It was long a disputed question whether the jury, in a criminal prosecution for libel, should deliver their verdict only with reference to the facts of the publi cation of the libel and of the matter of it, or should also found their verdict on their opinion of the matter being libellous or not. It was contended by the judges and most of the lawyers that the jihige should determine whether the matter was a libel or not, and charge the jury accordingly. But it was settled by an act of parliament that the jury must find not only the fact of publishing, but whether the matter in question be a libel or not (32 Geo. III. c. 60, extended to Ireland by 33 Geo. HI. C. 43). In a civil action the question whether the publication is or is not a libel is decided by the judge or court.
The punishment in a criminal prose cution may be fine and imprisonment ; and upon a second conviction for pub lishing a blasphemous and seditious libel, the court might sentence the offender to banishment for any term it might think fit. (1 Geo. IV. c. 8.) But this was re pealed by 11 Geo. IV. & 1 Wm. IV. c. 73.
The printer of a libel is liable to pro secution as well as the writer, and so is the person who sells it, even though he is ignorant of its contents.
By the 28th section of 38 Geo. III. c. 78, a bill of discovery may be supported against the editor of a newspaper or other person concerned in the publication or interested in the property thereof, to COM-, pel a disclosure of the name of the author of the libel, or of the name of any person connected with the publication against whom the party libelled may think proper to bring an action ; and such a bill may also be maintained against any person suspected of being the author, which would compel him to discover on oath whether he did or did not write the libel in question. (Blackstone, Com. ; Starkie and Holt, On Libel ; Selw., N. P.; Bac., Abr., tit. " Libel ;" Lew, CRIMINAL.) The act of 6 & 7 Vict. c. 96, entitled An act to amend the law respecting defamatory words and libel,' has made some alterations in the law of defamation and libel. The act commences with the preamble, " For the better protection of private character, and for more effectually securing the liberty of the press, and for better preventing abuses in exercising the said liberty, be it enacted," &c. The act enacts—§ 1, That in any action for defamation it shall be lawful for the de fendant, subject to a certain notice in writing therein described, to give in evi dence in mitigation of damages, that he made or offered an apology to the plaintiff for such defamation at such time as in the said section is more particularly de scribed.
§ 2 enacts, That in an action for a libel contained in any public newspaper or other periodical publication, it shall be competent to the defendant to plead that such libel was inserted without actual malice and without gross negligence, and that at such time as the section mentions he inserted in such newspaper or other periodical publication a full apology for the said libel, or made such other apology as in the said section is more particularly described.
§ 3 enacts, That if any person shall publish any libel upon any other person, or shall directly or indirectly threaten to print or publish, or shall directly or indi rectly propose to abstain from printing or publishing, or shall directly or indirectly offer to prevent the printing or publishing of any matter or thing touching any other person, with intent to extort any money or security for money or any valuable thing from such or any other person, or with intent to induce any person to confer or procure for any person any appointment or office of profit or trust, such offender on conviction may be imprisoned for any term not exceeding three years. This enactment does not in any way affect any law as to the sending or delivery of threat ening letters or writings.
§ 4 enacts, That if any person shall maliciously publish any defamatory libel, knowing the same to be false, on convic tion he shall be liable to two years' impri sonment, and to pay such fine as the court shall award.
§ 5 enacts, That if any person shall maliciously publish any defamatory libel, on conviction he shall be liable to fine or imprisonment, as the court may award, but the imprisonment is not to exceed one year.
§ 6 makes an important change. It enacts, That on the trial of any indict ment or information for a defamatory libel, the defendant having pleaded such plea as in this section is afterwards men tioned, the truth of the matters charged may be inquired into, but shall not amount to a defence, unless it was for the public benefit that the said matters charged should be published. The de fendant must in his plea to such indict ment or information allege the truth of the matters charged in the manner that is required in pleading a justification to an action for defamation.