34 VICTORIA,

No. 390.

Governor in
Council may

make regulations.

34. The Governor in Council may from time to time make alter or repeal regulations not being inconsistent with the provisions of this Act or of the said recited Statute for the mode of conducting elections of licensing magistrates, defining licensing districts, and altering the same from time to time, and correcting any error in relation thereto or in holding any licensing meetings, and for regulating the way in which the votes of the licensing magistrates shall be taken, and for the inspection and supervision of houses licensed under this or the said recited Statute, and for any other purpose whatsoever connected with the execution of this Act whether of the same kind as the purposes herein before mentioned or not, and every such regulation shall upon publication in the Government Gazette, and while the same is in force, have the same effect as if it were enacted in this Act, and for any breach of any such regulation the offender shall be liable to a penalty of Five pounds.

SCHEDULES.

Section 7.

FIRST SCHEDULE.

I A.B of [abode and addition] do hereby give notice that I desire to obtain and will at the next licensing meeting apply for a publican's [or colonial wine] license for a house situate at containing rooms exclusive of those

required for the use of the family.

Section 20.

Section 32.

The

day of

A.D. 18

SECOND SCHEDULE.

A.B.

I the undersigned being a licensing magistrate for the district of

day of

sitting at
this
do hereby transfer the
rights and privileges of the within license to C.D. for the residue of the term between
this date and the next quarterly licensing meeting for the said district.

THIRD SCHEDULE.

A.B.

We the undersigned being the licensing magistrates for the district of being satisfied of the following facts do certify that a publican's [or as case may be] license was issued in this district to A.B. of [abode and addition] and that such license is lost [or destroyed as case may be] and has not been forfeited or transferred. Given under our hands this day of

One thousand eight

hundred and

C.D.

E.F.

G.H.

Licensing Magistrates.

An Act to Consolidate the Laws relating to Wrongs.

[9th May 1865.]

E it enacted by the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly of Victoria in this present Parliament assembled and by the authority of the same as follow:

1. This Act shall come into operation on the first day of June Title. in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five. It shall be called and may be cited as "The Statute of Wrongs 1865," and is divided into Parts as follow:

PART I.-Defamatory Words and Libel ss. 3–11.

PART II.-Wrongful Act or Neglect causing Death ss. 12-16.

2. The Acts mentioned in the schedule hereto to the extent to Repeal of Acts. which the same are therein expressed to be repealed shall be and the Schedule. same are hereby repealed. All rights and all causes of action acquired or accrued and all liabilities incurred and all privileges and

No. 251.

28 VICTORIA, exemptions conferred and all offences committed and all proceedings commenced under by or against either of the Acts hereby repealed before the coming into operation of this Act shall continue and be enforced and shall be punished and carried on respectively as if this Act had not been passed.

No action maintainable against a person for

faithfully reporting.

Offer of an apo

in evidence in mitigation of

PART I.-DEFAMATORY WORDS AND LIBEL.

3. No action or information shall be maintainable against any person for publishing a faithful and accurate report of proceedings in any court of justice court of petty sessions inquiry before a coroner or other legally constituted court. Provided always that it shall not be lawful to publish any matter of an obscene or blasphemous nature nor any proceedings in any court which may not be concluded and which the judge magistrate coroner or other presiding officer may pronounce it improper to publish at their then stage.

4. In any action for defamation it shall be lawful for the logy admissible defendant (after notice in writing of his intention so to do duly given to the plaintiff at the time of delivering the plea in such 6 & 7 Vict. c. 96 action) to give in evidence in mitigation of damages that he made

damages.

s. 1.

In an action

against a newspaper for libel

the defendant

may plead that it was inserted without malice and without neglect and may

pay money into court as amends.

Ib. s. 2.

Publishing or threatening to

or offered an apology to the plaintiff for such defamation before the commencement of the action or as soon afterwards as he had an opportunity of doing so in case the action shall have been commenced before there was an opportunity of making or offering such apology.

5. 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 in such newspaper or other periodical publication without actual malice and without gross negligence and that before the commencement of the action or at the earliest opportunity afterwards he inserted in such newspaper or other periodical publication a full apology for the said libel, or if the newspaper or periodical publication in which the said libel appeared should be ordinarily published at intervals exceeding one week had offered to publish the said apology in any newspaper or periodical publication to be selected by the plaintiff in such action; and every such defendant shall before pleading such plea be at liberty to pay into court a sum of money by way of amends for the injury sustained by the publication of such libel and such payment into court shall be of the same effect and be available in the same manner and to the same extent and be subject to the same rules and regulations as to payment of costs and the form of pleading (except so far as regards the pleading of the additional facts hereinbefore required to be pleaded by such defendant) as if actions for libel were not excepted from the personal actions in which it is or may be lawful to pay money into court under any Act now or hereafter to be in force in Victoria; and to such plea to such action it shall be competent to the plaintiff to reply generally denying the whole of such plea.

