22 FEBRUARY 1913, Page 3

We note with no small satisfaction that one of the

assailed persons in the Marconi affair, Mr. Godfrey Isaacs, has obtained a summons against the editor of the New Witness on the ground of criminal libel. It is now greatly to be hoped that Sir Rufus Isaacs and Mr. Samuel will follow suit against their respective traducers. As we have insisted from the beginning, the courts of law are the proper place in which to test the value of such charges. They are also most certainly the place where the persons assailed can defend themselves with the greatest advantage, and we cannot there- fore be accused of any unfairness in urging them to issue their writs. If they succeed they will not only vindicate their private characters but will also punish their traducers.