The Sun.
London, England, 1831-06-30 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF T-HE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

Another discussion on the subject of the Pres-
took place last night in the House of Commons.
Mr. Hume, on presenting a petition from Mr. He-
therington, the printer of the Republican, said he
had obtained possession of the manuscripts of two
of the numbers, and it appeared that the real writer
was a person in the enemy's camp, a Mr. Lo rimer
It was afterwards admitted, however, by Mr.
Hume, that this was only suspicion. But bt
Mr. Lorimer who he may, the attempt to debar the
lower orders from all access to political writings, by
allowing printers to print only at a rate which none
but the rich could afford to purchase and read, is no
doubt, one great cause of the circulation of improper
publications. Sir C. Wetherell seemed to think
that Mr. Gordon had not sufficiently called atten-
tion to the merits of the Poor Man's Guardian,
the Republican, &c. ; for he last night favoured
the House with a few additional specimens in
the style of those of Mr. Gordon, from th
publication in question. Though we
_are far
from thinking that prosecution is the way to
grapple with :absurd or even mischievous opi-
nions, we do not partake of the squeamishness
of Mr. Lamb, and several other Members, on
the sulject of noticing them. We, on the con-
trary, think that it is advantageous to kaow what
sort of publications are circulating among the lower
orders, and that benefit can only result from exposing
the sophistry and mis-statements contained in them•
The question is, in some measure, one of fact. Are
the publications extensively circulated among the
lower orders, or are they not ? From what we have
heard, we are inclined to think that a very exten-
sive circulation is given to such publication., and
that it is not s .fe to leave them altogether unno-
ticed. The child hides its head in its frock, and
because it cannot see thinks it cannot be seen. We
must not imitate the child, and imagine that be-
cause we do not condescend to notice these publi-
cations they are not noticed by others. It is a duty
we owe to the poor to exert ourselves to refute so-
phistries which they may be unable to detect, to
correct mis-statements which they may be unable
themselves to correct, to point out to them the
dangerous tendency of opinions which they may
have too easily adopted. But we would recur alone
to argument and persuasion, being thoroughly con-
vierced that force is unable to grapple with opinions.
Our contemporary (the Standard) has, on one
or two occasions, exposed the absurdity of our
present Libel Law, and pointed out a very im-
pertant improvement. " Your Courts of Justice
(.3 Is our contemporary) and your Legislature have
compounded fer the power of punishing innocent
or meritorious men, obnoxious to party resent-
ment, by relinquishing the power of inflicting pu-
nishments of sufficient severity upon real criminals.
Again, according to the general average of prosecu-
tions under the Libel Laws, a conviction of libel is
commonly a testimonial of merit. Until the whole
libel code undergo a complete reform, it is thus im-
possible that we can have generally a respectable
Press, or that the flood-gates of blasphemy and se-
dition can be effectually closed. How this is to be
done ? what a Press reform ought to be? seems to
us sufficiently plain. We are not of the number of
those who would leave to the Press an unbounded
licence. As long as crimes are punished, they who
excite to crime must, in justice to all, receive equal
punishment with those who commit them. While
there are stupid and ignorant persons in the world,
they ought to be protected from the arts of traitors
and incendiaries; and of those who kill not only the
body but the soul. Let exciters to crime—let in-
E endiaries--let soul murderers be punished ; but let
them be punished as such, and let us get rid of the
anomaly of name that actually seems to have pene•
trated to the substance of our legal decisions, which
melees the book or paper libellus,' the crime and not
' the act done by writing or printing.' In this way
let it be left to the Jury, flinging on one side
the abomination of legal constructions, as distin-
guished from the deductions of common sense—let
it be left to the Jury whether the party accused
ascent to stimulate to a particular crime—whe-
seeer he meant a special injury to A or B—whether
ere designed to excite rebellion—whether his pur-
pose AVIS to shake the faith or corrupt tire morals of
the ignorant ? Cases of far greater difficulty are
daily submitted to Juries, and decided upon by them
in a manner whicii gives full satisfaction." We have
always maintained that the principle of the Libel
Law is utterly untenable, and that it is only as ex-
etement to crime that a writing should draw down
punishment on its author. But while our contem-
porary is n this respect correct, we demur to the
criminal code, to which he would make his,libel law
ancillary. Metaphysical crimes have never been
adopted by the law-giver with any advantage to the
community. The killing the body is what is at once
evident to the senses. All men wino see a body
killed can be at no loss about the matter. But how
are we to substantiate soul-killing ? Not to men-
tion religions differing altogether from each other,
the different divisions of Christians accuse each
other of soul-killing. The Catholic says there is
no salvation out of his church. Every Protestant,
I.herefore, who either prevails on a Catholic to tern
Protestant,or is instrumental to a Protestant not turn-
ing Catholic, is a soul-killer, because to exclude from
salvation is soul-killing. The Protestant, in like manner,
considers both the Catholic and his fellow-Proteie
tant a soul-killer. The numerous body of P. on s-
tants, who follow the Assembly's Catechism, say
that " all sins are equally heinous in the sight of
God," and that " every sin deserves God's %wrath
and curse both in this world mid in that which is to
come ;" and most of those Protestants and the
Church of England consider schism a sin, seed view
each other as schismatics; consequently all who
teach the schism are soul-killers. Arson appeals to
the senses—murder appeals to the senses—but
witchcraft assumes the existence of the alleged crime
--soul-killing assumes the fact which is to be
punished. A Criminal Code should steer clear of;
all attempts to make crimes of opinions. Our con-
temporary ought to call out for a Protestant Inqui-
sition, and he ought not to condemn the Catholics
for theirs ; because, if the Catholics conceived teach-
ing Protestantism soul-killing, they were justified in
preventing it, according to his principle. Error can
only be combatted by argument. Religion can only
be upheld by argument. The mometst we say we
will protect any one doctrine from inquiry, anal the
possible consequences of inquiry, rejection, that mo-
ment we become persecutors.—Mareeng Chronicle.
The French journals dwell with greet compla-
cency on their imposing military attitude. " The
Bourbons," says the Constituiionnel, " faithful to'
their promise of keeping our country in a state of
depression, and dreading always to alarm the rest-
less jealousy of their allies ; our spoilers, the Bour-
bons, are expelled. They leave us only an stirs
of
76,000 men; a cavalry half mounted; arsenals
almost empty ; fortified towns badly provisioned; a
.end altogether
bearing no proportion to our ordinary wants,
a.ltogether insufficient for the necessities; of a
arre "
for' arms, or but few for our new soldiers;
noi
our National Guards. * * * Now
nll our strong placesh. are repaired, armed, and pro-
vided withpaolsisettstrir necessary for their defence.
Now we immense materiel ; we have
under our colours nearlyu
immediately
men, who, exere
cised every day, would
coahst
yt
orpmriedelnite taormoiue
sr
enemies one of the finest a;nmdwltrii
that France has ever seen
has sprungsud
denly, as it were by enchantment, up
orather by
prodi-
gies of patriotism, labour, and experience. On the
e other
hand, our Marine, confided to an able and laborious
chief, answers fly its activity to the rapid movement
impressed by a strong hand on our military system.
Fresh cause of contidenee and security; we have
given to the whole of our phalanxes a reserse of
two millions of National Guards, which will soon
be all armed. Musquets were wanting to the
citizens in 1814 and 1815 ; now, in the College„
in the wori:shop, in the house, every
man has at
hand a means of attack and defence. ' The bull is
tro sooner aware of his horns than he longs to use
them ; and in like manner our warlike and enter.