Adoption of Acts Act 1845 (SA)

No. 17.

be and the same are hereby adopted and shall be applied in the

- a

REAS certain Acts were passed in tl~eImperia1 Parliament

W'lzhicl l was idcl in tbc Sixth and Sorcnth Yeim of the Reign

of Her present BIajcsty Queen Victoria, iiititded respectively A11

~ c t for improving the Law of Evidcnce," aiid "An Act to amend

the i ,aw respecting defamntory words and libel :" AND WHEREAS

it is expedient to adopt and apply the said recited Acts of Pnrlia-

mcnt in the Administration of Justice in South Austrdia:

B4 IT TIIEPEFORP ENACT^ hy Ilia Exccllcnc the Govcnor A ~ Q t~ I L ~

of Bouth Australia, with tlm utlvlcc and collscut o H thc Lcgislntise i d u t b AA

Council thereof: That the said recited Acts of Parliament ~hnU

the administration of justice in the said Province and ita De pendencies in like manner as. other Laws of England are therein applied.

Commencement of	11. AND BE IT ENACTED,	that this Ordinance shall commence
Qrdinance.

and take effect from and after the passing hereof, except as to

offences and other matters heretofore committed or done, which

shall be dealt with and punished as if this Ordinance had not been

passed.

FREDK. H, ROBE,

Lieutenant-Goveinor,

Passed dhe Legislative Council, this Ihir-

tccnth day o f October, One Thousand

EQht Hundred and Forty-six.

W. L. O'EALLORAN,

Clerk of Council.

ANNQ .

ANNO SEXTO ET GEPTIMO VICTORIiE REGINa.

A18 Actfor improving the Law of Euidence,

[22nd August, 1843.1

WHEREAS the inquiry after truth in the Courts of Justice is often obstructed by

: incapacities created by the present law, and it is desirable that full information ea to the facts in issue both in criminal and civil cases ghould be laid before the peraona who are appointed to decide upon them, and that such persona should exercise their judgment on the credit of the witnesses adduced and on the truth of their testimony:

therefore, be it Enacted, by the Queen's Nost Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Tenlpnrnl and Commons in this

NOW,

present Pnrlinlncnt as~en~blcd, and by the authority of the same; That no person l~itneaaasnattpbaes-

offered na a witwrr rliall hrrcnflrr be excluded by reason of incapacity horn crimo ~ ~ ~ ~ $ O f & ~ f 7 ~ m

or intercst from giving evidcncc either in person or by deposition, nccording to the * @ r h m t -

practice of the Court., on the trial of any issue joined, or of any matter or question, or

,	on any inquiry arising in any suit, action, or proceeding, civil or criminal, in any
Court, or before any Judge, Jury, Sheriff, Coroner, filagistrate, officer, or person
having by lam, or by consent of parties, authority to hear, receive, and examine
evidence; but thal erery pemon so offered may and shall be admitted to give
evidence on oath, or solemn affirmation in those cases wherein affirmation is by lam
receivable, notwitllstanding that such person ma.7 or shall have an interest in the
matter in question, or in the event of the trial of any issue, matter, question, or
inquiry, or of the suit, action, or proceeding in which he is offered as a witness, and
notwithstanding thnt such person offered as s witness nlny hare been previously con-
victed of any crime or offence: Provided that this Act shall not render competent
any parly to any suit, action, or proceeding individually named in the record, or any
lessor of the plaintiff or tenant of premises sought to be recoveredin ejectment, or the
landlord or other person in whose right any defendant in replerin may make cognizance,
or any person in whose immediate and individual behalf any action may be brought or
defended, either wholly or in part,, or the husband or wife of such person respectively:
Provided also, that this Act shall not repeal any provision in a certain Act passed in
the Scssion of Parliament, bolder1 in the seventh rear of the reign of His late Najesty, Xot to re eat anyprovi-
and in the first year of the rpign of Her prcaent M~jesty, intituled An Act for the ~ y ~ t ~ ~ c h '
amcndnlcnt of the Laws with +espect to Wills :" Provided that in Courts of Equity
any dcfcndnnt to any cnuso pending i n ~ u c h Court may be examined as a witness on InCourteofEclait~,+ fcndant mu be ex-cd
tlle behalf of the plaintiff, or of any CO-defendant in any such cause, saving justexcep- onbchrrllo[tho plaln~ig
tiono, and thnt any interest which such defphdant so to be examined may have in the or ~ - & t, a a
mnttors or any of the matters in question in tho cnuse shall not be deemed a just oxccption to the teetiniony of such defendant, but sllnll only bo considered as affecting

