LIBEL—AN EXAMPLE.

Colonist, Volume IV, Issue 419, 29 October 1861, Page 3

LIBEL—AN EXAMPLE.

The: annals of Queensland have already been honored by the occurrence of a trial for seditiouß libel. The Legislative Council has been the plaintiffin the case, and the publisher of the Courier, a Brisbane journal, the defendant. The action originated in an article which appeared in the Courier, in defence of Mr. Justice'Lutwyche, between whom and the Council there* has long been a fierce feud. The Council, it may be remembered, pissed a bill reducing the salary of the judge, and the said bill was disallowed by her Majesty. The Council thereupon adopted certain resolutions condemnatory of the judge, for having evinced political partisanship. The only offence of the kind, according to the Queensland correspondent of the Argus, which could be charged against him waa confined 'to the civil and briej1 acknowledgement on his part of some resolutions agreed to unanimously at a meeting got up some tim« back to sympathise with his Honor, at the time (during the previous session) that his salary and position were under consideration.' During the passing of these resolutions, a very severe attack upon the judge was made by one of the members of the house, iv reply to which appeared the article in the Courier, written, according to rumor, by Mr. Lutwyche himself, upon which the action for seditious libel was founded. This article charged the Council with 'being destitute of gentlemanly feelings' and 'common Christianity/ and with having displayed 'brazen mendacity,' 'gross ignorance,' and ' B&otian density of intellect.' The case was conducted by the Attorney-General, and resulted in a verdict of 'Not Guilty' being returned by the jury, after ten minutes' deliberation. Popular feeling was so keenly aroused that the defendant was chaired from the Court-house to his residence. A meeting was subsequently held, at which it was resolved to> defray by public subscriptions the costs sustained by the proprietor of the Courier j and the following resolution in support of the freedom of the press was the first which was proposed and carried :—' Tha.t this meeting regards the successful issue of the contest between the press and the Legislative Council as a matter for universal congratulation; and desires to record its unalterable determination to firmly resist every future attack upon our privilege to speak and print our opinions of public men and political measures with all British constitutional freedom.'— Melbourne Examiner.