Plaintifl's Success on Preliminary Point: Demurrer by Defendants Overruled Judgement was rendered by Judge C. 8. Lobingier in the U. S. Court for China last Friday in connexion with the demurrers pleaded by defendants on April 11 in the case of George L. Shaw v. George Bronson Rea and Patrick Gallagher. Plaintiff is sueing for the sum of Gold $50,000 alleged to be damages suffered as a result of the publication of an article entitled "Asiatic Sinn Fein," in the Far Eastern Review," of which defendants are publisher and former editor respectively.
Counsel in the case are Mr. Sterling Fessenden for plaintiff, Mr. J. B. Davies for Mr, Rea, and Mr. P. M. Linebarger for Mr. Gallagher.
In his judgement, his Honour said:
Demurrers are here interposed to the petition charging that the defendants wrote and published in the said 'Far Eastern Review' of and concerning the plaintiff an article, which is recited in full in the petition which alleges: That by the writing and publishing of the aforesaid words and article, the defendants meant and intended it to be understood by all persons who should read such words and article that plaintiff is a Sinn Fein, an Asiatic Sinn Feiner, an enemy of human progress, an enemy of Great Britain and of other countries the Allies and friends of Great Britain.
It is elementary that a demurrer admits all wel] pleaded averments, and for the purposes of this ruling we must assume that the statements above quoted are true. The question to be decided at this time, then, is*not whether the article, standing alone, is libellous but whether it is such when read in connexion with these admitted averments.
Now it would seem quite unsafe to hold that one may with impunity publish of another that the latter is "an enemy of human progress," of his own country and of other
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.