The commonwealth. (Scotland Neck, N.C.) 1896-1929, 1899-01-19

JAIN UARY 19. II
mittee was appinted to ask the Legis
lature to pass a proper libel law
} and Mr.. Hoey, of Cleveland, in
troduced the following bill prepared
!, by the committee, of which Mr.. H. A
London is chairman:
i The General Assembly of North Car
olin0 do enact
i Section l. Before any proceeding
either civil or criminal, shall b,
brought for the publication of a libel
the plaintiff or prosecutor shall at leas
five days before instltuting such pro
ceeding serve notice in writing On th'
defendants, specifying the article ant
the statements therein which he al
leges to be false and defamatory. I
1t shall appear upon the trial that sale
article was published in good faith
that it's faIsity was due to mistake o.
Misrepresentation of the facts, or tha
there were reasonable grounds for be
lieving that the statements in said ar
ticle were true, and that within a rea
sonable time after the service of sale
notice, full and fair correction or de
traction was published in the same
editions OF corresponding issues OF the
newspaper or periodical In which ar
ticle appeared, and In as conspicuous
place and type as was said original ar
ticle, then the plaintiff in such case, il
a clyil action, shall recover only DANA
ges, and 1t criminal proceeding 8
verdict of not guilty shall be rendered
Sec. 2. That in every prosecution OF
action for libel, the defendant may
show in his defense that the matter
complained of was published in
his paper or periodical without
his knowledge or fault, and against his
wishes by another who had no author
ity from him to make the publication
and whose act was disavowed by him
so soon as known.
| Sec. s. That any person who wllful-
ly states, delivers or transmits by any
means whatever, to the manager, edi-
tol, publisher or reporter of any news
paper Or periodical for publication
therein any false or libelous statement
concerning any person or corporation,
| and thereby secures the publication OF
the same, is hereby declared guilty of
a misdeanor.
Sec. 4. No Indictment or civil action
| for libel contained in a newspaper or
periodical published within this State
shall be instituted except in the county
where the newspaper or periodical was
printed and published, or in the county
where the person llbeled resided when
the offense was committed.
Another bill of general interest is
that introduced by Mr.. Bryan, of Mad
lson, taking the offense of carrying
concealed weapons out of the Superior
Court and giving the magistrates
original and final Jurisdiction.
The bill introduced by Mr. Williams,
of Dare, for the promotion of temper
ance in his county, was pared down
considerably before 1t was allowed to
pass. In its original form the bill
made it misdemeanor to sell or give
intoxicating liquors to minor, pun
lshable by fine of not less than IS
nor more than $50. It further proyid-
ed that it should be misdemeanor to
be found drunk, except upon ones
own premises.
The bill, before being enacted into
law, was amended so as not to prohibit
parents from giving whiskey to child
rem in good faith for medicine; and
the provision as to drunkenness off
ones own premises was stricken out.
AS has already been stated, an effort
will be made at this session to have the
Merchants Purchase Tax repealed
The first bill looking to this was in
troduced by Mr.. Wrenn, of Chatham,
yesterday.
FRIDAY, JANUARY 18TH.
SENATE.-The Senate made an
end, so far as it is concerned, of "our
present fair and just election law" of
ordorous memory.
1t passed eleven bills-three private,
six local, and two general.
1t referred to committees a bill to
compel all foreign corporations to ac-
cept all the State laws as supreme, and
a bill to incorporate an important line
of railway
Ten new bills were introduced, most
of them local or private
There was no debate in the Senate
whatever, and most of the bills passed
with the usual unanimous chorus of
''ayes" that makes the Senate more
business-like than interesting to those
who take delight in the thunders OF
legislative debate. Only on the bill to
repeal the election laws were there any
audible "noes," the loudest OF them
coming from the Senator from Warren.
Later on he also called up his bill to
repeal the tax ou emigrant agents, or
rather the Democratic bill which had
already passed the House. 1t will pass
the Senate in due time, when that
body is ready 20 submit pass to keep
the agents from enticing away tenants
who have already contracted for this
year. As one Senator from the East
expressed it, "the agents can take them
and welcome" In discussing the en-
igrant agent bill, Senator Fuller
sprouted the oratorical bouquet of the
season when he declared that by re-
peallng the tax the Democrats "would-|
add another laurel to the already bril-
liant chaplet of Democratic campaign
pledges"
Another important committee was