Day 177 - 26 Oct 95 - Page 34


     
     1             he can and does read between the lines in the
     2             light of his general knowledge and experience of
     3             worldly affairs.  I leave aside questions of
     4             innuendo where the reader has some special
     5             knowledge which might lead him to attribute a
     6             meaning to the words not apparent to those who
     7             do not have that knowledge."
     8
     9        Those may be important words in this case, since one
    10        cannot, is not allowed to, envisage that somebody who is
    11        reading this leaflet has any specialist knowledge about
    12        nutrition whatsoever.
    13
    14        Then the next paragraph:
    15
    16             "What the ordinary man would infer without
    17             special knowledge has generally been called the
    18             natural and ordinary meaning of the words.  But
    19             that expression is rather misleading in that it
    20             conceals the fact tht there are two elements in
    21             it. Sometimes it is not necessary to go beyond
    22             the words themselves, as where the plaintiff has
    23             been called a thief or a murderer.  But more
    24             often the sting is not so much in the words
    25             themselves as in what the ordinary man will
    26             infer from them, and that is also regarded as
    27             part of their natural and ordinary meaning."
    28
    29        Then I think I need only direct your Lordship's attention
    30        to the passage on page 277 which was cited, I think, in
    31        Skuse v. Granada TV, the beginning of the speech of
    32        Lord Devlin, in the middle of the page, which I did in fact
    33        read just a moment ago.
    34
    35   MR. MORRIS:  277?
    36
    37   MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes.
    38
    39   MR. RAMPTON:  Yes.  The first paragraph in the speech of
    40        Lord Devlin which, as I say, I read a moment ago.
    41
    42        Then, my Lord, Jones v. Skelton.  I draw attention to it,
    43        but I will not read it.  It is a case in the Privy
    44        Council.  It is divider 3.  I am not going to read this.
    45        Then I will stop, because it is now ten to one.  I will
    46        just give your Lordship the reference.  It is a case in the
    47        Privy Council.  In fact, despite the date on the report, it
    48        came after Lewis v. Daily Telegraph.  It was heard later.
    49        The relevant passage is in page 1370, the second half of
    50        the page, the paragraph beginning: "It is well settled". 
    51        It is all to the same effect. 
    52 
    53   MR. JUSTICE BELL: Page 1370?
    54
    55   MR. RAMPTON:  1370, my Lord, yes; the second half of the page,
    56        the passage beginning:  "It is well settled" and ending
    57        over the page, 1371, with the words "complained of in a
    58        defamatory sense", in which Lewis is actually cited.  That
    59        advice by the Privy Council was given by Lord Morris, who
    60        was one of the judges in the next case to which I shall

Prev Next Index