Action Against "N.-C. Daily News": Verdict for Plaintiff But with Damages as Above: The Money Immediately Paid:
Judge's Summing Up on All Issues in Case famatory patter about a man, and defamatory. matter is matter which causes injury to his reputation; that is to say, words which disparage him or tend to bring hi into hatred, ridicule or contem} you libel a man by writing at Publishing false and defamatory matter about him, it does not matter what your motive" was, because the ordinary, natural consequences jy is presumed that a man intends hho does attach to the words must|the assistance of a large number is a reasonable, of highly trained and skilled busi-natural or necessary inference from|ness men, full of energy and full of the words, having regard to the ides might be at occasion and circumstances of their the disposal of the country but publication. Therefore, when yot Who, on Mr. Ward's theory, would come to the question whether or jarred from rendering such not these words bear the meaning|assistance. I have heard it said alleged by plaintiff, you must ask very lack of these meanings description in Chinese. Feasonable, natural oF necessary polities that sists the military bs 'When the case in H. M. Supreme Court: was resumed last Friday, in which Mr, Fu Siao-en was suing the "N.C. Daily News" for libel, Mr. Lipson Ward, counsel for plaintiff, ead aloud some letters, anonymous and otherwise, which' had been received by Mr. Fu.after publication of the article complained of, which alleged that Marshal Lu " Yung-hsiang had received $400,000 from Mr. Fu.
Mr, Reader Harris, for defendants, who had opened the day before, proceeded to call evidence.
Mr, 0, M. Green, editor of the "North China Daily News" was the only witness for the defence. He spoke as to receiving the message in question from Rodney Gilbert, at Nanking and publishing it with the addition of the words "what are al-egod to be, Mr, Reader Harris—It has been rested those words were put in because you suspected or saw that the report was libellous; but neyertheless, wishing to publish the report as a tit-bit of information, you sought to protect yourself by putting in those words?
Witness—That is not true, Tt la! enrively a misunderstanding. At that time there were ¢wo big parti fighting for the mastery in China. Profiting by the example of combat ants in the Great War, the Chinese were indulging in a great deal of propaganda against each other. I regarded the report as a piece of Kiangsu propaganda against Marshal Lu, suggesting as it did that he was forcibly or by some means or other extracting money from people in Shanghai for the purpose of carrying on the war. hat, was the idea it conveyed, a published the report as showing What one side was saying about the other, There was #0 much pre paganda going on that it was very dificult to get at the truth, When put in the word "alleged," it was not done with the purpose of saving myself from legal consequences go far as the plaintiff or Mr. Vu Ya-ching or the other people were concerned. What I thought was that the Kiangsu people were trying o create an unfavourable impression about Marshal Lu in his own district, and I was not going to party to supporting it any more than I would have supported a simi-Tar report from Lu's headquarters, about the Kiangsu side. I was trying and so put in the just as I made it headline that the re-an account of Marshal Lu's, finances as seen from the Kiangeu side, indicating to readi that while the matter was interest ing it was not to be taken seriously.
In answer to further questions, witnioss said that he did not send Sokolsky to interview plaintiff on the morning the report appeared, and that Sokolsky had no authority whatever to speak in' the matter. 'Witness considered it would be perfectly proper for a Chinese gentleman residing in Shanghai to support one or other of the parties, as they existed. at that time, if' he thought its success would be for the common good.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.