the judge could not punish should be trusted to the pulpit, the school, the university, and, above all, the conscience of individuals, to prevent. The dread of exposure was at least as likely to produce hypocrisy as virtue, and a better foundation must be laid for morals than the "terrors of a literary police." The confusion that would follow in the discrimination of the various shades of morality and wickedness would be no less lamentable. No distinction would be observed by the strange, and hardened, and eager eyes of the underling feeders of columns, between the settled profligacy of the man and the rash error of the boy. The locus penitentiæ, which God, and nature, and society grant, would be cut off. He whom Wisdom would rebuke with kindness, and bid "go and sin no more," would be at once pilloried and branded, and turned out hopeless and callous to a world in which he would think every man's hand must be forever against him. If such a system were to prevail, the peace of families and of neighbourhoods would be perpetually agitated and harassed by rude intrusions on the sanctities of domestic retirement. Vindictive journalists would drag forth not only the smaller vices and venial frailties of individuals, but their innocent and indifferent actions-nay, even their misfortunes, their infirmities, and their sorrows-whenever these could be made the subject of a heartless and mercenary exhibition to the multitude. Thus the controversy went on between the friends and adversaries of the law which declared that a libel was criminally punishable, no matter whether it was true or false. But the law reformers triumphed, and, in the year 1843, what is known as Lord Campbell's Libel Act was passed, securing all the substantial reforms for which they had contended. By that Act, of which the sections of our own statute on the subject are almost an exact copy, falsehood was made an essential element in the guilt of the defendant, and a severe penalty was annexed to the malicious publication, by any person, of a defamatory libel, "knowing the same to be false." It was also provided that "the truth of the matters charged as libellous may be enquired into," but that they shall not amount to a defence unless it was for the public benefit that they should be published. To entitle the defendant to give evidence of their truth, he must allege it in his plea of justification, as it is termed, in addition to alleging that the public benefit required the publication. Without such a plea, the truth of the matters cannot be investigated, but if, when it has been pleaded, the defendant is convicted, the court may consider, in pronouncing sentence, whether his guilt is aggravated or mitigated by the plea, and the evidence given to prove or disprove it. The last important change in the English law of libel that has been engrafted on our own may be very briefly noticed. We have seen that the question whether a particular publication be so far noxious in its tendencies as to amount in the abstract to a libel, is a pure question of law. If, in that view, the matter be libellous, it is then a question of fact for the jury, whether it was maliciously published, subject, however, to the ordinary presumption of law, that, in the absence of proof to the contrary, every person intends that which is the natural consequence of his act. So, according to the old common law, publication by the servant is publication by the master-in that it is presumed to be with the master's assent, and equivalent to publication by him. The publisher was thus held criminally responsible for his servant's acts, unless proved to be neither privy nor assenting to the publication of the libel. Of course, so long as evidence of an exculpatory character was admitted no great harm was done, and the doctrine was at least defensible; but, in the case of Almon, the London bookseller, before referred to, and for many years thereafter, the judges refused to admit such evidence, holding that the publication of a libel by a publisher's servant-whose servant Almon was-was proof of his criminality. A greater hardship could scarce be imagined, yet, great as it was, this rule prevailed, and was the universal law of England down to the year 1843, when Lord Campbell's Act swept it at once and for ever off the English statute book. And now in Canada, as well as in England, whenever evidence shall have been given which shall establish a presumptive case of publication against 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 did not arise from want of due care or caution on his part. The material cumulative result of the two great Acts of Parliament referred to, viz., Fox's Act, passed in 1792, and Lord Campbell's Act, passed in 1843, was, for many years, the law of libel in the old Province of Upper Canada. In the other Provinces the law was, in some respects, different. But Confederation, which necessitated so many changes in the old relations of British America, necessitated changes in its system of jurisprudence also, for, on every such system, the peace, and welfare, and good government of every country must almost altogether depend. Ever since Confederation, therefore, our legislators have turned their attention, with diligence and success, to the work of assimilating and making uniform the civil and criminal