Day 205 - 17 Jan 96 - Page 10

     
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     2   MR. MORRIS:  Page 2 in line -----
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     4   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  7 to 15.
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     6   MR. MORRIS:  Yes.  Mr. Rampton says:  "We have conceded, as your
     7        Lordship will remember, in opening" -- i.e. referring to
     8        his opening speech -- "that is obviously a matter of
     9        opinion whether the slaughter of animals for human
    10        consumption might be regarded as inhumane or might properly
    11        or fairly be called torture, and so on and so forth.  What
    12        we are concerned about are the misdescriptions of facts
    13        that the leaflet contains."
    14
    15        So, we would say that that emphasises what we believe the
    16        opening speech conceded; and that was ten court days after
    17        Mr. Gregory had given his evidence.
    18
    19   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Yes.
    20
    MR. MORRIS:  I have not really marked the rest.  Sorry, let me
    22        have a look.  Then on 21st November 1994, I think this was
    23        an argument about meaning, changing the meanings of their
    24        statement of claim, changing their Statement of Claim.
    25        Line 26 on page 19.  Yes, sorry, hang on.  I have not
    26        marked -----
    27
    28   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  It starts really at page 11, from 42 to 52,
    29        does it not?  Then it picks up again at the bottom of
    30        page 18 and goes on to 19, which is the part you had in
    31        mind.
    32
    33   MR. MORRIS:  Yes.
    34
    35   MS. STEEL:   The Plaintiffs originally have pleaded that the
    36        leaflet said that they were responsible for the inhumane
    37        torture and murder of cattle, chickens and pigs.  They then
    38        dropped those words when they amended their pleadings.
    39        What they say here is:  "What we propose by the proposed
    40        amendment for us is to, as it were, shake out of the
         existing pleaded meanings those elements of it which
    42        arguably or probably are expressions of opinion rather than
    43        statements of fact."
    44
    45        So there they are again recognising that the words
    46        "torture" and "murder" are a matter of opinion, because
    47        they are saying they are dropping them for that very
    48        reason.  They then do not appear in the amended meaning.
    49
    50   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  You have to look at page 19. 
    51 
    52   MR. MORRIS:  Yes, 19.  Mr. Rampton then tries to -- even though 
    53        it was dropped from the amended Statement of Claim and,
    54        therefore, not complained about -- saying:  "I do not
    55        include in that the expression of torture.  It may be
    56        thought by your Lordship at the end of all this to carry an
    57        implication which is an implication of fact about the state
    58        of mind of the person who does the acts" -- although, how
    59        we could ever have evidence about the state of mind of
    60        people who do the act of raising cattle, I do not know.