The Sun.
London, England, 1819-12-27 00:00:00

roit. THE SU?V,

IA BEI,C.

Liherty of the Preto has

been compared to many fine things, and may he
c•impated to many more ;—to some it is a cloak,
- to- ntlier,l a dagger,—but in my humble opinion,
as a matter of taste, it bears a gt rat resemblance.

to a Jovial Chi istmas dinner;—the one being good
for the political, as the other is for the bodily
constitution ; in both cases, we may suf-

ier from repletion.
Of all that has been said upon it, all that is

worth all tine may he comptized small cow-
risq. The Liberty ot the Press must eitittr exist
tvithoui limits or restrictions, et- with them. It is

vot, like NlAllomET's tomb at Mecca. to hang he-

tweet' /waver' end eirib, why fir %the! C-

fore ; thnitgh some of its tithert%ise imtesttictablv

rulvneites might perhapi he very jodicionsly placed
it: that situation, coupled together like rhymes,

at the end of a tine !

If it is to exist without limits or restrictions, Ten

oy body may write down any holy all ass or a
traitor, or call any woman by a paw-pw name
with impunity—a degree of liberty for which, 1
presume, there are not more than halt a dozen
advocates to be found at the present doys—the
1/Aley hove-raker, the Dorchester blafplienier,
the -Middle•ton Cottage wife-stealer, the Black
DTvarf, the Newgate Greek, and his Patron, the
I lc worth Barmier.

'the common consent of mankind is, then, that
e LIBERTY OF THE PRESS ought only to exi3l
trilh limits and restrictions ; for, however we may

differ in regard to be modifications of that liberty,
it must be admitted that there is no precise and
absolute definable medium between the two ex-
tremes. It follows, then, that every thing which
can be printed and published, must not. Of course
all that is possibly printable, must be divided into
that which rnuy, and that which maynotbeptint-
ed—the hoer class, for distinction-sake, being
called a " LIBEL ;" a very harmless word in it-
self, but yet one winch seems to give great of-
fence to many tender consciences. it were well
indeed if the telly) could be strictly defined
that it cannot be so, is not to be attributed, to the
impel fection of our laws, but to the general na-
ture of things; so that he who laments the want
of precise definition, and, upon the ground of
that deficiency, would: do away with all restric-
tions, must be, to ipeak plain English, either a
knave or a foot.

Jr is, Mr. Editor, another impelfedion in im-
perfect human systems, that you cannot -guard
aga7tist rogues, without at the same time, in some
mt►easure, affecting honest men. It is an evil that
ought certainly to be avoided as much as possi,
ble ; but it is on evil that must sometbues yield,

whilst we are guarding against greater ones.
'Tis in this point of view that we ought to con-
sider the present- Law of Libel before the Lrgis-
lature, and also the very temperate, ingenious,
and generally well drawn up Resolutions of the
Booksellers of the Metropolis. 1 will not intrude
upon your space by analyzing these seriatim, but
-shall venture to offer one or two hints which,
we•ithout increasing the danger of the honest part
of the Trade, may yet further the intentions of Go-
vernment in the preservation of public tranquil.
lily and of private morals.
If a heavy punishment for a secoild conviction
for Libel is to he given up, it may still be proper
to affix transportiviun to the second publication, by
the same individual or by any other person, of a
libel found to be so by any Jury, either in town or
country, after such verdict shall have.received the
sanction of the Twelve Judges ; whether the Libel
is published %%holly or in part.