. or tending to uffcct thc crcdit of such defendant as a witness. S m

11. And be it Enacted, tlmt wherever proceedings may be et out, it shall not persona who acted as juror@ had made stated that they served as jurymen in th	egal proceedings, whatever legal In 1ep1 procecdin~s	not
enabling persons to serve ss j uryrnon wit

111. And bo it Enacted, that nothing in t s Act shall apply to or affect any U$ $f&wfGhzg ,

action, or proeecding, brougbt or comnlanc be for^ the paaaing of thig Act. bat. -, 'I

XV. And be i t Enact~d,	that nothing in tLis Act ihall'extmd to 8cotlmd.	xot to ~rtcnd	to ~ o o t.
Innd.

AMNO SEXTO ET SEPTIMO VICTORrE REGINEE,. .

[Nth August, 1643,j

FOR the better protection of private ohoracter and for more efhctually ~oouring the

liberty of the prcas, and for bstter preventing abuse, in oxeroising the raid lib@*: L

l30

lJct it Enacted by the Queen's Most Excellent Majesiy, by and with the adoice

and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commona, in this present

Offer of an npology Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same: That in any action for

ndminfiible in	evidence	defamation, it shall be lawful for the defendant, after notice in writing of his
in miti~ahon	01
drmag.cn.	intention so to do, duly given to the plaintiff a t the time of filing or delivering the plea in such action, to give in evidence in mitigation of damages, tbat he made, 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 actior. shall have been commenced before there was an opportunity of making or
offering euch apology. - 1

In an action npninst

n Ilcwqmprr for libel 11. And be it Enacted that in an action for libel, contained in any public

tlic dcivndnnt mn	newspaper or other periodical publication, it ehall be competent to the defendant to
plcnd thnt i t rrns L-	serted without malice	plead that such libel was inserted in such newspaper or other periodical publication
and mthout neglect, *	without actual inalice and without gross negligence, and tbat before the commence-
md may pny mone
into court 0s PmenL	ment 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 publicatim in which the mid libel appeared should be ordinarily published at intervals exceeding cne week, bad offered to pubhsh the said apology in any newspaper or periodical publication to be selected by the plaintiff in such action, and that every such defendant shall upon filing such plea be at liberty to pay into Court a suto of money by way of amends for the injurr sustained by the publication of such libel, and such payment into Courl 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 60 far as regards the pleading of the addilional facts hereinbefore required to be pleaded by such defendant, as if actionr? for libel had not been excepted from the personal actions in which it is lawful to pay money into Court under an Act pas9ecl in the Session of Parliament held in the fourth year r f H i s late Majesty, intituled
3 and 4 Wiltism 1V.,	"An Act for the further amendment of the Lam, Bnd the better advancement of
0, 24.	Justice," and that to such plea to such action it ehall be competent to the plaintiff to *
reply generally denying the whole of such plea.

Publisliin~ or thrcnten- 111. And be it Enacted, that if any person ehall publish or threaten to publivh

in^ to publiah R libcl, or any libel upon any other pereon, or shall directly or indirectly thrcaten to print. or

prolronin~ to n b ~ t ~ i n

from publiuliing eny-

thing whlr intrnt to	publish, or shall directly or indirectly propose to abetaia from printing or put.liuhing.
extort nmwy, punlnh-	or dwl1 directly or indit-ectly offtr to prevent the printing or publighing of any m rtrcr
nblo by I~n~irinonnlont	or th ing toricliin~ nny othrr pcreon with intent to extort any money or sccutity for

uttd l~urcl I I S ~ O I ~.

l n t r~ i~y or tiny v111t111bIo thing l'rmn mch or [ m y othcr porfion, or with intent to induce urly pcryon to confcr or procuro for tiny porwn tiny nppointmcnt or oftico of prdit or

witb or without hard labor in the Conlmon Gaol or House of Correction for tiny tcrin	trust, every such off'cnder on being convicted tlmrof, shrill bc liublc to bc imprisontxd
not exceeding three rears: Provided always, that nothing herein contained shall in any manner alter and affect any Law now in force in respect of the sending or delivery of threatening letttrs or qritings.

Pnlsc dafamnlory Ubet, IV.

