Matson v. Buck
New York Supreme Court
Slander, tried at the Cayuga circuit, Sep.ember 9th, 1824, before Throop, C. Judge. The action was for saying of the plaintiff, as a superintendant and collector of the Erie canal, “ he has cheated , i-, i . - _ _ the state; he has taken a receipt for ten dollars, and paid but one dollar; he has taken a receipt for thirteen dollars, and paid but six dollars.”
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Slander, tried at the Cayuga circuit, Sep.ember 9th, 1824, before Throop, C. Judge. The action was for saying of the plaintiff, as a superintendant and collector of the Erie canal, “ he has cheated , i-, i . - _ _ the state; he has taken a receipt for ten dollars, and paid but one dollar; he has taken a receipt for thirteen dollars, and paid but six dollars.” The plea was the general issue with notice of justification, Failing to make out this on the trial, the defendant’s counsel ° proposed to show, that the plaintiff’s general reputation as to his official conduct, was bad; and that it was…
1Opinion of the Court
Curia, per Savage, Ch. J.
After the defendant had failed in proving specific charges, relating to the plaintiff’t official conduct, which the former had put upon the record, he seeks to do indirectly what would be the same thing. He could not prove the truth of his slanderous charges; yet ° he wishes to save himself from damages, by showing that other people had said and believed what had turned out to be false No offer was made to attack the plaintiff’s generar *500character. Such evidence would hare been proper under the decisions of this court. (1 John. 46. 2 Cowen, 815.) But, in this case,…
2Cases cited2 opinions
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- Bowen v. HallSupreme Court of Vermont · 1848
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