THE DUNEDIN LIBEL CASE.

Patea Mail, Volume II, Issue 161, 25 October 1876, Page 2

THE DUNEDIN LIBEL CASE.

In the Supreme Court at Dunedin, on the 2nd of October, Judge Williams, in addressing the Grand Jury on the criminal libel action, Bishop Moran v. the '• Star,” said “ There is a case of libel with respect to which I should like to make a few observations; As it is a case in which the religious feelings and opinions of a number of our fellowcitizens appear to be involved, it the more behoves all those who are called to adjudicate upon it to consider it altogether apart from any religious bias,and to view the matter in a legal aspect only. I need hardly point out to you that the Roman Catholic religion is iil this country not merely tolerated, but is in the same position as any other sect of Christians, and that the same principles of law would apply to all sects alike. A person may, without being liable to prosecution, attack the doctrines, principles, or practices of any sect whatever, with the limitation that he must abstain from blasphemous attacks against the Deity, the Christian religion and the Scriptures. If, however, he should not only attack a Church or a sect, but should go on to attack in print or in Writing the individual characters of particular members of that sect, he would be criminally liable. So also he would be liable* if he should reflect injuriously on an aggregation of certain membei'S of a sect,- as oh the nuhS in a convent or the clergy of a particular locality. What,- therefore, ! shall ask you to determihfe in first instance is— Whether the words complained of have a tendency to bring into hatred,- contempt or ridicule, any individual or body of individuals or whether the words impute moral blame to any person. If you think that the words can be reasonably said to have such a tendency,- or that they contain any such imputations, you would find a true bill.” The Grand Jury threw out the bill in tins case. The ‘i Star” of this evening says ; “ Our Roman Catholic fcllow-townraen

will,. through this evening’s issue, have found that the Grand Jury have found no ‘ True Bill’ in the jjfoiiecntion instituted against the proprietor of this journal. In this they have blity done what is really right and just, for it must not lie overlooked that in the eyes of every other class of Christians what was copied from anothsv paper, however untrue, was not considered derogatory to the parties named. It seems that Homan Catholics view the matter in a different light and we therefore regret that the paragraph was inserted, for wd would not Willingly say anything calculated to offend their religious feelings; We feel how at liberty to state that the paragraph was inserted merely in the ordinary course of newspaper business, without the knowledge of tha proprietor of the ‘ Stafj’ find in good faith as td the authority from which it was copied. This explanation would have been given to Bishop Moran had he been courteous enough to communicate with us, and we trust that every Homan Catholic will acquit us of any intention whatever to misrepresent or insult them