EXTRAORDINARY LIBEL CASE.

Evening Star, Issue 3856, 3 July 1875, Page 3

EXTRAORDINARY LIBEL CASE.

At Bathurst, N.S.W., there was recently tried an notion for libel against the ‘Western Independent,’ at the instance of a certain alderman named Mutton, who has a tallowchandlerihg business, but no nose. The denuded alderman had asked in the Town Council some time back why the bill of the proprietor of the ‘lndependent’ (who is also a bookseller), for stationery, was always so much more than that of a rival tradesro an. The accounts were examined, and was found that the rival tradesman’s acconn ragainst the civic body was, on the contrary, three times as muoh as that of the newspaperman, and the ‘lndependent,’ with bad taste, made numbers of allusions to the alderman’s infirmity, and said the matter was as plain as the nose on his face. At this the man of tallow waxed wroth, and there was the inspiring spectacle of an alderman and an ex-Mayor and editor combined having a bout of fisticuffs in the street, for which the former was fined L 5. The higher courts were then appealed to, for the afflicted alderman brought an action and claimed L 2.000 dan ages. When the case came on, it was found thatthe fifteen special jurymen were all ■ elated to each other and the plaintiff and after exhausting the panel as far as j&saible, the four good men and true wer® as follows (1) The father-in-law of plaintiff's counsel and a relative of the plaintiff ; (2) the nephew and cousin by marriage of the plaintiff,, also, of course, related to the counsel; (3) a cousin of the plaintiff; (4) a second cousin of plaintiff and brother-in-law of plaintiff’s wife. The Judge (a temporary one engaged for the circuit) had held the brief for the plaintiff, and the counsel was a personal enemy of the defendant. The consequence was that the paper was put on its trial, and though' the defendant bad taken the law into'his own bands, a verdict for L2OO was returned. Mr Buchanan, who defended the paper, and is an M L. A. in Par-

liament. called the attention of the Minister of Justice and the Government to the danger of so many of one family being on a special jury, 1 and a long debate followed, the upshot being that the Colonial Secretary promised to look into the matter, and revise the mode, of selecting special jurors.