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Taranaki Herald. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21, 1905. SLANDER.

j ' Pointed attention is directed to the Criminal Code Act Amendment Bill, introduced by the Minister of Justice on Thursday afternoon, by the fact that ever since the -hour of its introduction a persistent "stonewall" has been kept by members opposed to the Bill. The measure provides that all the provisions o_ the Criminal Code of 1901 .relating, to defamatory libel shall hereafter extend and apply to sp.pken words. Quite recently two or three speakers on public platforms have exceeded all license and liberty of speech, and have openly traduced the characters of public men "in a manner which would probably have landed the traducers in gaol if .their remarks had been written instead of spoken. Fortunately for them, but .unfortunately for the colony, there iis no power under existing law to punish or prevent this kind of thing-. Speakers may make the; most vile accusations against a public man without fear of the consequences. Only the other day, ,a|t a public meeting in Wellington, a, speech was made which the newspapers found it quite unsafe to report, and subsequently a typist engaged "to take a verbatim note of the speech declined to furnish tjhe copy to the speaker, because Mit contained .more libel ♦ to the square inch than 'anything he had ejver seen," and he was afraid that as the writer of it he would tiring himself -under the law. Had a! newspaper reported /the defamatory remarks it would speedily have found itself called upon to defend an action for libel or slander, while the actual slanderer could not be punished. Certainly it is desirable, in the interests of the public life of the colony, that some provision should be made to prevent such deliberate slander, but the measure under discussion in the House is of an exceedingly drastic character, arid we doubt whether the Government is justified in endeavouring to force it through Parliament at so late a s;tage of the session. At the same time it is extremely regrettable that the business of Parliament should have suffered interruption t>y a prolonged "stone-wall," which .is certain to prejudicially affect I;he remaining business of the session. -There was a lack of tact on both sides, unless, indeed, the .fault was the more serious one of a preference for fighting- rather than for proceeding with the business of the country. A law somewhat on the lines of the Bill is

certainly wanted, but it would be I a great mistake to err in the op- 1 « posite direction of limiting legili- ' mate freedom of speech, as the i Bill, in the form it was introduced, 1 threatened to do. V c (Since the above was in type information has reached us that the Bill _ has been agreed •, to in an almended form, ' which removes the chief objec- g tions against it.) ,_ " " t>

Permanent link to this item

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/TH19051021.2.36

Bibliographic details

Taranaki Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 12993, 21 October 1905, Page 4

Word Count
479

Taranaki Herald. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21, 1905. SLANDER. Taranaki Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 12993, 21 October 1905, Page 4

Taranaki Herald. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21, 1905. SLANDER. Taranaki Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 12993, 21 October 1905, Page 4

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