The Statesman.
London, England, 1820-02-05 00:00:00

LIBEIITI OF THE PRESS IS GE11.11.1.V1.

The fifth noothrr of Me Hermes, a Review of the
highest reputation he Bet-many, just published, contains
the following curious prettier :
The Resolutions of the tirrman Diet, of the Math of
September, as well as the preceding declaration% of the
President, and the new regulation* respecting ren.or-
ships, which have in consequence been introduced into
all the Federal States of tiertnanv, have either annihi-
lated a considerable number of public journals, or have
completely changed their original character.
The Hermes was announced as an attempt to emulate
the great British models, I%e Eiliabergh and Quar-
ter', Reviews, as the undertaker 1111111 convinced that a
critical work, of the same character, would hoof essential
use to the literature of Germany.
lint the execution of such a plan required either the
most complete liberty of the press, or at least a censor-
ship of the most liberal description, each as The Hermas
could felicitate itself on enjoying in the place where the
first four numbers were pnithshed.
The continuance of the undertaking. however, after
the publication of the resolutions of the 20th Septem-
ber, and the recent (lemma regulations respecting cen-
sorships, seemed to the undertaker—who, after Wein

Professor Krng' as Editor, had taken the task of editing
thwerork opoim himself, and consequently had become
liahls.to a double responsibility--a very ticklish matter.
lipleed, it because impossible to conduct time work in it.
htner spirit.
Lacl n the report of time President of the Diet, there is the
Tuilowing paos.t.ge :___.
i " 'the measures which, in throe urgent circumstances,
are to he adopted against the abuses of the press, ought
by mom means to have the effect 'of inipeiling the activity
of useful amid estimable writers, of fettering the natural
progress of the human wind; or preventing the minium-
`iiication of instruction of any description, provided it is
ronlieemi within the limits that no legislation which has
hitherto existed, has ever yet allowed to be transgressed.''
That the sitperintentience exercised over periodical
.writings will degenerate intoroppreoWits, can never be
-ilmiii'ved by ow loan! acquainted with the sentinteent
. which the whvle of the airman Ulmer's:wean have die.
tinetly eutmugh expressed on every occasion. They hate
ISO reason to dread, from any friend of truth and order,
the reproach of an intention to establish a 'mental
tyrnany."
This passage seemed to afford a sufficient guarantee
for the conducting., in the former spirit, an undertaking'
to which only " the moat estimable renters" dedicated
their artirity; the only object of which was to merit
"the natural progress of the Airmen mind;" whirl
was destined to convey only "imstrortims ;" which in as
case would Lave trangressed the limits "that no Le-
gislation which has erer existed (including, of course,
the English and the French), has ever yet allowed to
be trasegressed."
It appeawd, however, to the new Editor, that the
actual contents of the general law regarding the props,
framed by the Diet, as well as the special edicts on the
r.bject, *slued by the majority of the German tloveru-
ments, were at open variance with time passage expres-
sive of the most liberal sentinients in the intromlnctory
speech of the President. In the speech, the freedom of
time press was folly allowed according to the most liberal
rules in the European Legislations. But in the press-
, law itself, all, " publications which appear i 4 the form
lof daily Art* or in numbers (how indeterminate the
last expression Das also " such as are under 20 &heels,"
are subject to a very severe censorship. (The Bermes,
which Ind never contained fewer than 24 or 25 sheets,
might, from its extent, have escaped the censorship; but
though it does not appear on any given day, or even
month, it would have come under the description of a
'publication in numbers).—ln the Demme States, where,
by the Coastititticon, censorships no longer existed, they
were obliged to be restored ; the laws hitherto in existent..
respecting the prosecution and punishment of the abuses'
lief the press, as they were called, were declared to be
veers where insajteinat ; the States of the Diet were
mate nut onk soponsible to any State which conceived
Hint injnret in its " Dignity' by the press (what an
