Spirit of the times. [volume] (Ironton, Ohio) 1853-1858, 1854-06-06
Prom the Pa. Saturday Evening Mail.
LIB IL RTY,

Il II u i L.
Il know no county in which there is
40 little true independence Of mind and
freedom Of discussion, as in America
Within certain barriers, indeed an au.
thor may write VIII atever he pleases, but
ifhe ever step beyond them he will re.
pent 1t. Every sort Of compensation,
even that Of celebrity, is then refused to
him. His fellow creatures will shun him
like an impure being, and even they
who ore most persuaded OF his limo.
cencc, will abandon him, lest they
should be ahunnel in their turn."-De
Tocqueuille.
Such are the hard sayings Of an &C.
complished Frenchman, the great phi.
losopher Of democracy, and the friend
and admirer Of our county and its in.
etilu,ions. That he thus spoke from
conviction as strong as 10 be compulsa.
tory, is plain from the following:
fever these lines are read in Ameri.
ca, am we'll assured Of two ,hings,-in
the first place, that all who peruse
them will raise their voices to condemn
me; and in the seconl place, that very
many Of them will acquit me at the bot
tom Of their hearts, ....- -5..
Whether the first clause of the phi.
losopher'a prediction has heen verified.
we do nopassulcdly know. II il has not,
the case may probably be, that his book
has never as yet become exactly popu'
lar reading. sI.... r.
Now, this statement, dcplorable as il,
Ss, as porlraying the condition Of things
in o free county, is, if not absolutely
and literally, yet to a great degree true.
And ~hat u truth! What is liberty
worth If chain be fastened on tho lips!
il is, to be sure, something, ;hat the
limbs, are unfetlered, anl life and sub.
stance hang on no irresponsible capri
cious will. But il is a most useful sub
traction from the sum total Of freedom,
that speech, one Of the most transcend.
ont, OF the divine gifts, should he SO Grip
pied ond restricted in its exercise, as to
be for most practical and desirable en- Is
/ annihilated. How vitality is progress,
v,fwhe,her individual or social, concerned
IT Ia unlimited scope and largest ut,erance
.soing conc eded 10 the thoughts and spe.
Mutations of one and ell! The denial
j q omnashsss is likely in the end to leopard.
\ re the very existence of all freedom
whatever. And il is inevitable that such
denisl should render tardy an.l uncer
tain, ifit does no, totally defeat, the re-
dress Of existing grievances, the removal
ofpresent evils, and the development
snd establishment Of novel truths. Ard
at the very best. il is as though tho ira
weller should take upon himself a heavy
and utterly super6uous burden to en-
Sumber bis movements.
What gross and shameful inconsis
tsney TOO! We proclaim ourselves Tree
and we vaunt our freedom loudly. And
40, we forbid one another 10 speak this
.or that, though il may be undeniabls
.aruth, and truth, too Of the highest ant
most enduring Importance.
But do we actually thus forbid! NO
III may be, in so many specifc terms
The latter, however, were the honester
snanliet course. But we say, think
speak, freely and unconstrsinedly..'I,
Suppose an individual does thus thlni
..snd speak, being encouraged thereto D.
dhe letter Of our declarations. Soon,to'
soon. he finds himself visited, in ON
form or another. with our displeasure:.
Thus, liza clergyman, end exercisln
lssitima,ely his function Of teacher, n
is7ed by his more comprehensive know
lejee and deeper studies TO some op'n
Ion differing from those held by the ma
iSri,y Of those he is appoin,ed TO 'ns'rue
and, expresses such opinion, te IS liof
.ssksn probably BY one after anothef.an
ifshe point be Of great general inte,est
4. nav be thrus. forth from his his
place penniless. and Swallowed oy III fe
p0ls.
II an office. holder he is at once ar
prised that his "room is preferred to NJ
company"
ifths conductor Oft newspaper or
meresiae, his subscription list is co'
tailed. y ~. S ~
Ia 6us.. ifinsany employment or vocs
tian depsnding on patronage or cusIcn
sn3vsIv few are not 90, no 10 reacne
stid pdnIihsl for HE independennce GO 3 sai' =.
suahsosisv mage and custom. Now ~
boaat. svsr "a nasseas,. that among =
men's lives and Liberties are nev,
voacgs1 ~ epiniaa's sake. bas g,
therNeai4ianA Hebrew, 1850 Y, ~. =. y. = :
iAsssA sslasyS HHoaaa,s ~ lifa sss..sl
wAesY>4 ~ tkl4 ~ means whereby = ave ss'
Il sSssas sSa cssss s;sss We s I sts 10 .fdih' actin