6. If any person shall publish or threaten to publish any libel publish a libel or upon any other person or shall directly or indirectly print or publish

No. 251.

publishing any

or shall directly or indirectly propose to abstain from printing or 28 VICTORIA, publishing or shall directly or indirectly offer to prevent the printing or publishing of any matter or thing touching any other person with proposing to intent to extort any money or security for money or any valuable abstain from thing from such or any other person or with intent to induce any thing with intent person to confer or procure for any person any appointment or office punishable by of profit or trust, every such offender on being convicted thereof and hard labor. shall be liable to be imprisoned for any term not exceeding three 6 & 7 Vict. c. 96 years. Provided always that nothing herein contained shall in any manner alter or affect any law now or hereafter to be in force in respect of the sending or delivery of threatening letters or writings.

to extort money

imprisonment

s. 3.

libel punishable

7. If any person shall maliciously publish any defamatory libel False defamatory knowing the same to be false, every such person being convicted by imprisonment thereof shall be liable to be imprisoned for any term not exceeding and fine. two years and to pay such fine as the court shall award.

Ib. s. 4.

matory

8. If any person shall maliciously publish any defamatory libel, Malicious defaevery such person being convicted thereof shall be liable to fine or punishable by imprisonment or both as the court may award such imprisonment imprisonment or not to exceed the term of one year.

fine.

Ib. s. 5.

Proceedings upon

the trial of an information for a

defamatory libel.

Ib. s. 6.

9. On the trial of any information for a defamatory libel the defendant having pleaded such plea as hereinafter mentioned 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; and to entitle the defendant to give evidence of the truth of such matters charged as a defence to such information it shall be necessary for the defendant in pleading to the said information to allege the truth of the said matters charged in the same manner as in pleading a justification to an action of defamation, and further to allege that it was for the public benefit that the said matters charged should be published and the particular fact or facts by reason whereof it was for the public benefit that the said matters charged should be published; to which plea the prosecutor shall be at liberty to reply generally denying the whole thereof; and if after such plea the defendant shall be convicted on such information it shall be competent to the court in pronouncing sentence to consider whether the guilt of the defendant is aggravated or mitigated by the said plea or by the evidence given to prove or disprove the same. Provided always that the truth of the matters charged in the alleged libel complained of by such information shall in no case be inquired into without such plea or justification. Pro- Double plea. vided also that in addition to such plea it shall be competent to the defendant to plead a plea of not guilty. Provided also that nothing Proviso as to plen in this Act contained shall take away or prejudice any defence under of not guilty in the plea of not guilty which it is now competent to the defendant to proceedings. make under such plea to any action or information for defamatory words or libel.

civil and criminal

of publication by

10. Whensoever upon the trial of any information for the publi- Evidence to rebut cation of a libel under the plea of not guilty evidence shall have been prima forecas given which shall establish a presumptive case of publication against an agent. the defendant by the act of any other person by his authority, it shall be competent to such defendant to prove that such publication was made without his authority consent or knowledge and that the

Ib. s. 7.

28 VICTORIA, Said publication did not arise from want of due care or caution on No. 251. his part.

On prosecution

for private libel

defendant en

titled to costs on

dismissal.

s. 8.

11. In case of any information by a private prosecutor for the publication of any defamatory libel if judgment shall be given for the defendant, he shall be entitled to recover from the prosecutor the

6 & 7 Vict. c. 96 costs sustained by the said defendant by reason of such information ;) and upon a special plea of justification to such information if the issue be found for the prosecutor, he shall be entitled to recover from the defendant the costs sustained by the prosecutor by reason of such plea, such costs so to be recovered by the defendant or prosecutor respectively to be taxed by the proper officer of the court before which the said information is tried.

Interpretation of terms.

9 & 10 Vict. c. 93 s. 5.

Liability for death caused wrongfully. Ib. s. 1.

Actions how
brought.
Ib. s. 2.

PART II.-WRONGFUL ACT OR NEGLECT CAUSING DEATH.

12. In the construction of this Part of this Act the following words and expressions are intended to have the meanings hereby assigned to them respectively so far as such meanings are not excluded by the context or by the nature of the subject matter (that is to say): the word "person" shall apply to bodies politic and corporate; and the word "parent" shall include father and mother and grandfather and grandmother and stepfather and stepmother; and the word "child" shall include son and daughter and grandson and granddaughter and stepson and stepdaughter.

13. Whensoever the death of a person shall be caused by a wrongful act neglect or default and the act neglect or default is such as would (if death had not ensued) have entitled the party injured to maintain an action and recover damages in respect thereof, then and in every such case the person who would have been liable if death had not ensued shall be liable to an action for damages notwithstanding the death of the person injured and although the death shall have been caused under such circumstances as amount in law to felony.

14. Every such action shall be for the benefit of the wife husband parent and child of the person whose death shall have been so caused and shall be brought by and in the name of the executor or administrator of the person deceased; and in every such action the jury may give such damages as they may think proportioned to the injury resulting from such death to the parties respectively for whom and for whose benefit such action shall be brought; and the amount so recovered after deducting the costs not recovered from the defendant shall be divided amongst the before-mentioned parties in such shares as the jury by their verdict shall find and direct.

(a) This means a criminal information exhibited by a private person to whom leave has been granted by the court to exhibit it, mentioned in 15 Vict. No 10 s. 13. A practice had obtained that some informations signed officially by the public prosecutor should, after his signature was attached, be wholly conducted by and at the expense of the person injured. In such a case, where a conviction was obtained for defamatory libel, the person injured applied by summons in

the character of "private prosecutor," under 19 Vict. No. 4 s. 10 (which corresponds with this section of this Act), to amend the postea with a view to the costs of the issues. The summons was referred to the full court. Held, that such person was not a "private prosecutor" within the meaning of the section; that he had no locus standi as a party; and summons dismissed, but without costs.-Reg. v. O'Farrell, 2 W. & W. (L.), 117.