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Page 1 of 11924 · PDF PAGE 5
man, or the man wrapped up in creative work, in taking legal action against a wealthy and power- ful corporation. To him a libel suit, even if not actually impossible, means, at the very least, financial chaos and the indefinite paralysis of his work. More than this, the libel, however false in point of fact, may be so damaging in purport, and make so unscrupulous an appeal to violent popular passions, that it robs its victim, in advance, of any of the normal means of redress. The man of letters is peculiarly ill-protected against sensational n…
1924 · PDF PAGE 3
…st falsely and wantonly accuses identifi- able women of being enslaved prostitutes. The second falsely and wantonly accuses a well-known man of letters of being a proved felon. Taken together, they show that anonymous scoundrels, backed by the resources of a great newspaper organisation, canin fact, as distinct from legal fictionfreely direct, against any man or woman who happens to be socially ill-protected, an unscrupulously untrue and in- decent campaign, which, judged by its effects, may be morally indistinguishable from murder. 3. This s…
1924 · PDF PAGE 6
to the man, and to the impersonal cause of art and letterswhich can never by any possibility be remedied. Your editors lie has wrought the havoc, and more. In France, my Lord, as you are doubtless aware, any man attacked in a newspaper has the legal right to reply in its columns, and his reply must be printed in the same type and in the same place as the original attack. This law is admirably just and wise. Its effect has been to put a complete stop, in France, to this plague of anonymous defamation, whether used as the instrument of journali…
1924 · PDF PAGE 1
…s, to redress a most grave and indefensible injury committed by that paper against the social honour, life, and work of an English gentleman and man of letters, and against the personal virtue of three very noble women who have renounced their private ambitions in order to help in his work. I. The case is as follows : Between November 1922 and March 1923, the Sunday Express published a series of sensa- I
1924 · PDF PAGE 12
…ence in support of his allegation. 10. I do not doubt that you will attribute to these facts the same moral significance as every honest man will ; namely, that your editor is utterly irresponsible and unscrupulous, devoid of any proper regard for truth, fair play, or public morality. Considering the circumstances in which Mr. Crowley was placed at the timecircumstances 12
1924 · PDF PAGE 13
well-known to your editorthis infamous lie was quite strictly murderous : for a man may be done to death by venomous libels far less mercifully than by cruder poisons. 11. My Lord, you cannot escape the gravest personal responsibility in this matter. Your editor could not, with any private resour- ces of his own, undertake a protracted news- paper campaign of libel. It is your wealth, in particular, that he relies on when he challenges Mr. Crowley to fill his pockets by means of an action at law. It is your capital, in various kinds, that he u…
1924 · PDF PAGE 7
…d hardship, and completed the first draft of his autobiography in September 1923. It is Mr. Crowleys magnum opus, and one of the most human and illuminating records ever written. It is that independent statement of positive truth which Newman rightly declared to be the only possible and proper defence against a vast mass of irresponsible and anonymous defamation. It is Mr. Crowleys real vindicationhis vindi- cation for all timeagainst any serious attack on his personal honour, whether as artist, patriot or man. The iniquity of the situation…