9 Mo. App. 155 | Mo. Ct. App. | 1880
delivered the opinion of the court.
The question is as to the sufficiency of the petition, which, upon objection made below to the introduction of any evidence under it, the court decided did not contain a statement of facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action for libel. The petition states that the plaintiff, a priest of the Catholic Church, was, in December, 1876, and for five years before, pastor of the Church of St. Bonaventura, in St. Louis ; that the defendants, George Knapp & Co., a corporation, and owner and publisher of the Missouri Republican, a newspaper of large circulation in St. Louis, and others, falsely and maliciously wrote and published of the plaintiff the following false and malicious statement, and caused it to be printed in that paper in the edition of June 4, 1877 :
“ There were one hundred Italians in line, who came out under great difficulties, being bereft of banner, flag, and other ornaments; the marshals were Vincenzo Bernefo and Joseph M. Ghio ; they presented the following note to the grand marshal [meaning and intending thereby the grand
The primary objection to this petition is that there are no allegations of fact explaining the surroundings, in which the publication charged as libellous is put or fitted. Inueridoes cannot serve for allegations, of physical facts that are necessary to show the bearing of libellous statements. But if read ^without the inuendoes, the above publication is innocent enough, unless we supply suppositions to eke out the publication. The first part is the description, in the newspaper, of the procession as it moved in the streets. The sting of the publication is supposed to lie in the contents of the note, the words of which, for designation, we have putin italics. These words are to be construed not mitiori sensu, but according to their fair and reasonable intendment. In this view the court below could not assume that the pastor had not'a right to take away the banners and other valuable articles. The court had no right to make any such assumptions as to the powers or duties of a pastor of the Catholic Church. It appears that this pastor was leaving his church, and that he took away the banners and other valuable articles. That he “ stripped ” the church adds nothing to the sense. This word is merely an intensive, signifying thoroughness of the act, but conveying no imputation of wrong.
The judgment is affirmed.