The Mirror — Concord, N.H., 1799-02-11 00:00:00, page 4

Judge ^ddifon's Charge,'
Concluded from tbt infidt
The fame feeds of diffolofon
were Town in most of the govern
ment# of Europe, by the corrup
tion of public opinion effe&ed by
a combination of clubs and the
press. Many have hllen facrific
ei. And nothing but the dread
ful example, which the French re
volution furoifhed, of the fatal
danger offobftituting abftraX prin
ciples instead of the maxim# of ex
' perience, could have preserved
many other government#.
Ooe would have thought, that
the United States of America,
bteft with the best practicable
model of republican liberty, which
human wisdom hath yet been able
to suggest, would have escaped this
greatest ofall plagues, the corrup
tion of public opinion ; and that all
men would have united in appro
bation of a f,ftem of government,
which must be acknowledged ex
cellent, and of an administration,
which must be acknowledged to
have been wife, enlightened and
honest. Yet, unfortunately, this
plague hath reached us also ; and
our government lias been assailed
with the grossest danders, by many
who perhaps believed, and by ma
ny who surely could not believe,
the danders which they uttered.
The tongue, the pen & the press ;
converfstions, letters, essays, and
pamphlets, have represented our
truly republican & balanced Con
faurion as a system of tyranny ;
and our upright and wife admin
iftratiou, as mifchevious and cor
rupt. Our wisest and best public
officer# have had their lives embit
tered, and have been driven from
their fation# by unceafingand ma
lignant slander. And thus has it
been attempted to withdraw, from
our excellent government, the only
effectual support of any govern
ment, public opinion—and thus
to withdraw all reverence from
station and authority, deprive the
Constitution, the law# and the ad
ministration, of all refpeß and effi
cacy, and surrender the nation a
prey to any invader-
France saw our condition, and
attacked us ; for France attacks a
nation only when (he has rendered
it deteoceteft, by dividing the peo
ple from the government, and
withdrawing from the govern
ment the support of public opin.
ion. Inthii condition any nation
is an esfy prey.- To our com
plaints she pretended no justifica
tion, and replied to our resent
ment, that she hade party among
ourselves. She refled on the in-/
fluence of clubs and the press, and
on the devotion to her, which they
bad produced among us. Some
of our prefa seem to have been
Conftanfly devoted to their views.
Many of our citizens, and of our
men in public Stations, seem to
have favored chose measures, on
which France must have depend
ed for foccefs against us.— And
our government was threatened
with the loft of its best support,
the hearts of its citizens, by means
of falfehood, misrepresentation, &
the vile arts of foreign enemies,
ao4 discontented, factious sod fe
diticoi men. In this Situation, ip
which no government ean long
ftind, and threitened with a war
from France, wai it not the duty
of our government to difarni Fra.
of that weapon, by which flic
could most effectually injure us,
'■
the power of spreading Slander and
Sedition against the government,
and alienating from it, its true sup;
port, the affections of its citizens ?
It was its duty, and it would have
been inexcufabte, if it had crimed
this duty. Without fupprtffing
Slander and sedition against the
government, the support of public
opinion cannot be preserved to it ;
and without the support to it ot
public opinion, all other defence
against France is vain.
Ou these grounds, it, appears
evident to me that this law is not
only expedient, but necessary. And
it may be laid down as a general
rule, that it will beJmpoffib!e to
prevent the corruption of public
opinion, or to preserve any gov
ernment against i: ; unleft there
be laws to correct the liceotioufneb
of Speech and of the press. True
liberty of speech and of the press
consists io being free to (peak,
write, and print, but being, as in
the exercise of all other liberties,
responsible for the abuse of this
liberty. And whether we have
abused this liberty or not, must,
like all other questions of right,
be left to the decision of a court
and a jury. This is the universal
test, by which the exercise of all
our rights must be tried. Nor is
the fubjeaion of our right of free
dom of speech and of the press to
this test, any more a restraint on
that right ; than the fubjeaion of
our rights of life and of property
to the fame test, as a restraint on
those rights. By this test must
the exercise of all our rights be
tried, or no man could enjoy any
right whatever. If while our right
to life and to property is fobmined
to this reftriaion, we yet believe
we are free, Shall we think cur lib
erty infringed, by (objecting to the
fame reftridioD, our right to (peak
and print ?
This law takes from no man
any liberty but a liberty of doing
mifchief. And so far is it from
being true, that this law is any vi
olation of liberty, that it may be
fafely avered, without Juch law#,
for punishing the abuse of the free
dom of speech and of the press,
liberty cannot be preserved § eve
ry man will be a Slave to the ma
lignant pflioni of every other,
truth and justice will be baoiffied,
the authority of government des
troyed, and malice, anarchy, con.
fofion, and every evil work estab
lished.
