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Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 8278, 20 October 1905, Page 4

The Hon. J. McGowan yesterday moved the second reading of tho Criminal Code Amendment Bill which, ho explained, was designed to remedy a defect in the law by making defamatory libel by speech liable to punishment in the samo way as a printed or written defamatory libel is punishable. The Premier himself has suffered recently by attacks made upon him by Mr Meikle, and Sir Joseph Ward by the platform charges of Mr Braund. This is a small Libel Bill, brought in at the eleventh hour, to protect the Premier and Sir Joseph Ward. But should men lose the right of free speech in New Zealand because two prominent public men have been defamed? Surely the Premier and Sir Joseph. Ward are able to protect themselves without a special measure of the kind. Who ever heard of an English Prime Minister, when assailed by a bitter tongue, taking legal proceedings to vindicate his character. Ministers of the Crown should be above this sort of thing.