W.
Bowman, on the Ovens River, do hereby publicly proclaim George
Faithful, settler on the King River, to be a malicious liar and a
coward.
"Ovens River, March 6th, 1844.
"You will find a copy of the above posted at every public-house
between the Ovens and Melbourne, and at the corner of every street in
the town."
This defiance could not escape the notice of the lawyers, and they
soon got the matter into their own hands.
Huffington brought an action of trespass on the case for libel
against Faithful, damages 2,000 pounds.
It was all about branding a female calf; "duffing it" was the vulgar
term, and to call a settler "duffer" was more offensive than if you
called him a murderer.
Mr. Stawell opened the pleadings, brushing up the fur of the two
tiger cats thus:
"Here you have Mr. Faithful--the son of his father--the pink of
superintendents--the champion of Crown Lands Commissioners--the
fighting man of the plains of Goulburn--the fastidious Beau Brummel
of the Ovens River,"--and so on. Arthur and George were soon sorry
they had not taken a shot at each other in a paddock.
The calf was a very valuable animal--to the learned counsel. On
January 30th, 1844, Davy became himself an officer of the Government
he had denounced so fiercely, being appointed pilot at Port Albert by
Sir George Gipps, who graciously allowed him to continue the receipt
of the fee already charged, viz.
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