§ LORD STRICKLANDasked whether His Majesty's Government will obtain a report as to under what power the Government of Malta suspended the civil effects of a condemnation for criminal libel by the Maltese Court of Criminal Appeal upon J. J. Scorey for an offence described by the Court as deserving of special censure, and whether the Governor's power of pardon extends to civil consequences; how long is the suspension to last and whether there are recent precedents for the exercise of the Royal Prerogative of mercy in the exercise thereof without considering a report of the Judge who tried the case, and of the Law Officers, and a report as to the number of previous convictions recorded against J. J. Scorey and the Midday Views or Midday News publication? Whether since the suspension of the sentence that publication has become more favourable to the Government and on what date was the fine paid that was ordered by the Court apart from civil effects of the judgment?
§ THE EARL OF PLYMOUTHOn the 16th of April, 1935, the Maltese Court of Appeal upheld the conviction of Mr. Joseph Scorey, a member of the staff of theMidday Views newspaper, for a breach of the Press Law, consisting in the publication of a defamation in that newspaper. Section 41 of the local Press Law of 1933 provides that the Court shall order the suspension of the publication of a newspaper for two months in the case of the conviction of the author, editor or printer, for certain specified offences of a more or less serious character. Defamation is not amongst these offences. But Section 52 of the Ordinance requires the suspension of the printer's licence 1254WA for one month in the case of conviction of one of the persons responsible for any offence contemplated by the Press Law. On Mr. Scorey's conviction, the licence of Mr. Alexander Mizzi, the registered printer of the paper, was automatically suspended, although defamation is not one of the offences which entail the suspension of the publication of the newspaper. The Midday Views could therefore continue to be published, but the printer was deprived of his licence, not only in respect of the particular newspaper, but in respect of all printing generally. This entailed the closing of the Mercurius Press, and consequentially the suspension of two other newspapers printed at it, and the throwing out of work of a number of innocent persons.
At the time of the judgment the Government was considering an amendment of the Press Law by restricting the suspension of the printer's licence to those cases in which a conviction entailed the suspension of the publication of the newspaper, as it was considered that the printer's responsibility should not be greater than that of the editor or the actual author of a defamatory article. This amendment has now been embodied in a draft Ordinance published under Government Notice No. 320 of the 23rd August. It was under these circumstances that the Governor exercised his Prerogative of pardon in favour of the printer by ordering the restitution of the printer's licence. The sentence against Mr. Scorey was not interfered with. With respect to the Prerogative of mercy, this Prerogative has been delegated to the Governor by His Majesty and the Governor exercises it on his own responsibility. It is not in the public interest to discuss advice which the Governor received or the considerations which actuated him in the exercise of the Prerogative. The Acting Governor has intimated that there is no ground for any suggestion that, as a consequence of the restitution of Mr. Mizzi's licence, the attitude of the Midday Views became more favourable to the Government. There has been a change in the policy of this newspaper and it has shown itself less antagonistic to Government, but that change took place some time prior to the incident in question. The fine was paid on the 28th of May, 1935.