On Thursday, November 17th, the libel action brought by Mr.
W. F. Watson, a Labour leader, against the Duke of North- umberland and the Morning Post came to an end. The Morning Post had published articles by the Duke of Northumberland in which Mr. Watson was charged with being a seditious person and a spy who was receiving pay from Scotland Yard while ho pretended to be working for revolution—a man of such a charac- ter, in fact, that those who ought to have been his boon com- panions would not associate with him. Mr. Watson demanded damages owing to the harm which he alleged had been done to his " social prestige." We cannot imagine why he thought it worth while to bring such an action. His whole record was shown up and he received no damages. The cost to the Morning Post and the Duke of Northumberland must, we suppose, be considerable, even though the action failed. Tho gain to the public, however, is great. Both the Duke and the newspaper courageously stood by their words and in facing a public trial in . Court they rendered a real public service. There is nothing like a trial at Bar for enlightening the public. We congratulate the Duke and the Morning Post and thank them for what they have done.
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