SLADE. 224 SLANG. tate of his mother in. Yorkshire, known as Hal- steads. In 1800 he was elected a member of the Society of Antiquaries. Slade expended a large fortune in collecting books, bindings, engravings, manuscripts, carvings, glass, and pottery, which were bequeathed to the British iluseum. He also set apart in his will £3.5.000 for art profes- sorships at O.xtord, Cambridge, and University College, London. John Ruskin received the first appointment to the Slade professorship at Ox- ford. Consult the Guide to the Slade CoUection of Prints i>i the British iltiseum (1869) and the Cataloaue to the Slade Collection of Glass (London. 1809). SLA'DEN, DouGL.s Brooke Wheeltox ( 1856 — ) . An English verse-writer and man of letters, born in London. Having studied at Cheltenham College and at Trinity College, Oxford, he went out to Australia (1879), where he became the first professor of liistory in the University of Sydney. His principal volumes of verse (ballads, epics, and dramas) are Frith jof and Ingehjorg (1882); Poetry of Exiles (1883); A Summer Christmas (1884) ; In Cornuxill and Across the Sea (1885) ; Edward the Black Prince, an epic drama (1886) ; The Spanish Armada (1888). In fiction he wrote .4 Japanese Marriage (1895) and Trincolox and Other Stories ( 1898 ) ; in general literature. The Japs at Home (1892); On the Cars and Off (1895); Brittany for Britons (1896) : and The Admiral, a defense of Nelson and Lady Hamilton (1898). SLAGS (Swed. slagg, dross, slag; connected with Goth., OHG. slahan. Ger. schlagen. to strike. AS. slcan, Eng. slay). Fused compounds of silica in combination with lime, alumina, or other bases, resulting as secondary products from the reduction of metallic ores. More or less of the metal always remains in a slag; in the early days of iron-smelting the proportion of metal thus wasted was so great that some old slags have been profitably smelted in recent times. Slags, being silicates, are of the nature of glass, and externally have a glassy, crystallized, or stone-like character. Beautifully crystallized specimens are occasionally to be met with at smelting works. (See Irox axd Steel: Ce- ment.) Broken slag is also used as a covering for roads, but its brittleness and sharpness are objectionable qualities for this purpose. Slags containing large percentages of phosphorus are used to some extent for fertilizers. SLANDEK (OF. esclandre. esclaundre. escan- dre, escandle, escandele. scandelc, from Lat. scan- dahim, from Gk. ffKanSaKov. sLandalon. (TKav- SdXTjBpov, skandalfthron. stumbling-block, snare, offense, scandal; connected with Lat. scandere. to climb, Skt. skand. to leap). Defamation which is committed by way of speech ; that is. either by vocal sounds or by the si.gn language of the deaf and dumb. English law distinguisbes sharp- ly between libel (q.v. ) and slander. The latter is "actionable only when special damage can be proved to have been its proximate consequence, or when it conveys imputations of certain kinds." An enumeration of these special imputations, as they existed at common law. will be found in the article on Defamatiox. In England and in many of the LTnited States the oral imputation of un- ehastity to a female has been declared action- able by statute, without proof of special damage. Although slander is one of the few torts in which malice (q.v.) is an essential element, that term, in this connection, means only that the defamation must have been uttered without just cause or excuse. Actual ill will on the part of the speaker toward the plaintill' is not necessary, unless the occasion of its utterance was condi- tionally privileged, as in the case of a statement by a master about the character of a .servant made to one wliose inquiries he may lawfully answer in good faitli. Inasmuch as slander consists in uttering words to the injury of another's reputation, it follows that they must have been uttered to, or in the hearing of, third persons who understood them. It is not essential, however, that the speaker knew of the presence of the others. Even though' they were concealed from him, if the.v overheard his slanderous words, a case of "publication" by him is made out. Nor is it any defense to one who reports a slanderous statement that he gave the name of his informant and expressed no opin- ion as to its truth. Of course, the truth of the defamatory matter may be set up as a defense; for the law will not permit a man to recover damages in respect of an injury to a reputation which he ought not to possess. It is sometimes difficult to determine whether particular language is slanderous or whether it is only 'fair comment.' This ditficulty is gener- ally one of fact, however, to be solved by the jury. The rule of law on this topic seems to be as follows: Where a person has done or published anything which may fairly be said to have in- vited comment, every one has a right to make fair and proper comment thereon. He may free- ly criticise such acts or pulilications; but his criticism must be limited to their character and consequences, and not directed against the person- ality of the actor. Consult: Odgers. A Digest of the Law of Libel and Slander (London, 1896) ; Newell, The Law of Libel and Slander (Chicago, 1898) : Pollock. The Law of Torts (London and New York, 1901). SLANDER OF TITLE. The disparagement of the propert.v of another to Ids damage by false and malicious statements. This species of tort (q.v.) took its name from the fact that for a con- siderable period its only form was that of dis- paraging misrepresentations of a person's title to real propert.v. At present it is extended to such statements concerning an.v property interest. Accordingly a disparaging publication about the qualitv of a pulilic dinner served by a caterer, or about the age of a race horse, or about the right to use a particular trade-mark, if false and ma- licious and causing special damage to the plain- tiff, is an actionable slander of title. It will be observed, therefore, that the name has ceased to be really descriptive of the tort. The wrong may be committed without slandering any one and without affecting title to anv propert.v. Not only must the malicious statement cause actual damage, but it must be a statement of fact and not one of opinion merely. Not being an ac- tion for injury to the person, slander of title is not subject to the conunon-law rule that a per- sonal action dies with the person. SLANG (of uncertain origin: probably a cant use of the archaic preterite slang, regarded as a participle of sling, AS,, OHGf, .'ilingan. Ger. schlingen, to fling, sling; connected with Lith.
