Gatley on Libel and Slander, 3rd ed., at p. 170, on the authority of Edwards v. Bell (1824) 1 Bing 403, 130 ER 162, and subsequent cases, states the duty of the party pleading substantial justification thus: It is not necessary to prove the truth of every word of the libel. If the defendant succeeds in proving that ‘the main charge or gist of the libel’ is true, he need not justify statements or comments which do not add to the sting of the libel or introduce any matter by itself actionable. ‘It is sufficient if the substance of the libellous statement be justified; it is unnecessary to repeat every word which might have been the subject of the original comment. As much must be justified as meets the sting of the charge and if anything be contained in a charge which does not add to the sting of it, that need not be justified.’
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