A. Rosenberg, the publisher of Town Talk, was on Monday
sentenced to eighteen months' imprisonment for hie libel on Mrs. Langtry, Rix months for that on Mrs. Cornwallis West,. and six months for one on Lord Londesborough, who was named as a co-respondent. The sentences are to run "concur- rently," and the longer one covers ; but Mr. Justice Hawkins explained on Tuesday that he intended to inflict the imprisonment inflicted on other criminals, and Rosenberg would not be a "first-class misdemeanant." As "imprisonment" is greatly dreaded even by the criminal class, this makes the sen- tence severe, though not too severe for the offence, which has attained a great height. It may be questioned whether it would not be expedient, in view of the frequency of libel, to draw a legal distinction between different kinds of the offence, as is done in the ease of murder. At present, too much is left to the Judge.
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