The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1849-02-10


country and that it is exactly within these localities tina
the mails OF the United States transported public
roads not made by the federal govemment-ofen not BY
the Staes-but by the local population OF the neighbor
moods The people o! each neighborhoo1 make thei
roads, and IRON year to year they repair them The peo
pie of The counties bridge their streams and from year
year repair them, and your mail goes over them free OF
charge. Your mail pays toll to keep them In repair
The local population OF each vicinity who are to be ben
Gifted by this poor little reduction OF the tax on the priv
ege OF reading, therefore, have right TO claim an
equivalent for the right which you have of passing free
over roads which they have TO make and keep in repair
and on the making and repairing OF which you spend mo-
farlhing.
Mr. President, almost all of the public men of this
country know something about the pubic press and
apt to remember wrongs than favors almost
all public remember that the press has been the
vehicle of malice and of injustice toward them and with
out looking to the other side of the question: and
emplang the amount of benefits that they have derived
from the press, they very apt TO say in their souls
especially when they read scorchng article on them
selves, better would be II there were no newspapers
IN the county, But, sir am far from entertaining this
opinion And say now, sir upon my responsibility to
reason and to truth that far from considering the pub
ic press OF this country as an evil, do not believe
would be possible to maintain public liberty without it
mean to maintain public liberty as we have 1t secured
by written constitution under representative system
extending far and wide over our immense country II
such state of things, without this medium of communi-
cation between the people themselves, and between the
people and the government and between the people and
the functionaries OF the government 1t would be utterly
impossible for the people to exercise that supervision and
control over public measures and public men which is
necessary for the support of public freedom.
Sir it has been the custom of YOUTH IN our school
houses, to hear much about the Liberties of Greece and
Rome, and therefore any reference to them becomes IN
after life rather stale and commonp place 1t is not my
habit to indulge IN such reference put on inns occasion
shall bu, only for the purpose OF sustaining my posi-
tion-hat without the public press. and free one,
too-pubc liberty could not be established sustained
over large country by any human means. In such a
country. with wide spread population, it would in the
nature of things, be utterly impossible for the people
all to in mass and exercise directly the law
making power to act in this particular otherwise than
indirectly through the representative system. Equally
impossible would it be for them TO secure their Liberties
against corruption, perhdy, and ambition il when their
representatives to whom they had delegated power were
assembled at a distance, there were no medium through
which they and the whole of them might learn what was
said and done in their name. Without such medium
such one the press aordsmen, in order to be free,
must concentrate upon single pont-a point so small
to enable them to act directly and in mass without the
intervention of representatives. They must come within
hearing distance OF each other and OF the public author
ity; because without such medium they cannot speak
TO the eye aar off Hence those republics OF antiquity,
whilst they enjoyed any liberty at ALL were but the govern
ments of Cities where the concentrated people acted direct
" and mass and such, constituted an absolute democ
racy Such thing therefore, free and independent
yeomanry free, voting, country population OF farmers,
residing their own lands, far away from cities, and YET
exercising the political rights OF ireemen-dd not and
could not exist in either Greece Italy To be free
men, it necessary to reside where alone it was pos
sbe exercise the rights of eemen, and that was alone
in the capital other cities For that reason the soil
cultivated by who were not ree for the beneflt
residence in the city, with the rights OF citizen, to
residence upon farm with rights at all Hence was
that that very description of popuaton-free and indie
pendent farmer s-upon whose character whose habits
stability, integrity, and intelligence, public liberty can
most securely eposedd not exist in those republics be-
cause they could not, for the want of sufficient medium
through which 10 communicate with each other ana all
with the central power And hence, also, it was that,
for the want of this description of population the cities
became the sole seat OF power, and their governments
nothing but municipal regulations.
fhnn ulil AZ nrnnn
diminish to the extent of four hundred thousand dollars
this tax, privilege it is called has this further conse-
quence in tit will tend to establish and build up by IN
direct encouragement local presses at points where there
are no presses and every local press that IS esao
shed dmnshes the danger that now exists IN France
OF putting the whole mass OF the pubic mind under me
direction and control of great central press, as in Paris
1t ocalzes power in every locality in the republic 1t
enables the people every locality to the remotest
parts of our wilderness territories 10 participate IN the &C
lion of the government, directly and eifectualy as i
they lived in any OF the great cities OF the republic
know, as have before said, that those who have been
wounded by the press very naturally complain; those
who have been benefited by the press less appehensve
know that there is common saying that the news
paper press may be- perhaps has BEEN to some extent
corr,,ped that is the vehicle of falsehood and IN.
Justice that il is an nsrumentaly through which bad
men can crafty their private or public malgnify upon
other men Be it So In the West there is great rlyer
known as the Mississippi. Sometimes this river breaks
over it's banks and overhows the adjacent country,
sweeping fences and crops, and houses away IN ITS
course Upon it float steamboats,, which someme gel
snagged and wrecked Win q great sdo,ihoo u roN"
life and hundreds of thousands OF dollars worth OF prop
ery But sir will you offset these unavoidable eviis
against the mighty advantages OF that stream ana say
that because of these incidental evils the stream
of no account and that would be well 1t were dried
up' So precisely may it be SAID, excep. WIN more
through which flow the ideas OF this country mere
may DO ills and injustice arising from Tree press
There may be falsohood promulgated through IT, wa
Lightly may sometimes be 9ralsd, and innocence be MADE
to suffer through its fundamentally but Wnal are al
these evils compared to the immense beneh OF keeping az
oman and free communication between twenty millions
OF people, and between each one OF them ana eaei
public functonary of the government For 1t IS througt
this great book OF the people, unfoded IN every man
house. open every mans inspection, mat Inc opinions
to act upon their government And, sir' am lhe
more in favor of this proposition because IL chimes
| in most harmonously with every proposition nave
ever laid down touching this subject OF open com
munication with the people. ear alter year; pave
stood up here, and demanded, in the behalf anc
in the name of the America people. that these door
should be open and that the whole OF our TRANSACTIONS
the name of our constituents should be performed ~ I'M
view of our constituents SO, too. have stood up mere
when it was thought unpopular to do So N support
the franking privilege for the reason In every IN
aance where have acted voted have sought TO az
Il in such manner that would open the doors wider
the nspectiob of the people, and pour stronger ign
mon their representatives have done TINS because
have believed that in this thing consists our ONLY
security. because | am not one OF those who sqppos
ina, this government consists in written constltu
| ton No. sir am not child enough Tor that l kno"
What This government consists in II 1t consisted Du
in a written constitution, where would II nave heel
now when that constitution has, confessedy' 80 oi'e'
at the 6resides Of the people of this country ~ is
be found in the sentiments, IN the Judgments ~ VA
predictions in the hopes the sympathies Oh gtea
people, who make known their sentiments 10 each o'ne