And be i t Enactr d, that if any person shall maliciously publish any defamatory

be liable to be inlprisoned in tbe Common Qaol or House of Correction for any term

not exceeding two years, and to pay suah fine as the Court shall award.

p~llliflhsble bp impdwn- libel, knowing the same to be false, every such person being convicted thereof, ahall

\	ment and 6no.
~alioious d f f a m a t o ~
libel, by imprjsonmcnt or V. And be it Enacted, that if any person maliciously publish any defamatory
Ano, . l~bel, every such person being convicted ther be liable to fine or imprisonment,

or both, as the Court may award, such nut to exceed the term of one

year. 1

" \ X

,

i9mwaninm upon m0 VI, And be it Enactrd, that on the trial any indictment or information for a

trial of nn Indlamant, or

i n f ~ n n ~ ~ o f i ' ~ o r s ~ ~. defamatory libsl, the defendants haviog auch plett ae hereinafter mentioncti,

molory libel.	thc tr11l11 of the ma[lorfi cl~arged may be	into, but shall not amount to s
defence unless it was for th3 public bcncfi	raid matter8 charged wl~oukl h.
publialied, and that to entitle the dcfencLtnt	evidence of the truth of oucb

matters cimrgcd as r\. defrnco to or informntion, i t shall bo necese~ry

for the defendant in pleading to or information, t~ allugc the

truth of kho eaid matters charged in pleading a juuti5ca- ,

tion

t i cn to an action fur defamation, and fur	to allege that it was for the public
benefit, that the said maUers charged ahou	published, and the particular fact or
facts by reason whereof it was for the p	benefit that the said matter charged

,, &huuld be published, to which plea th ecutor ball be a t liberty to reply

g ~ ~ ~ ~ e r a l l y, denying the whole thereof, and after euch plea the defendant shitll

be convicted on such indictment or infirm	t ahall be competent to the Court in
pronooncing: aentence to consider wheth	uilt of the defendant is aggravated

or mitigated by the said plea, and by the	given to prove or tg disprove the
same: Provided always, that the truth	atters charged in the alleged libel
complained of by 8uch indictment	shall in no cane he inquired in10

without such plea of justification:	that in addition to euch plea, i t	Double plea.
Proviso aa to plen otnot

.

shall be competent to the plea of not guilty: PROVIDED gwlt in Civiland

azso, that nothing in this Act contained shall take away or prejudice any defence C& al proceedings.

under the plea of not guilty, which it is no\' competent to the defendant to make	Plea of not gailtr.
under such plea to any action or indictmen or information for defamatory woxds

or libel. 1 !

VII. And be it enacted, that whensoevef upon the trial of any indictment or information for the.pablication of a libel under the plea of not guilty, evidence shall	facie of publication by
Evidence to rebut prima
nn agent.
have been given which shall establish a pres$mp~ive caee of publication against the defendant by the act of any other person bylhis authority, it shall be competent to such defendant to prove that such publication was made without his authoritv, consent, or knowledge, and that the eaid publication did not arise from want of due care or caution on his part.

I On prosccation for

VIII. And be it enacied, that in the cask of any indictment or information by a private prosecutor for the public~tion private libcl, defendant

of a :defamatory libel, if judgment shall be entitled to eosb on

q i ~ e n for the defendant, he shall be entitled tq recover from the prosecutors the cmta	seqnilbl
sustained by the said defendant by remon af such indictment or information, and that upon a special plea of justification to ~.ucl i indictment or information, i f the issue

be found for the prosecutor he shall be e n ~ i t k d to recover from the defendant the

coe l~ sustained by the prosecutor, by reason kf ~ u c h plea, such costs so to be reco- vered by the defendant or prosecutor respectizelg, to be taxed by the propsr officer

of the Court, before which the aaid indictmentior inforn~ation is tried. -

i

IX. And be it enacted, that wherever throughout this k c t in dercribing the plaintiff or the defendant, or the party affected or intended to be affected by the offence, words are used impoiting the singular number or the masculine gender onll, yet !hey ehall be understood to i:~clude several peraons as well as one person, awl females ae well at4 males, udess when the nature of the provision or the context of	Interpretation of	Act.
the Act shall exclude such conatruction.

X. And be i t enacted, that this Act e h d take effects from the first day of November next, and that nothing in this Act contained shall extend to Scotlnnd,	Commencement 4
extent of Act.

-4