Catts v Murdoch [1917] HCA 71; (1917) 24 CLR 160 (17 December 1917)

HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Catts Defendant, Appellant; and Murdoch Informant, Respondent.

H C of A

On appeal from a Court of Petty Sessions of New South Wales.

17 December 1917

Barton, Isaacs, Gavan Duffy and Rich JJ.

Sheridan, for the appellant.

The judgment of the Court, which was delivered by Barton J., was as follows:—

Barton, Isaacs, Gavan Duffy and Rich JJ.

We are all of opinion that the rule nisi should be refused. Most of the matters which are necessary to be considered by a Magistrate in forming a judgment as to an utterance of this kind are matters of common knowledge, such as that in the present war Japan is in alliance with Great Britain and other countries, and that the relations of Japan and Great Britain, which have been ratified by successive treaties, have been and are of the most cordial character. Having that knowledge, the Magistrate, in the absence of other evidence beyond that of the speech itself, had to make up his mind whether the expressions used by the defendant were "likely" to prejudice those relations. By the word "likely" we consider that the Legislature meant to convey the same meaning as if they had said "calculated to." No one reading the utterances described in the information—the fact that they were made being admitted—can have the slightest doubt that they are calculated to prejudice the relations between Great Britain and Japan. It does not matter whether there was or was not a single Japanese at the meeting at which the utterances were made or whether there were 1,000 or only a few people present there, because the real question is whether the utterances were of a kind which in themselves were calculated to prejudice the relations under consideration. We entertain no doubt that this is a case in which the rule nisi asked for must be refused.

Application dismissed.

Solicitor for the appellant, A. C. Roberts.