article
is libellous, are as follows, in the first
count:
His (meaning said Claus Spreck-
elso next move was to attack his
! (meaning said Claus Spreckels0
debtors who were of the dominant
party through the courts, and by a
quiet word here and a useful thaler
(meaning dollar) there infame the
Royalist faction (meanipg the sup
porters of said Liliuokalani) and in
duce it in spite Of it's great respect
| for its own neck to commit some
overt act, (meaning allegorically that
said Claus Spreckels then and there
had instigated others to commit an
offense, to wit, the offense of speak
ing seditious words by publishing
verbally to the supporters of said
Liliuokalani, with a seditlous intent,
words tending to cause them to COM
NIT an overt act of a seditious
nature).
4 + \
It appeared that the inculpated
millionaire (meaning said Claus
Spreckels) had carried his sedition
on his sleeve. He (meaning said
Claus Spreckels) had run at the
mouth about his plans, and had en-
trusted grave secrets to men who
could not retain them. 1t was easy,
therefore, to prove that he (meaning
said Claus Spreckels) was a conspira-
tor against the peace and dignity of
| The Provisional Government of Ger
many (meaning allegorically Hawaii;
and meaning that said Claus Spreck-
els was guilty Of an offense, to wit,
seditious conspiracy, by conspiring
with others with a seditions intent
to excite the supporters of said Lii
uokalani to further a seditious in
tention, to wit, an intention of acting
against the peace of the Provisional
Government of the Hawaiian ISL
ands)."
The second count differs from the
first only in the innuendoes which
follow the phrases, "oyert act" and
provisional Government of Ger
many, being in the second count as
| follows:
"(Allegorically meaning thereby
and by the words below set forth
that said Claus Spreckels then and
there had instigated others to COM
NIT an offense, to wit, treason, by
melting others to commit an overt
act of war against the Provisional
Government of Hawaii, said persons
so instigated then owing allegiance
to the Provisional Government OF the
Hawaiian Islands, and that said
Claus Spreckels was then and there
an accessory before the fact to such
overt act of treason).
(Meaning allegorically Hawaii,
and meaning In conjunction with the
words above set out that said Claus
Spreckels was guilty of an offense,
to wit, conspiracy to commit tresaon
by REASONABLY conspiring with 9th
ers to induce certain persons to com
NIT overt acts of instruction against
the Provisional Government of the
Hawaiian islands,"
The article purports to relate to
the doings aud experiences of Ger
man in Germany. 1t is commended
for the prosecution that the article
is allegorical and that it was in
tended and was understood to relate
to the doings and experiences of
Claus Spreckels in the Hawaiian
Islands.
The defendant contends that be-
cause the article is allegorical it can
not be libellous, for, by the sta
tute, "a libel is publication =
which directly tends to injure the
fame, reputation or good name of
another" etc. 1t seems to Us that
| the word directly" in the statute
refers to the effect and not to the
mode or form of the publication
A publication may indirectly refer
to a person, but directly tend to
injure his good name. This dis,
tinction is we'll illustrated by an
ether statute which defines a con-
spiracy as combination ''to do what
plainly and directly tends to excite or
occasion offense, or what is obviously
and directly wrongfully injurious to
| another: for instance To
prevent another, by indirect and sim
lister means, from exercising his
trade"
Defendant further contends that
to be libellous the publication must
impute to the complainant Grim
Il -. - A..ka l.G..