See Advertiser Co. v. Jones, 169 Ala. 196, 670; Davis v. Hearst, 160 Cal. 143.
Reckless republication without inquiry. Houston Chronicle Pub. Co. v. Wegner, (Tex. Civ. App.) 182 S. W. 45.
“Malice” on the face of publication. Ashford v. Evening Star Co., 41 App. D. C. 395; Dickson v. Lights, (Tex. Civ. App.) 170 S. W. 834.
[522]. 16 C. B. N. S. 829, S. C.
[523]. Nevill v. Fine Arts Co., [1895] 2 Q. B. 156; Hollenbeck v. Ristine, 105 Ia. 488; Children v. Shinn, 168 Ia. 531; Atwill v. Mackintosh, 120 Mass. 177; Wagner v. Scott, 164 Mo. 289; McGaw v. Hamilton, 184 Pa. St. 108; Hellstern v. Katzer, 103 Wis. 391 Accord. Compare Davis v. New England Pub. Co., 203 Mass. 470; Doane v. Grew, 220 Mass. 171.
[524]. Only the opinion of the court is given.
[525]. Parmiter v. Coupland, 6 M. & W. 105; Odger v. Mortimer, 28 L. T. Rep. 472; Queen v. Carden, 5 Q. B. Div. 1, 8; Bryce v. Rusden, 2 T. L. R. 435; Duplany v. Davis, 3 T. L. R. 184; R. v. Flowers, 44 J. P. 377, per Field, J.; LeFroy v. Burnside, L. R. 4 Ir. 556, 565, 566; Stewart v. McKinley, 11 Vict. L. R. 802; Browne v. McKinley, 12 Vict. L. R. 240; Smith v. Tribune Co., 4 Biss. 477; McDonald v. Woodruff, 2 Dill. 244; Hallam v. Post Co., 55 Fed. 456, 59 Fed. 530; Parsons v. Age Herald Pub. Co., 181 Ala. 439; Jarman v. Rea, 137 Cal. 339; Dauphiny v. Buhne, 153 Cal. 757; Star Co. v. Donahoe, (Del.) 58 Atl. 513; Jones v. Townsend, 21 Fla. 431; Rearick v. Wilcox, 81 Ill. 77; Klos v. Zahorik, 113 Ia. 161; Ott v. Murphy, 160 Ia. 730; Bearce v. Bass, 88 Me. 521; Negley v. Farrow, 60 Md. 158; Commonwealth v. Clap, 4 Mass. 163, 169 (semble); Curtis v. Mussey, 6 Gray, 261; Burt v. Advertiser Co., 154 Mass. 238 (compare Sillars v. Collier, 151 Mass. 50); Hubbard v. Allyn, 200 Mass. 166; Foster v. Scripps, 39 Mich. 376; Bronson v. Bruce, 59 Mich. 467; Bourreseau v. Detroit Co., 63 Mich. 425; Wheaton v. Beecher, 66 Mich. 307; Belknap v. Ball, 83 Mich. 583; Hay v. Reid, 85 Mich. 296; Smurthwaite v. News Co., 124 Mich. 377; Aldrich v. Press Co., 9 Minn. 133 (but see, contra, Marks v. Baker, 28 Minn. 162); Smith v. Burrus, 106 Mo. 94; State v. Schmitt, 49 N. J. Law, 579; Lewis v. Few, 5 Johns. 1; Root v. King, 7 Cow. 613; Littlejohn v. Greeley, 13 Abb. Pr. 41; Hamilton v. Eno, 81 N. Y. 116; Mattice v. Wilcox, 147 N. Y. 624; Hoey v. New York Times Co., 138 App. Div. 149; Ullrich v. N. Y. Co., 23 Misc. 168; Seely v. Blair, Wright, (Ohio) 358, 683; Post Co. v. Moloney, 50 Ohio St. 71; Upton v. Hume, 24 Or. 420; Barr v. Moore, 87 Pa. St. 385; Brewer v. Weakley, 2 Overt. 99; Banner Co. v. State, 16 Lea, 176; Democrat Co. v. Jones, 83 Tex. 302; Sweeney v. Baker, 13 W. Va. 158; Spiering v. Andrae, 45 Wis. 330; Eviston v. Cramer, 57 Wis. 570; Gagen v. Dawley, 162 Wis. 152; D. Ward v. Derrington, 14 S. Aust. L. R. 35; Haselgrove v. King, 14 S. Aust. L. R. 192 Accord.
Mott v. Dawson, 46 Ia. 533; Bays v. Hunt, 60 Ia. 251 (but see State v. Haskins, 109 Ia. 656, 658, and Morse v. Printing Co., 124 Ia. 707, 723); State v. Balch, 31 Kan. 465; Coleman v. McLennan, 78 Kan. 711; Marks v. Baker, 28 Minn. 162; State v. Burnham, 9 N. H. 34; Neeb v. Hope, 111 Pa. St. 145; Briggs v. Garrett, 111 Pa. St. 404; Press Co. v. Stewart, 119 Pa. St. 584; Jackson v. Pittsburgh Times, 152 Pa. St. 406; Ross v. Ward, 14 S. D. 240; Boucher v. Clark Co., 14 S. D. 72 Contra.
See Palmer v. Concord, 48 N. H. 211.
In Burt v. Advertiser Co., 154 Mass. 238, Holmes, J., said: “But there is an important distinction to be noticed between the so-called privilege of fair criticism upon matters of public interest, and the privilege existing in the case, for instance, of answers to inquiries about the character of a servant. In the latter case, a bona fide statement not in excess of the occasion is privileged, although it turns out to be false. In the former, what is privileged, if that is the proper term, is criticism, not statement, and however it might be if a person merely quoted or referred to a statement as made by others, and gave it no new sanction, if he takes upon himself in his own person to allege facts otherwise libellous, he will not be privileged if those facts are not true. The reason for the distinction lies in the different nature and degree of the exigency and of the damage in the two cases. In these, as in many other instances, the law has to draw a line between conflicting interests, both intrinsically meritorious. When private inquiries are made about a private person, a servant, for example, it is often impossible to answer them properly without stating facts, and those who settled the law thought it more important to preserve a reasonable freedom in giving necessary information than to insure people against occasional unintended injustice, confined as it generally is to one or two persons. But what the interest of private citizens in public matters requires is freedom of discussion rather than of statement. Moreover, the statements about such matters which come before the courts are generally public statements, where the harm done by a falsehood is much greater than in the other case. If one private citizen wrote to another that a high official had taken a bribe, no one would think good faith a sufficient answer to an action. He stands no better, certainly, when he publishes his writing to the world through a newspaper, and the newspaper itself stands no better than the writer. Sheckell v. Jackson, 10 Cush. 25, 26.”