The Feilding Star. TUESDAY, SEPT. 7, 1886. Yogel v The Press

Feilding Star, Volume VIII, Issue 37, 7 September 1886, Page 2

The Feilding Star. TUESDAY, SEPT. 7, 1886. Yogel v The Press

The libel case, which was concluded in the Supreme Court, Wellington, on Saturday, was not only a victory for the defendants, but for the whole Press of the Colouy, Had the verdict been against the Evening Press, a most effectual gap: would have been j put on all free criticism of public men and their actions. It has been a matter of surprise to us that Sir J. Yogel, who is one of the most experienced pressmen in the Colony, should have lately shown such a manifest desire to curb the liberty of the Press. As a whole, the Press of New Zealand has treated him very kindly, and he ought te have overlooked or pardoned any article which, traversing any of his political acts, trenched somewhat closely on a personal attack. We think it is more than possible in the case just decided SSir Julius Yogel had forgotten the pressman in the politician, and the politician in the man. He only saw before him his personal enemy in one of the proprietors of the Press. In his desire to destroy the latter he forgot the injury he might inflict on the newspaper Press of the Colony. He is evidently no stickler for the anonymity of newspaper writers, and in that he has made another greivous mistake for an experienced journalist. As a politician, this defeat will cause him a great loss of prestige. This is the more unfortunate, inasmuch as the Ministry, of which he is a member, cam ill afford it. We have been warm supporters of him and his Government, and we regret he should have so far sacrificed his dignity as a Minister of the Crown by exhibiting so much weakness in threatening and commencing libel actions against papers which disagreed ; with him on his deeds in his official capacity.