Criminal Prosecution.

Patea Mail, 31 October 1881, Page 3

Criminal Prosecution.

Wk have been expecting, but have not received, a summons requiring the proprietor of the Mail to appear before the R.M., to answer an information charging us with publishing a false, malicious, and defamatory libel of and concerning one William Dale, junior, a candidate for the Mayoralty of Patea. If Mr Dale has been injured, he has the ordinary civil remedy. Let him appeal to a jury for damages. He may assess the amount at the highest possible figure: there is nothing to prevent that. The course he is now taking is extraordinary. He puts the criminal law in motion against us ; and to give him the technical right to do that, he sets up a charge of malicious libel. Malice is a criminal motive; and he is trying to

fix malice on ns, for the purpose of locking ns in gaol without the option of a fine.

It was foolish to threaten criminal proceedings at all, where a criminal motive for libel was so palpably wanting. But a journalist who tries to do his duty without fear or undue favor must be prepared to have his criticisms construed in a jaundiced sense, and to have his freedom muzzled, by the criminal law being set in motion against him. It is unfortunate that some few persons cannot go through election contests without getting foolishly angry at the ordinary liberty of criticism which a free public allows to the Press. It is particularly foolish to treat a difference of opinion as a crime.

In this so-called criminal libel, the question is whether Mr Dale made certain statements to one or more ratepayers. If one or more ratepayers are prepared to swear that he did, and if those statements have a material bearing on his candidature for a public office, it cannot be a crime in a journalist to publish those statements in good faith, though it. may be an error of judgment, or may be in bad taste. Even it the statements can be proved to be untrue, it cannot be a crime in us to have been misled to that extent. Error is not malice, twist it how you will.

Mr Dale does not accuse us of error : ho charges us with criminally publishing what we knew to be untrue, and tor which satisfy him but our imprisonment. It will be necessary to show Mr Dale, in Court, that there is a

difference between criminal malice and honest error, if error there he : and it will be necessary to show him that imprisonment is not a reasonable remedy. Bnt we will not discuss this alleged crime in advance. The defence is ready, and will be found complete, both in law and in fact.