Nasionale Pers Bpkt v Long

• Jurisdiction: South Africa
• Judge: De Villiers CJ, Wessels JA, Curlewis JA and Stratford JA
• Judgment Date: 18 November 1929
• Citation: 1930 AD 87
• Hearing Date: 22 October 1929
• Court: Appellate Division

Wessels, J.A.:

On the 21st April, 1928, the following comment appeared in Die Burger (a newspaper owned by the Nasionale Pers) on a report in the Cape Times of a speech by the Prime Minister, General Hertzog, delivered in the City Hall, Cape Town, on April srd: -

'N ONWAARHEID.

By gebrek aan 'n eie beleid en aan beginsels, is die S.A.P daartoe gedryf om hul aanhangers teen Genl. Hertzog op te sweep met 'n absoluut wanvoorstelling van sy woorde. Met Genl. Smuts op die voorpunt, voer hulle nou 'n hele agitasie wat gebaseer is op woorde wat hulle ons Eerste Minister toeskryf maar wat hy nooit gebruik het nie. Vir die onwaarheid is die ' Cape Times ' verantwoordelik. In sy verslag van Genl. Hert zog se toespraak van onlangs in die stadsaal alhier, lê die blad die generaal hierdie woorde in die mond: ' Die S.A.P bestaan uit siellose Afrikaners en jingo-imperialiste.' Dit is ' a teen enemale valse verslag. En soos gewoonlik met 'n onwaarheid gaan, al gaande word daaraan nog bygelas. Mnr. Joel Krige het enkele dae gelede selfs vertel dat Genl. Hertzog die Afrikaanssprekendes binne die S.A.P so genoem het 'omdat hulle hul verenig het met die Engelssprekende gedeelte.'

Die spel is duidelik. Meer en meer voel Afrikaners,' van watter taal ook al, hulle getrokke tot die Nasionale Party. Aan die een kant moet diegene wat so voel non weer afgeskrik word deur dit voor te stel asof die Nasionale leier hulle beledig het. Aan die ander kant moet die rassegevoelens van die Engels sprekendes opgesweep word deur dit voor te stel asof samewerking met Engelssprekendes in Genl. Hertzog se oë 'n dodelik sonde is.

Wessels, J.A.

Wat Genl. Hertzog wel gesê het, is presies die teenoorgestelde van wat die S.A.P agitasie hom in die mond lê. Hy was besig om aan te toon wat die oorsaak van die S.A.P se swakheid was en is, en het toe verklaar:

' Die S.A.P het binne sy geledere twee onversoenlike elemente, Die Afrikaner daarin besit wel die volksgevoel, maar dan is daar ook die imperialis vir wie die volksgevoel niks anders beteken as skipbreuk nie.'

Hierdie woorde haal ons aan uit die eie verslag van ' Die Volk stem.' Hulle slaan presies ooreen met wat in ons eie verslag ver skyn het.

HOE KOM DIT?

Ons het hierbo aangehaal wat Genl. Hertzog wel gesê het en hoe die Cape Times en daarna Genl. Smuts en sy trawante, dit voorstel. Die vraag waarop 'n mens daarby graag 'n antwoord sou wil hê is hoe so 'n verdraaiing moontlik is. Dit was nie somar 'n losse, terloopse uitlating van die generaal nie; dit was 'n onmisbare deel van sy argument. Hy wou aantoon dat die swakheid van die S.A.P juis ten dele gesoek moet word in die aanwesigheid van hierdie twee 'onversoenlike elemente' binne hul geledere. Sy hele redenering word onsin indien hy sou gesê het wat die S.A.P hom in die mond lê. Daarom is dit ook eenvoudig nie aan te neem nie dat 'n rapporteur wat ook maar 'n ietsie van sy werk begryp, sy woorde so verkeerd kon verstaan het. Dat die ' Cape Times ' se verslaggewer koelbloedig 'n valse verslag ver skaf het, kan ons ook nie aanneem nie. En tog staan daar die volgende dag so 'n valse verslag in die kolomme van die 'Cape Times.

Hoe kom dit?

The actual words complained of in the declaration are in italics in the above article. The plaintiff, who is the editor of the Cape Times, alleges that this is a libel upon him, and that it means he as such editor deliberately and dishonestly falsified a true and correct report of a speech by General Hertzog, or if he did not do it himself, that he had been a party to the falsification in order to heap obloquy upon the Prime Minister and that thereby he had been guilty of dishonourable conduct as a journalist. On account of this libel he claims £2,000 damages. The defendant admits that this passage was printed in Die Burger, but denies that it refers to the plaintiff either personally or as editor of the Cape Times.

Wessels, J.A.

The defendant pleads specially that the words beginning "Met Genl. Smuts op die voorpunt" and ending "jingo-imperialiste" is an allegation of fact and that it is true and in the public interest. The defendant also relies on the following words in the article beginning with "Wat Genl. Hertzog wel gese het" and ending "verslag verskyn het". It pleads that the passage complained of is true and was written in the interest of the public, and further that it is true comment on the facts.

Are the words complained of libellous? The true import of the words used by Die Burger is as follows. The writer attacks the South African Party and accuses that party of having no policy of its own and being so devoid of principle that it is driven to stir tip an agitation against General Hertzog by attributing to him words contemptuous of Afrikanders which he never used. The agitation 'is based upon a falsehood, and for this falsehood the Cape Times is responsible because it falsely stated in its report of General Hertzog's speech that he had 'Said: Die S.A.P bestaan uit siellose Afrikaners en jingo-imperialiste (The South African Party consists of soulless Africanders and jingo imperialists). This report of his speech is incorrect and the words of General Hertzog have been twisted so as to give them this sinister meaning. The writer asks himself how such a distortion could have occurred. He answers that it could not possibly be attributed to the reporter of the speech because no reporter who understood anything of his business could have misunderstood what General Hertzog said. The writer cannot accept that the reporter wrote such a false report in cold blood. Having excluded the reporter, the writer goes on to say that this report did appear in the Cape Times on the following day. How did this happen?

Now these words clearly suggest that a true report of the speech of General Hertzog was handed to one or more of the editorial staff of the Cape Times who deliberately twisted the words of General Hertzog so as to give the public the impression that he accused the Africanders who composed the South African Party of being soulless. In doing so the Cape Times gave General Smuts and the whole South African Party the opportunity of launching an unmerited agitation against General Hertzog. It is quite true that neither the editor nor the editorial staff is mentioned. All that is mentioned is the impersonal entity the Cape Times. Yet all journalists and a large section of the public will know that the Cape

Wessels, J.A.

Times as a company which owns and publishes the newspaper does not handle reports and write articles. This part of the business of the Cape Times is...