The Lyttelton Times. Saturday, November 20.

Lyttelton Times, Volume X, Issue 630, 20 November 1858, Page 4

The Lyttelton Times. Saturday, November 20.

We have not room to-daj* to do more than notice the case of Bowler v. M'Kenzie which was tried on Thursday in the Supreme Court;' '■ The case is one of considerable interest to journalists, and its result will naturally he a subject-for great self-, gratulation on the part of the ' Wellington Independent.' .

The action certainly appears to us to have been ill-advised. It is very possible that according* to strict legal interpretation the expressions complained of were libellous; indeed all comment on public affairs would be very much restricted if newspapers in exposingl mal-practises always had the fear of the letter of the law before their eyes.- Their protection is in the common sense of English juries, who are ever careful not unnecessarily to prejudice the freedom of the Press. Whatever the conduct of Messrs. Bowler and Varnham was, they did not strengthen their case by their appeal to the Supreme Court. Why, we scarcely ever saw much milder language in the columns of our contemporary than that complained of: the ' Independent' constantly gives its opponents much better grounds of action than the paragraphs cited in the pleadings. If the remarks upon the conduct of Messrs. Bowler and Varnham were unjustifiable,' they would have received a much more satisfactory verdict from public opinion, had they not condescended to notice the attack. Supposing a paper to be ever so wrong or ever so foolish, the person injured only lowers himself to its level by taking legal proceedings, unless on very seriousgrounds. For instance, suppose our friend I the 'Canterbury Standard 1 were to pirri sue much further the course it has lately seemed inclined to take, and were to impute to parsons holding office corrupt motives for their so # holding them ; supposing we say that such an imputation were made, would it not be ridiculous of the gentlemen attacked to take serious notice of the matter, or to fancy that our contemporary and his four or five correspondents really were the public! No, no, newspaper writing must ba, except'in extreme cases, regulate! by public opinion and the general good taste of the newspaper readers of a country.