AN EXTRAORDINARY LIBEL ACTION.

Mataura Ensign, Volume 7, Issue 412, 25 November 1884, Page 5

AN EXTRAORDINARY LIBEL ACTION.

At the Campbelltown Police Cuurl (New South Wales), recently, tSii Henry Parkes charged William Webb, proprietor and publisher of the ' CampbelltoAn Herald' with having published on September 6, a criminal libel con^ cernin^ him. Mr Wise, instructed by Messrs Gannon and M'Laughlin, ap peared for the complainant; and the defendant, who was unrepresented by counsel, simply pleaded not guilty, and declined to cross-examine any oi the witnesses. The libels complained of were contained in the following article in the ' Campbelltown Herald 'of September 6, 1884: — "After evading his creditors for thirteen months, Henry Parkes has returned to the Colony, and, of course a few of his followers gave him a feed. A glance at the motley list of admirers will show that the whole affair was ruuch ' too thin ' to have any significance or importance ; and it did not even present one of those peculiar { opportunities ' which have occasionally enabled Sir Henry to come to the surface when the majority thought he had ' sunk fo the last time.' After his last ignominious defeat and his subsequen refuge in the ' harbor ' of Tenterfield, it was generally supposed that Sir Henry had fallen, never to rise again. But, as luck would have, out came the Redmond Brothers, and the redoubtable knight, who floats only when the feelings of an excited people are to be. appealed to, once more tried to prove that Protestantism was in danger, a^'l he was the man to rescue it. As Protestants ourselves we bow to no one iti our admiration for what we conskliT that glorious institution and would, it: necessity demanded, fight harder than a dozen noisy firebrands like Sir Henry Parkes- But Protestantism requires no one to fight — it is a good cause aud perfectly safe— and its true interests are best; served when Protestants show that their Protestantism teaches them Christianity, and that Christianity teaches them charity — the foundation of all that is good. There is no charity or religion in abusing people who differ from us, and we only bring our Protestantism into disgrace and contempt when we offer unlicensed insults to a large body of men and women who are trying to reach the same goal as ourselves, and who are at the same time faithfully acting up to the tenets of their church. It indeed speaks little for Ihe opinions of any body of men when they are so hard up as to be compelled to make a hero of a tuah who has not got a redeeming feature in his character. Sir Henry is a man who never in his life paid anyone if he could help it. If he made a man's acquaintance it was solely for the purpose of borrowing money from him, or getting him to indorse a promissory note, which the unfortunate invariably had to pay. He always deserted his old friends, no matter how good, for new ones, and has altogether been a man unworthy of confidence. Of course, ifc is hardly to be expected that he could allow such a chance of attacking Mr Stuart to slip from him. How amusing to hear the 25olitical charlatan, who had neglected his legislative duties for thirteen months, say that the present Ministry had degraded political institutions, and that for the first time he (Sir Henry) was ashamed of the country. We do not knov so much about his being ashamed oi: the country — but wo do know that the country is tired and ashamed of Sir Henry Parkes. Just fancy the crawling. miserable sycophant who listened at the cell door to hear j the rarings of the madman O'Farrell, being ashamed of the freest and hap ' piest country under the sun ! — which it would not be if cloven-footed gentry like Sir Henry had their way. Fancy the man who tried to ' put up ' the North Shore bridge swindle being ashamed of the country that has fed him and winked at crimes for which another man would have been imprisoned. Only think of the man who took little Dr Ron wick into the Ministry for the modest consideration of LSOO talking about the Stuart; Minustry degrading political institutions ! A peevish child would have exhibited more manliness than Sir Henry did at the banquet, the only true sentence In? did say being * The country has had enough of me.' True, 0 King H.-mry the Ninth ! Every well-wisher, of the Colony has had enough ;of you and of the miserable clique who have been at your beck and call, and whose only chance of ever getting into power is by getting class, against class, and prostituting everything that is sacred or manly. !For years there has not been the same good feeling existing between Catholics and Protestants as has existed during the absence of this firebrand; and unless some un happy'circumstance arises f o enable him to (show hia venom, and work upon the feelings of fanatics, he will have to take a back seat for the rest cf his days." The prosecutor's solicitors, before instituting proceedings, demandiid an unqualified apology and the payment of two guineas costs. To this demand the defendant made the following answer : — ln- my wildest flights of imagination it never dawned upon me that I way born to greatness, I have heard of a man who, having made up his mind to become notorious tried a number of schemes, and, failing afc all of them, eventually banged himself \o accomplish the acme of his ambition ; but here I waken np on the 19th day of September, 18^-1, and find a letter from one o" the most respected firms of solicitors in the polptnep apting uncjor instnjotipns from np less a porspn tl:an. Sir Henry Paries. Bespect fully j wish to inform you that I sh.a]l nat under any ciioumstanoas sipologlae. When I remember the countless tri..ks of Sir Henry Parkes, and the c ntempt.ible manner in which he treated the 'Empire' compositors, I fes.l that \ is my duty, as a man, to prefer sjc months in Darlinghurst to anologishi •• J to a man whose wh^lel^e h.B"be',n !! .-i

series of acts of a piny that mighl appropriately be called " Humbug.' If proceedings are taken against me t there will be such a washing of dirt} t" linen as only we old printers who hav< > lieen acquainted with Sir Henry Parkes ■ for a generation can attempt. I shoulc 1 be sot ry to appear the least disrespect ■ ful to you, but in the words of a gentle T man who whs born on April 23, 1561<: ' and who I wish had lived in New ; South Wales for the last thirty years allow me to conclude — ' Lay on, Mac » Duff, and damn'd be he that first cries f Hold! enough.' — Tours, etc., War Webb." Sir Henry Parkes gave evidence and ' ' denied the charges contained in the i article. ! In reply to the bench the defendant [ said : 1 have nothing to say ; I will ■ reserve my defence ; bail, I suppose 1 your Worships. The defendant was then committed for trial at the Central Criminal Court at Sydney, bail being allowed him in i his own surety of LIGO, and two other sureties of LSO each.