wadies,. field for denuneiationsi—Wliat subjects remain
ID the historical and political literature a) ewe times,
according to the Prussian rule which we have just mem-
Moweim bat oleo Me to do temiiiriecikaburso
&c.—t
ie special laws in several Derwin States went
still farther. Thus this Prussian law abolished the ex-
emption from censorship of the Universities, enjoyed by
thrum for upwards of WO years, and even that of the
Academy of Sciences. Nay, the censorship regulations
,of the Prussian Cabinet even determine that nothing
' shall be printed whirl may excite "even a displeasure"
in any of time States of Diet.
In the proportion in which the fundamental press-
law of the Diet went beyond the general principle in the
discourie of the President ; in time proportion in which
the special laws, for the most part, exceeded the funda-
mental press-law of the Diet ; in the same proportion
the Censors appointed under the laws were, from the
nattier of things, obliged, in the application of their in-
strimetious, to interpret them with increased strictness,
rather than to mitigate them. The whole of the appa-
ratus instituted for the purpose of exciting terror, the
Ilea system.. of legislation, with its extraordinary. inn-
sures, the responsibility to which even the State is sub-
jected for each word ',minted in it, which may injure the
dignity of another State, or even excite mliopleamiiire, the
gindwil fear and anxiety thereby occasioned, the loud
triumph of a party no where beloved, either in or out of
I fiermany m—all these things, with the addition frequent-
ly of particular private instructions, could not fail to fill '
thetensors with the utmost cant' and anxiety ; and
' the wore so, when it is considered how miserably this
ungrateful and disagreeable business, now subjected to
sncli extraordinary responsibility, is every where re-
! wattled among us. I
As these laws have been for the moot part framed by 1
persons insufficiently acquainted with time nature of
I printing, and the Dermas hook trade, there are defects
rat these provisions, by which time law, if persons are so
disposed, may be easily evaded. While Napoleon was
at Vienna, in 1805, M. You Bent: wrote his celebrated
Fregmemts, and Hartnock, in Dresden, published them
under the counterfeit title of a:eiot Petershisrgh. The
Same thing happened with the Fragment d' nos Litre de
Polybe of M. d'Antraigues, which in its time was also
published at that time in di.esden, and read with equal
eatcreels. The infamous Secret history of the Court
!I'S& aura was also sold by time Leipsic publisher of.
ter the battle of Jena, when the first alarm eras over, and
was purchased with the greater avidity, is the possessies
of the book seemed to he attended nith danger. The
strict secret Police of ITestphalia could not prevent
Reichardt's Bonaparte and the French People from
being re-printed in Brunswick, with the addition of a
second part; amid even time threatened punishment of
death was not sufficient, in IMI9, to deter men from
porpetaally re-printing the celebrated book of Cerallos
in Germany. Nay, though a house, in Quedlinburg
was even betrayed to the Verret Police of Westphalia,
where thousands of copies of this publication lay con-
cealed. the •-viis d'arnies, in their search, could not find
one ropy. What '. in the time on which Napoleon ins&
premised his bloody seal by the murder of the unfortunate
Palm, and the Secret French Police, which, antler the
direction of Fouche and Savvy, was sprawl over all
Europe, could not succeed, with regard to time produc-
tions of the press, cannot succeed in our more humane
age, which, in no other respect, can be compared with
that epoch of Germany's deepest ignominy and oppress
shun. The decay of trade and oppressive aliment of the
tales of our times, render men dead to the voice of she
law, especially when so much can be said in favonr of
its evasion. A poor printer in any corner of liennany,
with a wife and children calling out for bread, will al-
ways lbe disposed to listen to the Syren voice of a pub-
lisher or author, when he is only asked to print secretly,
what, with the exception of the period of time oppression
of Napoleon, could hare born always printed is free
Germany. Moreover, to the German publisher on any
thing like an extensive scale, the free presses of other
couutries, lied Lb. thoesand-full ramihcations of the

• The Editor of the former numbers of The Hermes.