Amongst the reports of the Supreme Court which we publish to-day, will be found an abstract of the proceedings on the application of the plaintiff in the case of alleged libel — Brown v. Williamson and Wilson — including the entire of what is documentary in its character. It wiil be seen that the application for a removal of lhe trial to Wellington was mainly founded on Mr. Brown’s affidavit that “he verily believes a fair and impartial trial of the issue joined in tins cause cannot be had by a Jury summoned from the persons whose names arc on the Jury Lists” (of Aucklandand that the Chief Justice refused to make the.Order applied for. We shall not be induced by the example of the Southern Cross lo make any comments at present on these proceedings, for we desire to follow out strictly the desire of his Honor, by “abstaining from the publication of any matter connected with this action, so long as the action is pending, beyond a simple report of the proceedings therein.” indeed we had previously marked out for ourselves this course. Since our number of the 3rd of last month, when we announced, with a few accompanying remarks, the commencement of the action, we have guarded against everything like a discussion of the merits of the case, —everything that, by any fair construction, could be regarded as bearing upon the decision at which the Jury may arrive. It is true that we have been obliged in the performance of our public duly lo make occasional references to Mr. Brown, his newspaper, and the tactics of his party on other mailers ; and it must be perfectly clear lo all who are acquainted with local affairs that it would be absolutely impossible for us to exercise our functions as journalists with'any efficiency, or lo prevent one-sided views on many important questions from going imcontradicicd to the neighbouring colonies and to England, if the more fact of Mr. Brown’s having instituted legal proceedings against the NewZealandeu on account of certain particular articles were lo preclude us from touching any mailer in which ho, his newspaper, or his political associates are concerned. But we have studied to confine our comments strictly within the limits thus indicated, and we therefore content ourselves on the present occasion with simply directing the reader’s attention lo the Report in another column.
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New Zealander, Volume 9, Issue 771, 3 September 1853, Page 2
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395Untitled New Zealander, Volume 9, Issue 771, 3 September 1853, Page 2
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