Early last year (1890) I felt compelled to bring an action for libel against the “Answers” Newspaper Co., Ltd. As the case was fully reported at the time, I think that a report condensed from the columns of The Bradford Observer, of March 17th, 1890, may be more satisfactory than my own statement of the case. I, therefore, give it, in the form of an appendix, rather than in the chapter—“The Press and the Public”—to which it belongs.

In this action Mr. Waddy, Q.C., M.P., and Mr. Waugh (instructed by Mr. J. J. Wright) appeared for the plaintiff, Mr. James Berry, the public executioner, of 1, Bilton Place, Bradford; and Mr. Cyril Dodd, Q.C., appeared for the defendants, the “Answers” Newspaper Company, Limited. The plaintiff claimed £500 for libel, which was printed and published in the periodical called “Answers;” the defendants admitted the printing and publication of the libel, and by way of mitigation of damages they withdrew all moral imputations against Berry’s character and paid a sum of 40s. into court, and apologised for the words used.

Mr. Waddy said in behalf of the plaintiff—and he thought the observation would commend itself to their judgment—that no man in the kingdom, whatever he might be, and whatever calling he might follow, as long as he followed the duties of his calling in honesty and integrity, ought to be deliberately insulted and flouted for any reason whatever; and he believed that when they heard what kinds of falsehoods were printed concerning Berry they would agree with him that Mr. Berry, although he was the common executioner, being a sober and respectable man, was entitled at their hands to be protected from wanton insult. He would tell them what the facts were. It appeared that some time in September or October of 1889 a man named White came to him representing himself to be a correspondent of an American newspaper, and told Mr. Berry that he was anxious to hear his views upon the very interesting subject of executions by means of electricity, and that his opinion, in view of his experience at executions, was of very great importance. He offered Mr. Berry a fee of £3 if he would give him the interview which he desired; and that fee was paid, and Mr. Berry did discuss the question with him. He did that on the promise, both by word of mouth and in writing, that whatever he said should not be published in this country. Mr. Waddy then read the article which had appeared in “Answers,” from which I need only give extracts.

He is a powerful, thick-set man, of about medium stature, and his countenance is not an unpleasant one at a first glance, though upon closer study one discovers that the face reveals the lack of several moral elements in the man’s composition, which seems to indicate that the Creator designed him especially for the ends he serves.

A critical observer would probably say that his eyes are too close together, and that their brilliancy is that of the codfish rather than the eagle, while, though the mouth and chin indicate determination, the forehead gives the impression of lack of balance.

A phrenologist would perhaps find that the cranial bumps that indicate sense and shame, pity and sympathy, are not particularly well developed upon the head of Mr. Berry.

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“Have you ever been threatened by the friends of criminals whom you have hanged?”

“Often,” replied Mr. Berry, “but I don’t pay no attention to them. I’m a doin’ o’ my duty, and I’m protected by th’ Government.”

“It was said that if Mrs. Maybrick had not been reprieved a mob would have been formed in Liverpool to prevent your hanging her.”

“They’d never have seen me,” said Mr. Berry, “I’d ’a been in th’ jail and ’anged her before th’ mob knew I was about, and I’d been on th’ train and on my way back ’ome before they knew she was dead. Why when I ’anged Poole in Dublin, who murdered informer Kenny—O’Donnell, who murdered th’ other informer, Carey, having been ’anged at Newgate th’ day before—there was a great mob in Dublin to prevent my getting into th’ prison, and nobody outside knew Poole was ’anged until I was on th’ boat a steaming away for Holyhead.”

“How do you manage that?” I asked again.

“I’ll tell you,” said Mr. Berry in a burst of confidence. “I shaves off my whiskers and I puts on women’s clothes. That’s th’ way I got into Dublin Jail, with my ropes and straps under my clothes, and that’s th’ way I’ve done many a job.”

Berry never did such a thing in his life as put on women’s clothes. He never had occasion to put them on, and there was not the slightest shadow of foundation for the statement. The people mentioned in the article as having been hanged by Berry were not hanged by him at all. This libel was printed upon November 23rd, 1889, and an action was commenced at once. The defendants now stated in mitigation of damages that they denied that the words bore the construction which the plaintiff had put upon them, withdrew all imputations, and admitted that any such were unfounded, and apologised for the matter complained of. But the apology and the withdrawal appeared upon the pleadings only. From that day to this, with 158,000 of their papers going out every week, there had net been one single word in the paper apologising for their action. It was open to them with a view to mitigation of damages, to have taken this course, but they had done nothing but put their apology upon the record, and paid into court the majestic sum of 40s. as, in their opinion, sufficient to atone for the wrong.

Mr. Berry was then put into the box and supported Mr. Waddy’s statements.

Mr. Waddy then spoke upon the whole case.

For the defendants Mr. Dodd said that the owners of the newspaper which he represented were as anxious as anybody could be that reasonable justice should be done. Of course, Berry did not suggest that there was any actual money out-of-pocket loss. Then another feature of such a case was the question of whether the paper was one of that class which feeds on personal attacks. He submitted that the general character of the paper, a point to which juries were apt to pay some attention, was good. The articles in question were copied from an American paper, and the proprietors of “Answers” were in the position of having been misled, just as the proprietors of the New York Sun had been misled by the large imagination of Mr. White. Berry seemed to be very quick in his methods, for his writ was served within a very few days of the appearance of the article, and without any opportunity being given to his clients to try and make some kind of apology to suit him. His clients had endeavoured to meet the case in a perfectly reasonable way. They did not for a moment express any doubt that they were dealing with an honest, a decent, and an experienced man, they withdrew all supposed imputations, and had had no intention of making any; and he contended that the highest testimonial possible was one from a person who had said something derogatory to him. Berry had suffered no monetary damage whatever beyond the actual costs of the action. He suggested, therefore, that the jury should give such a verdict as would show that the plaintiff was quite right in bringing the matter into court, but that they were of opinion that the defendants had done everything that they could to mitigate the mischief and annoyance occasioned by the publication of the libel.

His Lordship then summed up, and the jury found for the plaintiff, with £100 damages.

FINIS.