laws of the Dominion. In the prosecution of this work they declared it to be "expedient that the "law respecting the crime of libel should, in "all respects, be uniform throughout all por"tions of Canada," and this, "for the better "protection of private character, for more effectually securing the liberty of the press, "and for better preventing abuses in exercis"ing said liberty." The English law we have been reviewing was made the basis of this uniformity, and the Act which carried it out in this country received the Royal assent on the 26th of May, 1874, and is now the Act which embodies and governs the law of libel all over the Dominion of Canada. One word, in conclusion, on the practical execution of that law. We have before applauded the wisdom of the Legislature which intrusts the application of so critical a code to the pure and popular tribunal of a jury. If our property and lives are safe in their hands, individual fame, "the outwork which defends all other possessions, and makes them all valuable," must equally depend for security on their verdicts. Journalists have reason to appreciate and value, perhaps more than any other class in the community, the time-honoured system of trial by jury; but journalists can never forget, and will always be willing to concede, that juries are invested by the law of libel with a two-fold trust; and that, while they are the guardians of all useful freedom of discussion, they are no less the constitutional safeguards on which society relies against anonymous detraction and ribaldry. It is with them to draw the line fairly between the legitimate uses and the pernicious misuses of authorship; and to remember that, whilst the press justly looks to them for defence against any undue or arbitrary aggressions, the public equally demands at their hands effectual protection against the invasions of those who would wantonly abuse the valuable immunities of journalism for the most cruel and wicked purposes. It is not less their duty to correct its abuses and rebuke its viciousness, than to respect its privileges, save its honour, and guard its legitimate exertions from obstruction. Injury and persecution, it must be said, are not always on the side of the press when it appears to plead at the bar of justice; and harshness and oppression are not the invariable attributes of those who may there be its accusers. There is a wide difference between animadversions, however severe, on the public conduct of public men, and those hateful inquisitions and despicable calumnies which hold nothing sacred in the dearest relations of their private life. Juries must discriminate between the two, and they must do so unbiassed by interested censure or suspicious eulogy, unswayed by insidious flattery or insolent intimidation. By the help of juries, the press has triumphed over all its enemies and antagonists, and is in possession of an authority and influence, daily increasing and immeasurably beyond anything that could ever have been anticipated. By their assistance it has won a great and splendid empire of its own. It is for juries now to defend society and individuals against the excesses of a triumph invaluable in itself, but indescribably perilous in its extravagances. have saved a good, and brave, and fearless press from becoming a victim; let them restrain a bad, and debased, and licentious press from becoming a tyrant. They 406 FROM PORT SAID TO SUEZ. BY J. S. COWAN, TORONTO. HE, sail from and we are shortly made fast English seaport on a foggy day of October, is attacked by sickness in the Channel and a storm in the "Bay," is relieved when, about the eighth day out, leaving the rough Atlantic, he glides into the Mediterranean, through the Straits of Gib raltar. Cold and sickness are left behind him; the climate becomes like that of an English spring, and, happily, no storm approaches to mar his enjoyment. Objects of interest on shore can now be viewed from the deck with a sudden no danger of suffering from chill. In Spain, the snow-clad Sierra Nevada Mountains rapidly disappear, giving place to a lower range upon the coast of Africa. Algiers, like a white albatross, with outstretched wings, keeps guard upon its sunny bay. The great fish eagle wheels round the ship, till far beyond the land. The deeply purple, many-plashing waters remind one by day of "That blind bard who on the Chian strand," "Beheld the Iliad and the Odyssee Rise to the swelling of the voiceful sea. The numerous lighthouses flashing on the coast, the lightning and phosphorescence that illumine sky and sea by night, recall to one's memory those "frequent fires," that lit Æneas to the love-stricken Queen, whose funeral pyre was about to prove a beacon, shore. angry warning the traitor from the For nine days we steamed over this delightful sea; on the tenth morning, exchanging its clear azure for the muddy tide thrown A little far out by the mouths of the Nile. farther on we received our Pilot, who took us safely into Port Said harbour, guarding the entrance of the Canal. As the vessel approaches, a well-manned boat shoots off from shore. The yellow quarantine flag and the scarlet fezzes of the crew make quite a pretty picture as she dashes alongside. The officer, making no difficulty about our "Bill of Health," bows himself politely down the to the