Odger's English Common Law

18G ACTS CALCULATED TO PROVOKE A BREACH OF THE PEACE.
other people antagonistic to the appellants, and that no acts of violence
were committed by them." 1 " Where it shall be made reasonably to appear
to a justice of the peace that a person has incited others by acts or language
to a violation of law and of right, and that there is reasonable ground to
believe that the delinquent is likely to persevere in that course, such justice
has authority by law, in the execution of preventive justice, to provide for
the public security by requiring the individual to give securities for good
behaviour, and in default commit him to prison." 2 " There must be an act
of the defendant the natural consequence of which, if his act be not
unlawful in itself, would be to produce an unlawful act by other
persons." 3
The facts of the case, from the judgment in which the last extract is
taken, were as follows :
—
Mr. Wise was a Protestant lecturer who held meetings in public places
in Liverpool ; he thereby caused large crowds to assemble and obstruct the
thoroughfares. In addressing those meetings he used gestures and language
which were highly insulting to the religion of the Roman Catholics, of
whom there was a large number residing in Liverpool. The natural
consequence of his words and conduct on those occasions was to cause, and
his words and conduct had in fact caused, breaches of the peace to be committed
by his opponents and supporters ; nevertheless he threatened and
intended to hold similar meetings in the city, and to act and speak in a
similar way in the future. At one of the meetings he told his supporters
that he had been informed that the Catholics were going to bring sticks,
and on some of his supporters saying that they would bring sticks too, he
said that he looked to them for protection. A local Act in force in
Liverpool prohibits, under a penalty, the use of threatening, abusive and
insulting words and behaviour in the streets whereby a breach of the
peace may be occasioned. On proof of these facts the Liverpool
stipendiary magistrate bound him over in recognizances to be of good
behaviour, and it was held by the King's Bench Division that the magis-
trate had jurisdiction so to do ; for although Mr. Wise had not directly
incited to the commission of breaches of the peace, he had used language
the natural consequence of which was that breaches of the peace would be
committed by others, and intended to hold similar meetings and use
similar language in the future. 4
i Per Field, J., in Beatty v. Gillbanks (1882), 9 Q. B. D. at p. 314 ; citsd with
approval by Lord Alverstone, C. J., in Wise v. Dimming, [1902] 1 K. B. at p. 174.
2 Per Fitzgerald, J., in B. v. Justices of Cork (1882), 15 Cox, at p. 165.
8 Per Lor.i Alverstone, C. J., in Wise v. Dunning, [1902] 1 K. B. at pp. 175, 176.
* Wise v. Dinning, [1902] 1 K. B. 167.