CO129-010 - Sir Henry Pottinger - 1843 — Page 448

443

letter No.

nevertheless

217 of

the

last month but I am 27th of very glad, that the question is about to

be submitted to Her

Majesty's

Government from

whom I shall no doubt receive instructions should

my

views

be

erroneous.

In addition to what I before stated I may now add that I do not believe that the Law of

Libel was even

applicable to any part of India

where Teen's Courts and Judges

Judges had long been

established) until within

a

very

recent period.

I know myself of his instances in which injurines

semart's had been made on

the Government of

India at Calcutta, and on

The

Judges of the

Supreme Court : as the Queen's Court is termed)

at Bombay, and on

both these occasions the

junishment resnted to, was the deportation from India of the respective Editors (a power which the

Lical

local Governments held up to 1834. but even.

theme cases the offending Newspapers.

even, in

were not

suppressed ; and I happen further to know,

that the difported Editors

gave

much truble

in England, and that the measures taken against

them

were

considered

by the Home Authorities

to have been ill judged

May

aut routier in

own

opinion is

any

and uncalled for.

that the existing

Place interfering (except by

Law) to protect individual character or to

vindicate it when attached is open to many

once

gives

The Editor or attacking

objections. It at one

the celebrity which he

party

it uerally enlists

022

which he generaity seeks for,

the same side, ti : & impainy

of a large portion of society

(as was seen in the

cases

who

arc

Ú

led to believe.

quote above) that

the oppression of the stronger

over

The weaker,

and