buoys in the harbour. As the steamer slows up to her moorings, crowds of native craft, laden with merchandise, swarm around her. Their industrious owners, by every available means, clamber on board. Tall Arabs, dusty from the desert, bring figs and dates from Upper Egypt. Turks, from the "Porte," bear the rarest eastern tobacco, tempting the smoker with every kind of curiously fashioned oriental pipe. Jews come, laden with beadwork of Smyrna, perfumes, ottar of Roses from Damascus, sticks that grew on Lebanon or on the banks of the Jordan, and were polished by the artificers of Jerusalem. Women of no particular nation come, bearing immense wicker baskets, the trays of Hence, which are full of curiosities suitable as gifts from gentlemen to ladies. many philopœnas of considerable standing have now a final adjustment. In every quarter of the vessel one is deafened by the ceaseless jabber of broken English, the purport being-“ Buy, buy; Arab you are reech Engleesh lady-me poor man." "Me one poor Turk." "Me Jew, me All these honest man. Oh, yes, sair?" itinerant vendors know well how to drive a hard bargain, as several of us learned by "sad experience dear." The ladies, now flirting with fans, the gentlemen, brilliant in scarlet fezzes, began to fill the boats in waiting to take them ashore, and we soon had the satisfaction of setting our feet upon the sands of Africa. Here we were met by a dirty crowd of "touters," clamouring loudly for the privi lege of conducting us through the wonders This little town, containing of Port Said. The streets are wide, about five thousand inhabitants, is built in a corner of the desert. About the paved in the centre with asphalt, bordered by the original sand. centre of the town there is a square, planted with trees and flowers, which are kept fresh and green by a little fountain. While sitting here, a bridal party, issuing from a neigh bouring church, crossed in front of us. The bride a handsome Italian girl-was dressed in white, and her long veil floated lightly in the evening air. Three couples walked behind in orthodox fashion, the rear being brought up by a few children carrying flowers the effect of all being very pretty, and in keeping with the holiday appearance of the little square. The hotels, on either side, are pretty good, but somewhat dear. Following the continental fashion, the guests sit, for the most part, out of doors. At the northern extremity stand the barracks and hospital; the Mosque being near the latter. While standing in the vicinity, a devout Mussulman approached, washed himself, cast off his sandals, and placing his hand on his mouth and his mouth in the dust, prostrated himself towards Mecca, while the sun sank in the sea behind him. The European market is full of delicious fruit, such as one sees in France and Italy. Large, luscious apples, Eschol clusters of grapes, and pears that meit in the mouth like a delicious ice. Wine-shops are abundant, kept by Europeans who are moderately well patronised, selling, as in France, a considerable quantity of absinthe. We tried a bottle of Muscat wine, which proved barely palatable. In the evening, a singing saloon is opened to an audience by no means select. Sailors, pilots, and stray male passengers are balanced by rather shady specimens of the opposite sex, the songs being somewhat in keeping. To the European, the native Egyptian Bazaar offers the greatest attraction. It consists of a series of open booths, in each of which sits an Egyptian, behind the commodities offered for sale. The women are dressed, for the most part, in a sad coloured robe, all being closely veiled. The veil is made of dark blue cloth, about eighteen inches long, in the form of an isosceles triangle, worn with the base uppermost; down the centre runs a row of gold or silver coins. Several of the ladies, with a comical, halfdefiant smile in the corner of their dark eyes, invited us to purchase their wares; but these seemed so filthily uninviting that we preferred the distant view to the near posses sion. I noticed that, generally, the finger nails of the right hand only were stained with henna. tion of a fair young English girl among our passengers. One swart Ethiop followed her closely with open eyes and mouth, until a gallant Colonel, with his umbrella, attacked and routed him from the field. After dinner we had a row in the harbour, the moon, at the full, affording the most brilliant light. Shoals of flying fish rose around us, darting off like a flight of swallows, and plunging again into the sea. During the voyage many of these fell on board, always at night, being, like other fish, attracted by light. The first prisoners were carefully preserved in spirits; but as the captures became of nightly occurrence, a lady of a utilitarian turn had her take fried, and declared the flavour excellent. This eventually became the established rule. When the flying-fish falls upon the deck, it raises a succession of flappings with its tail, uttering at the same time a pensive twitter, possibly due to the escape of air from the swimming bladder. Our second officer could exactly imitate these two sounds. Sometimes when the nights were dark he would creep behind a coil of rope, and carefully reproducing the notes, draw a knot of curious passengers to his vicinity. Upon one occasion, having