JB/056/021/001

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1826. Decr. 22d
Collectanea
(2)

Publicity

The Chief Justice contended in his charge
to the Jury, "that it was altogether illegal to publish
any ex-parte statement taken before a Magistrate";
and he regretted that Mr. Minshull "should allow
"during these ex-parte statements, the presence of
"any person who gave them to the public. It had
"been decided by the Judges, that the publication of
"a Police Report was an indictable offence". This
is not mincing the matter. For the last twenty years
we have all been committing, every day scores of
indictable offences. These good gentlemen, the Judges,
who have the making of the Law themselves, (for small
is the part of the law for which we are indebted to
any other source,) dislike police reports, which they
call prejudging, and preventing fair trails: and having
the power of making the law, and disliking all
reports of examinations before a Magistrate, they accordingly
declare that what they dislike is an indictable
offence. So far, nothing is to be said.

Come we now to the question of Utility.
The Lord Chief Justice "could not agree in the opinion
"expressed by his learned Brother, as to the policy
"of publishing Police Reports, and he was surprised
"to hear that the Learned Gentleman (Mr. Sergeant Wilde)
"who had been so long acquainted with the administration
"of justice, should express an opinion, that
"the publication of such Reports had been ever attended
"with any but bad consequences.... The
"public Papers, instead of containing conveying useful and
"pleasing information, were made the vehicles of conveying
"to the innocent and the unwary a knowledge
"of every trick and every degrading and disgusting
"exhibition to be found amongst the lowest and

Identifier: | JB/056/021/001 "JB/" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 56.
Date_1	1826-12-22	Marginal Summary Numbering
Box	056	Main Headings	Procedure Code
Folio number	021	Info in main headings field	Collectanea
Image	001	Titles
Category	Collectanea	Number of Pages	1
Recto/Verso	recto	Page Numbering	C2
Penner		Watermarks	J WHATMAN TURKEY MILL 1826
Marginals		Paper Producer	Jonathan Blenman
Corrections		Paper Produced in Year	1826
Notes public		ID Number	18077
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