Bad Language

Feilding Star, Volume IX, Issue 87, 23 February 1888, Page 2

Bad Language

♦ Probably the most dangerous gratuitous sin committed by all classes of men— with too few exceptions — is that commonly known as swearing, but which in law is called " obscene language." In order that we may re* mind some of our readers who may be given to the practice, we quote the following from the Police Offences Act, 1884, section 24, sub-division 2: — " Any person who commits any of the following offences shall be liable to imprisonment with hard labor for any time not exceeding one year — Who sings any obscene song or ballad, or writes or draws any indecent or obscene word, figure, or representation, or uses any profane, indecent, or obscene language in any public place, or within the view or hearing of any person passing therein, or residing in such public place." Prom this it will be gathered it is a very risky matter now-a-days to use " a good mouth-filling oath" as Shakespeare has it. As a case in point we refer to that heard yesterday before Justices of Peace, where, according to the evidenoe given in his favor, a decent hard-working man was sentenced to twelve hours imprisonment with sundry costs, for allowing himself, when nader great provocation, to use certain obscene words, which, unhappily, are too frequently in the mouths of people who ought to know better. Any spiteful person desirous of aveuging himself on another for some real or imaginary wrong, has only to wait his chance, and his enemy will be at his mercy. Where so many are tripping one is sure to fall. Job said, " Oh, that mine adversary had written a book." In our time one might say, " Oh, that mine adversary would swear an oath" in order to have him on the hip with quicker vengeance than if he merely wrote a book.