secreted a large fish, he pitched it straight in the face of one of the eager searchers. Of course we all believed it had flown on board. The ruse was eventually discovered, and the culprit paid dearly for his practical joking. At six o'clock on a beautiful November morning, we began to steam slowly up the Canal. Every one now-a-days knows that M. de Lesseps is the engineer who accomplished this mighty "ditch," pronounced impossible by Sir R. Stevenson. One authority, affirming that the two seas were at a different level, proved that locks could not be constructed in the shifting sand. M. de Lesseps held that all connected seas are at the same level, and that therefore he would find no need of locks. Another declared the sand would fall in as soon as thrown out! The sand was thrown out and remains out still. A third believed that the terrible simoom would, sooner or later, deposit a few hummocks of sand in the channel, effectually preventing navigation, and probably enclosing some unfortunate vessels in the midst of the desert. To each and all of Several of the coloured gentlemen evinced these suppositions the existence of the inconsiderable taste by their profound admira- | valuable canal is the fittest answer. It runs through Egypt a distance of eighty miles, having a variable width of fifty to eighty yards, and a depth of twenty-six to thirty feet. The water is beautifully clear and full of fish. Along the bank run a pipe of fresh water from the Nile, and a line of telegraph wires. The former supplies the different stations, the latter transmits the order to these stations or gares-instructing the keeper to allow a vessel to pass, or to detain her moored until another has passed from the opposite end. The canal is thus worked without fear of collision, in the greatest safety. Before quitting the harbour a pilot comes on board to regulate the speed and steering. The speed being only four knots an hour, one has abundant time to observe the country through which he is passing. From one end to the other there is nothing but sand. A dead Arab, with bleached hands, floated past us towards the north, the current at this extremity being subject to the wind, as the Mediterranean is a tideless sea. About About five miles beyond Port Said the steamer bumped heavily upon the bank. This happens pretty frequently, especially to a ship that slowly answers to her helm ; and, on these occasions, there is a danger of swinging right across the canal, a mishap that might possibly break 2. fan of the screw. This casualty, however, did not happen to us; the mariners are proverbially dexterous with ropes and blocks, and we were soon again under way. The lagoon that skirts Port Said lay upon our right. Its surface was white with an army of snowy pelicans, millions strong, drawn up in line of battle. They regularly changed flank as we approached, wheeling right and left upon the centre, keeping up their dressing perfectly. On the outskirts of this vast host, hover, by way of camp followers, large flights of wild-duck and golden plover, and the pilot informed us that the shooting in this neighbourhood is excellent. Although it is the month of November the thermometer at noon stands at 72° in the shade. A light southern breeze, how ever, is blowing, keeping us quite cool under the awnings, yet— "As day increased from heat to heat, On stony drought and steaming salt," there arises on our left the persistent mirage, proving very troublesome and even dange rous to the eyes. Every one believes the mimic sea to be a beautiful inland lake. There are the green islands lapped by the rippling wavelets, with the sunshine and shadow of some past summer afternoon on the heathery bank of a Highlandloch. "Quite a fairy lake," we say, clustering to the vessel's side, "but oh! so trying to the eyes.” Here are two cases already in a fair way to require the doctor. The Pilot and Captain, two old canal birds- warn us of our danger, and not before it is time, we leave off gazing at the phantom lake. We are now far past the lagoon, and the banks, where there has been a cutting, are bare sandy hillocks, but in other places quite level with the desert. Occasionally we pass a swarthy Arab in a long white shirt. He throws his arms over the firelock slung behind him, staring calmy after us till we are out of sight. A wounded pelican floats past, and three Arabs have stripped on the bank preparatory to swimming for it. Their physique is splendid; recalling an observation in one of Lady Duff Gordon's inimitable letters :-"The young Arabs are as handsome as John of Bologna's Mercury, with divine legs." Frequently a small passenger steamer flashes merrily past, its crew in red fezzes or sola-topees-the Indian sun helmet. One is waiting now for the letters, and the signboard on the bank, After dinner, four of us, arming ourselves with breech-loaders, went off in pursuit of game. The moon was full, and the dry atmosphere of the desert rendered everything beautifully distinct. Along the bank,at a mile's distance, stood a little wooden kiosk, erected for the Empress when she opened the Canal. We toiled on through the deep hot sand, towards the little eminence, and on reaching it beheld a silent village, stretching dimly across the desert. Fancying we pariah dog sheltering himself in a shady saw a |