631 
Kidd V. Royal Agricultural Society of England. 
namely, that he on his part makes no complaint against the Society that they 
have been actuated by malice or any indirect motive in what they have done. 
And, indeed, had he said the contrary, I think, upon the evidence belore you, 
you would see that in doing v,hat they have done, and publishing the report 
which they have published, they have been acting without any j'ersonal 
reference to Mr. Kidd or Mr. Ayre; and solely on the ground for which they 
are constituted, and which they have endeavoured to carry out, namely, on 
the ground of the public interest of those who have to buy cakes and manures 
and otiier matters connected with agriculture, to protect them against what 
iu the judgment of the Society is an adulteration of an article so extensively 
used as this. 
In this particular case they have adopted the course which they ordinarily 
adopt. They appoint a Chemical Committee to examine the various cases 
that are brought in. 1 hey have their officer. Dr. Yoelcker, whom you have 
seen belbre you, who is their consulting chemist, and when any person con- 
nected either with agriculture or manufacture seeks his opinion, it is part of 
his duty to the Society to give it to those who are membei s ; and besides 
that, he gives it to otlier persons wlio ask for it with reference to the analysis 
or composition of the various things which may be submitted to him. He 
has before him the samjil's of the manures and the cakes, and on this par- 
ticular occasion (you will have- to deal by and by with what happened at 
Mr. Wells's farm more in detail) the Society was called upon by Mr. Wells, 
and their officer. Dr. Voelcker, was called upon to do that which it was part 
of the object of the Institution that he should do, namely, to examine 
and analyse and report upon the cake which is the subject of the present 
inquiry. 
Gentlemen, you have before you that which the Council of the Society had 
before them — the report ol the analysis and microscopical or optical examina- 
tion of Dr. Voelcker ; and upon that, the Council, having no reason to doubt 
its accuracy, as I venture to think after the trial of this cause you will have 
no reason to doubt it, in jmrsuance of their ordinary course, without any 
reference whatever particularly to Mr. Wells or to Mr. Kidd, or any motive at 
air with reference to them, ]iul)lishc d the report in question of which complaint 
is now made. It was published hy them iu a paper devoted to agriculture, the 
'Mark Lane Exi>ress' — and for the purpose, of course, of drawing the atten- 
tion of the agriculturists, whose interests they represent, to what had occurred 
in reference to the cake and manuie of which the history is given. 
Now, before I come to the details of this iiarticular case, let us first of all 
read what it is that the Society say of Mr. Kidd, and then I will go through, 
as shortly as I can, the proofs that the Society have given in support of their 
allegations. I venture to think — I may deceive myself; of course an advo- 
cate is always liable to that — but I cannot help thinking that when I have 
drawn j'oiir attention in detail to the evidence before you, I shall satisfy your 
minds that the truth of this libel, as it is called, and as in point of law I do 
not doubt it is, has been sub-tantially in effect proved to your satisfaction. 
Now, let us see what it is that they say, distinguishing carefuljy, as I said, 
between what is said of Mr. Ayre and what is said of Mr. Kidd, for the 
reasons I have told you. It is " The Quarterly l^eport of the Chemical Com- 
mittee" — 1 am sorry to read it to you again, the trial has taken so long, but 
1 should not do my duty if I did not draw your attention to it. " During 
the last quarter very few sami)les of artificial manure have been forwarded for 
analysis. Of those sent to the Consulting Chemist he has no complaint to 
malce. As usual during this .season cases of so-called poisoning from the use 
of cakes have been brought under his notice." Now, Gentlemen, the Plaintiff's 
advisers in this action have thought it right to put upon their declaration 
what W'C call an inuendo, by which they assert that this meant an allegation 
