The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1848-06-16
WAsHIAcroS, June 4, 1s4S.
~ Senate and the Press.

~ Senate and the Press.
On Mouday week siy. Butler of South Carolina,
ported from the Judiciary Committee of the Senate
bill to punish violations of the secret proceedings
Congress The hrst section of this VII declares 1t
misdcntcanor punishable by fne and imprisonment,
to abstract, take, receive, carry away docu
ment commu nicated to either house in confidence
from which the injunction Of seoresy has not been
moved abefore the publication Of the same shall have
bee IN duly authorised and permitted" Section de-
clares it misdemea nor, punishable by fine and i'm
prisonment, for any person having lawful charge
custody Of any such document, to give lend or
muncae" it, without rrcyioas permission of the body
to whom it is claimed to belong Section makes 1t
penal in like manner to print publish any such do
any part thereof any abstract synop
sis of the sAne any part thereof Section maker
il the dsty q the Msrsha Of the District Of Columbia
to receive and into custody and to hold keep and
retain in the public ai Of the county Of Washington
any person adudged gaRty Of any OF the
constituted by the act.
While in every countryin EasoIe, privilege and pre-
rogatiye are being wcpt awsywhe syrn in England,
every session Of Parliament pens, enactment
er sed from the statute book-while in Franz the
press which is the voice Of the people, has asserted its
supremacythc only supremacy that is not dangerous
TO liberty while In Prussia are free to speak and
write, and print and publish, what uay peascwhile
what is called treason By s lawthe ssna Of th.
United States is employed In forging fetters tcr
the citizen. and framing new penal cnactmcnts to
The introduction OF this bill implies Dost humili-
atiug confession of the egality and unwAss ntablc
cation Of the Mescan treaty they bad then lawful
authority for their course where The present neces
sity for legislation,
One can afford to write calmly and tenrerately of
this proposed measure, notwthsta ndng its malignant
atrocity, because 1t can never become law The Sc
nate dare not pass such bill-the House will not.
1t will be that the third section proposes pun
ish, by FIVE and imprisonment any newspaper proprie
tor who shall publish without the sanction and xutho
y of the Senate any its secret proceedings that he
may happen to ostsin or any document confded to
the body in confidence.
leave the other house entirely out of the question
o'longer holds secret sessions although having
equal constitutional authority for doing Grave
questions OF peace and have come before Congress
since the present ADM nistration into power and
yet message has been communicated to tho House
in confidence probably because it is the branch Of the
national legislature spriDgDg more Immediately from
the people who in tho opinion OF Mr. Polk have nough
to do with the settlement of national concerns. IT,
then newspaper proprietor obtain in any manner.
ment upon which the Sc nate is delbernting in secret
and in the prosecution OF his legitimate calling Of faith
fully supplying his subscribers with news lay such
document before them, this bill declares he Is to be
taken from his daily ayocatious locked up In common
jail as msl.factor and made to pay fine which is to
vary according TO the discretion Of the court
In order to illustrate the arranf absurdity this
measure will state that copy Of the Mexican treaty
was seen and syllabus made Of it by me- before IL
seen by tho Senate. That syllabus published
by almost every paper In the Untsd STATE that II
this bill bad been law at that time every publisher in
the mon would have been liable to prosecution and
90 punishment by fine and Imprisonment What
droll creature Is this MIR. Butler.
Again. the vote thu ratification Of the treaty
was published In the Herald the second morning after
IL was taken. The treaty ratified on the 10th of
March II Published in the Herald, not by autho-
rity but correctly tho 18th The official publica-
Of the vote appeared in the papers on
the ID of June ng within of three months
after the ratification. The Senate know all this time
that the treaty rathedthe people have no right to
know. says MIR Butler. There has been \ war and
numbers of brave troops are still ia the enemy's
country. We have conquered and the nation longs
for peace The young wife signs for her absent hus.
band-the aged mother vceps for her sons return He
has left her ght the battles Of bis country and pro.
whence which decreed that his eomradc should fall by
his SIDE has preserved him from all the Wild pcrils he
has encoun tered. Meantime. treaty IL negotiated
and submitted TO the senate IL IL be ratified the army
dsbanded, aud to that young wife her husband Is
restored. and the returns to the expcctsnt
of his mother But with the fact of its negotiation
It's terms, ts ratification the people have right
20 be made acquainted That IL reserved for the Pre-.
sident, and the Presidents household. and for the
Senate. What matters the bitter agony Of suspense
in which kept the families Of those who are with
the army, The Senate it's dig nifty must
keep from the vulgar everything on which it,
august mind IL brought 10 bear IA for the people
whose servants these Teay arewbose slaves they
pretend. at election time. to be- but whose masters
they esteem and deport themselyes-why let them 10
hang As the Senate choose to remove the in
junction Of secrecy after the lapse Of three months or
more perhaps will be- time enough for them; and In
the meantime. the heart Of that young wife IL torn
with doubt and hope deferred has shortened the wan
quence! The dignity Of the Senate must be asserted