LIBELLING THE KING

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1042, 3 February 1911, Page 4

LIBELLING THE KING

There are one or two things that may be said upon the punishment of the.man Mylius who has just been sont to prison for publishing a gross and cruel libel concerning the King. The story that he printed has been in circulation for some years, and has doubtless been believed by a great many foolish people in every part of ■ his Majesty's dominions. Nothing ia easier, and to some minds nothing seems more proper, than to circulate scandalous stories about important public personages, and Kings and Princes are, above all persons, the natural and predestined subjects of gqisip. "People are bound to talk about them, as one of tho London papers pointed out when deprecating the well-intention-ed action of the Dean of Wakefield in publicly denying, in a sermon on Juno 19 last, the scandalous falsehoods put into print by the man Mylius; "and therefore it is inevitable that tho world should be full of stories to their credit and discredit." And whatever lying rumours may bo in circulation, Royalty cannot defend itself, nor authorise any defence. For a general defence against a general slander is of no value; it will make no impression on anyone who will believe a lying story that cannot be supported by any evidence. And if in any ono case the slandered person defends himself, his omission to do so in every other case would bo accounted tho silence of guilt. No sensible person—we do not say no honourable person, 'because a man may be perfectly honourable and_ yet not very sensiblewill ever give any credence to an unsupported story, to anybody's discredit; and it is to bo honed that the punishment of the cruel'libeller of his Majesty will prevent even the credulous from paying any attention to lying stories about him in the futiii'e. There is, unhappily, plenty of evidence that a small section of the British public delight in the circulation of slanders upon Royalty for political reasons. Mr.. Keih HAfiblE, for example, has distinguished himself by brutal and disloyal references to tho late Kino and his family, and we suppose that he

and his allies arc bitterly indignant at the punishment of Mylius. The Labour party, it is reported to-day, has protested against "the execution of the Socialist conspirators against the Emperor of Japan. Why should not Mylvus bo enshrined by' the British Socialists with Waiumny, the authors of the Denshawi outrages, the Natal murderers, the assassin of Sir Curzon Wylie, and the other holy-martyrs in the cause of treason, rebellion, Rcnublicanism, and murder ?