The Recent Slander Trial. The Hon. John …

Rare colonial engraved portraits of a slander case held in Sydney between, John Davies C.M.G. against John Harris, Mayor of Sydney.

Contemporary account:
The action for libel recently brought by the Hon. John Davies, C.M.G., against the Mayor of Sydney led to the production of a large amount of evidence but little calculated to enhance the public respect for certain members of the Sydney municipality, who appear to have acquired a most undignified taste for those evil whisperings to which Iago makes allusion in the play of Othello. The verdict of the jury seems to be the result of an opinion that both plaintiff and defendant were equally to blame, with the plaintiff receiving only a farthing in damages and the defendant having to pay the costs. Perhaps that was the only possible result at which the jury could arrive after due consideration of all the unpleasant circumstances connected with the case.

From the original edition of The Illustrated Sydney News.

References:
Gibbs & Shallard. Illustrated Sydney News. ISSN 2203-5397.

Collections:
State Library New South Wales: F8/39-40
State Library Victoria: PCINF SLVIC=1853-1872
National Library Australia: Bib ID 440095