Our constitution is excellent,
our administration is wile and hon
est, and has no iotereft Separate
from that of the people. On the
support of fach an administration
of such a government depends our
liberty.—But let me repeat no ad
ministration or government can
Stand against the corruption of
public opinion ; and let me there
fore foiemoly admonilh you, as
you value the peace and liberty of
yourselves and your posterity, se
riously to reflet on the truth of
this. We have seen an insurrec
tion promoted by the corruption
of public opinion, gn invasion
^invited by it.—How many
(bocks of this kind our govern
ment ii doomed to Stand, only the
Ruler of the world knows. Let
us take warning from our own
experience, and the fate of other
nations. Let all friends to liberty
and order unite in fuppreffiog Slan
der ; for where it prevails, there
will be no happiness, no govern.
ment. Os all Slanders, those of
the press are most dangerous,—
P/rffes eftiblifhed to run down
the government, are the most de
ftru&ive ot all tresfoni.—This
ought to be well considered ; for
every one who encourages such
presses, or contributes to their sup
port, is a partner in their guilt.—
Every one who reads their pro
dufhions with approbation, futks
in disease upon his mind ; and
every one who repeats them to
others, fpreadi the infedion.—
What would we thi:k of a set of
men, who Should agree to hire a
number of persons to run though
the country, and report falfehoods
°aod Slanders ? Precisely such, and
more dangerous, is the guilt of
those who contribute to the sup
port of a flanderou# press. They
are wounding their own, and their
country's peace, and undermining
the government.
But will vou fay, We desire to
bear both ftdes that we may know
the truth.—Nl, friends, truth ho
but one fide: and lifteoiog to er
ror, and falfehood is indeed a
strange way to difeover truth.—
Take the reprefentstions which its
friends have made of the condud
of government ; have you ever
found falfehood in them ? Take
the contradictory Statements made
by its enemies ; —have you ever
found t<u:h in them?
You may vet fay, We have not
the means of knowing on which fide
the truth ties ; and we, therefore,
give no preference to any, but bear
all — ^h,t would you think ot a
Poeftant who Should fav tbr ?
The Luth rans and Calvings differ
in opinion the Catholics from both
and the Mahometans from them all ;
I know not on which fide the truth
is ; Iwiil therefore, pay a Luthe
ran miniver a Calving minister,
a Catholic priest and a Turkijh der
ws ; and then 1 /ball be Jure of
knowing the truth. Would we
thick chat this man bad any re
gard to truth or religion ? Instead
of acquiring knowledge, would he
not confute hi# mind, and lose
fight of both truth and duty ? As
in religion, so in government, a
Sincere inquirer after truth will al
ways find means of discovering it.
And it is only their enemies, and
hypocritical pretenders to Sincerity,
who, under pretence of Searching
for truth, wander through the end
less varieties of error, and affect to
think, there is no certainty.
There is hardly any part of
government, which, as pl religion,
has not been misrepresented by its
enemies Now, though of all its
parts, the people generally have
not had an opportunity of being
fully fatisfied, yet of some, they
have had this opportunity. And
wherever they have had such op
portunity^they must be Satisfied,
that the cooduft of government
has been right, and the mifrepre
(eatations of it falfe and malicious.
No part of the conduct of bur
government has been more misre
presented, than its conduct %h
refpeft to France. Yet, when
fairly fitted, in away that the
greatest Slanderers dare not copm
did, how honest, wife, and praise
worths does it Seem I Ought we
not therefore to believe, that, if we
understood all the rest, as well as
this part, the whole would appear
a# unexceptionable ? This would
be our duty between man and
man ; and it is also our duty be
tween citizens and the govern
ment. ;,
Another doty, and a mean of
information, is to fearcb at the best
sources of information. You ought
never to believe a (lender on gov
ernment, merely btesufe it is flat
eq in a newfpsper or a pamphlet,
or reported by those on whole
judgment, veracity, and opportu
nity of knowing, you have not
confidence. As it the thing con
cerned your own house or efface,
or the charader of your fiend, go
to those io whole veracity and
judgment you would confide io
matters of the greatest importance.
For, be affined, no matter is of
greater importance than a just con
fidence io government. The men,
who endeavor to rob you of thie,
are the worst enemies of your
peice. If they can succeed in
robbing your minds of this confi
dence, they rob you of your liber
ty ; for the, deprive government
of its authority ; and government
without authority is anarchy ; and
anarchy is the worst tyranny.^ No
crime, therefore, is greater, than
that Pander, which diminishes the
people's confidence in the govern
ment, diminilhei their Security, and
destroys their liberty. And no
crime more deserves the vigi^nc
and Severe animadversion of a
Grand Jury.
■mrcmMrtQMCTraCTffiam^
'scolding wives.
A TAX is soon to be laid
on all folding wives, as
has been lately difeovered
that the innumerable bache
lors every where to be found,
remain so, mo r e through fear
of being scolded to death than
from any mercenary conside
ration. They are to be rat
ed as follows : For scolding
every morning, 201. per an
num; twice a day, 301. three
times, 40L every other day,
161. once a week, if not on
Sundays, 151. on Sundays, 101.
scolding a husband into a con
sumption, the jaundice, or any
lingering disorder, i ool". ;—
scolding a husband to death,
500 L scolding herfelf into a
fit of hysterics, 000.
N. B. This calculation is
made for a woman who
brings 5000 L to her fortune,
so that the penalties must be
increased or decreased, ac
cording as the fortune ex
ceeds or falls (bort of the
above.
M^'X I M.'
r —===
SOME men seem to talk
sense, as some musicians play
music, because it is their rade.
As to caste or reflexion-4 had
almost said conicioulnefs ei
ther in music or sens
is not part of the trade, and
therefore they know nothing
of it.
"■ 111 ■ ■■■ j
For sale, at this Office,
Mr. BRADLEY'S
Thanksgiving Sermon,
Delivered at Bethel, (Maine)
Cash to be fold for Old Rags,
At M. Davis's Printing Office.