F1[1.] On the trial of an indictment for a libel, the jury may give a general verdict upon the whole matter put in issue, and shall not be required by the court to find the defendant guilty merely on proof of the publication, and of the sense ascribed to it in the information.E+W+S

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .