Untitled

Bruce Herald, Volume IX, Issue 820, 18 July 1876, Page 5

at all events tp challenge it in a Coiirt of Jus^cer It would' have been impossible to institute civit proceedings, as no person ?was directly alluded to, and defendant "coutd , .have pleaded guilty; that' no one had sufetained actual damage. . ; Defendant might say in mitigationKhai he wais^no^- the originatdr of Hie scandal. The 'Tuapeka Times,' which the. scandal first appeared, was a paper' wit^f|^y^mall;.circiilationj,p t and Twh'eft th]e s'caridal wasrepubu'shed in a paper with th^e circulation of the; 'Star/ the offence became aggravated instead,of mitigated. When such, a ■ statement; appeared in a Dunedin paper it was telegraphed all over the ColonyJ, and probably all over ! th:e world. In the Supreme Court! it had- beeh'ruled that any person could set; the law of; libel? in motion, so Bishop Mpran's : right;tp: take action could not be questioned. .... • | Evidence was then token. It was to the effect that any' 'Roman : Catholic clergyman who married in thenianner spoken of, would be shunned by his -co-religionists. Great importance was astaphed to vows of celibacy; Knowing that ino sueh 1 Order as the Sisters _ f of,Mercjr. existed in Dunedin, .witness should say i!^hatMe / p'ersbn !^tingJiad mistaken the •i^raer format 'bf St.' J D^ininib. Tlie. parajs^grapKiwas } a -direct -•'attack ! on the OrdeTjpl Nuns, Joy conveying the imputation that one of their .number had, -broken her vows afla married. ?

Bishop Moran stated that he had been 'a , Ronian : , .Catholic ,-Bishqp j ~< for, up^ardsj < ;of ."'twenty * yearsV -?y -*^ c U 9* on i*Pi Pere '-'llyacintfte cbnl^iried,in ifae paragraph; in the; that it < one bf f the "Catholic priests of Dun-j edin with haying- broken; the* tolfs of celibacy^. j>'e^^ > Catholic clel^j^mari' v for" marrying is' suspension, ex 4 conununication, and" deposition. Any nun ■who- niarr^d^TjMie^t: "wPv. u i4: cb e > excommuni- * catetl^ ,4 n< ?a ' • a PP r 9?4¥?&; to jthe. law. , of the ''GKvfrch',' 1 .wotud r 'incur..* perpetuai, imprison-^ j nienC -Fere flyabmth'e's' inariiage occasioned ,-thei"inbßt 'grievous "scaridal,' ; j ahd' ttie' most , intense pain to all Catholics. There-was not the least foundation for the .statement that one of Ms clergy had thrown off the trammels 1 of the'Chufchand "taicen a wife: ' They had'; no order of Sisters -of- Mercy, but they had; an, order,. pf y s£* - I^ompiic. - : v /Th,ere was.; no; ' toiti 1 in the 'suggestion that .a" nun. had, been; ' married -td a J prie I st>'"' ! '" lJ ''"' ' ' ' !

The case for the prosecution 1 - was closed on Tuesday, and. on Saturday : the; case. for. itKe

defence was opened. Only Mr Bathgate ■was on the Benchf ""His Worship proceeded to read the aisualcaution^Oi defendant^ wheii * f jitc. Howprjh submitted that ?it , was not the 'proper stag^ ;at_which ; .defendant . should be "cn'argeVU" Mfcer argument, the caution, was read, and in reply '

Mr Bell said — I admit lam the proprietor

and; :editqr of /the , 'jEyening Star ' newspaper. 'I dfd m ot: write the alleged libel, nor was I "personally 'concerned in 1 the publication ,of it. ? rh'e'nrst ; time I saw it was when reading the * Star ' at my residence on the evening of 3rd July. Since, the publication I have not acquiesced in it, and until the proceedings in

Court I did not know that the matters al-

leged were false. The columns of the 'Evening Star.' have at. .all times been open -to Bishop Mofan' and to 'the 1 members of the Church, and whenever the Bishop has favored me with any letter or other communication

it has invariably received prompt attention ;

and I absolutely deny that he has any just reason for stating that he had serious doubts that I would have published a refutation if requested so to do. The_ /_Tuapeka v Times ' Kas 'never on any previous occasion, so far as I am aware o% published : a false -statement, or one that would give offence to any body of persons.-. Frederic George Whetham — I am reporter on the ' Evening Star,' and am now temporarily . acting as sub-editor. I was so employed on July 3. Mr Howoirth told the witness he need not

commit himself by any answer he might give.

Witness — I have read the paragraph complained of. Mr Bell was not consulted as to its publication. To my knowledge he has never acquiesced in, or consented to, its publication; The paragraph was cut out of the 'Tuapeka Times.' It was there I first saw it. Cross-examined — When I ' say that Mr Bell did not acquiesce in its publication, I mean that Mr Bell did not see it before, and neither -expressed approval or disapproval after its publication. No expression of regret has appeared in the ' Evening Star ' concern-

ing the publication of that paragraph. •„ I know who inserted the paragraph in the c Star.' I will' not say who inserted it, because I may criminate myself. I made no

inquiry as to the truth of the statement before' I saw the paragraph in the f Star ' —I

thought if it /were untrue it would be contradicted/. I have been on the 'Star' about three years and a-half , and am acquainted with the .spirit and style of the paper. Ido riot' think Bishop Moran is one of the Deities the 'Star' -worships. The Bishop is often' hit pretty hard by the ' Star'— blows are freely exchanged. ; Re-examined— -Neither Bishop Moran nor anyone else asked that this paragraph might be contradicted. If t had received a letter asking that it might be contradicted, it wo aid have been inserted. Bishop Moran's letters have always received attention and been published nx the ' Star. '. The Magistrate did npt comment upon the evidence, but explained that taking into consideration the fact, that the matter had been 4§emedof lnsufficient importance to justify the &9si§tanc§ 'of coungel '-.on both sides, he did not fee! justified in giving, a verdict, but felt ib his duiy to remit it to the Supreme Court for enquiry. " , The defendant was committed for trial at the next session of the Supreme Court, and admitted to bail, himself in £100 and two sureties of £50 each.