Southern sentinel. [volume] (Plaquemine, Parish of Iberville [La.]) 1848-1858, 1854-05-06
THE WAGES OF CONSCIENCE.

Jays Slnce-nO mattef Wnefo ana no matter MI
.Iname-that perhaps it would be more accepta
BILE to him were we to send his paper by thu
b~eef-cart on Sundays, as we could with bu
little trouble, and he would thus get his pape
earlier and without going several miles to thu
Postoffce for it. His reply was brief and te
the point. He said he had ordered his papel
to be stopped long since; he did not wish i
any longer, for reason of our advocating Sc
warmly the claim Of Iberville to that portion
of it's territory known as Crosse Tete, when il
belonged to West Baton Rouge. We answer
ed our friend "a good and Jealous Whig) thai
we were acting in accordance with the dictates
of our conscience, through the impression tha'
we were doing what was right and just; and
We should continue thus to act, should ever,
subscriber on our list leave US. On parting
with the gentleman, we began to sum up wha,
We had lost, to our own knowledg &c, in the way
of patronage, by supporting an important pa.
IRISH interest, and found that the amount had
now reached about seventy dollars, a small and
insignificant sum, it is true, but one sufficiently
large to warrant the conclusion and the asser.
ton, sad though it be, that such acts are "tht
wages Of conscience"-the reward of conscien.
tious conduct on the part of an editor.
To say that an editor never errs, in his vim
dication of principles and local and general in
~terests, is ridiculous but in comparison With
others who give expression to their opinions, he
errs but seldom, for the reason that he is more
guarded in his remarks, for he is supposed to
be guided by the principles of truth and JUS
tice in all matters relative to the interests, as
he understands, them of his town and parish,
his State and his country. He must write from
The convictions of his own mind, and the
promptings of his own conscience to carry out
those convictions. The very moment when he
stops to reflect whether q line or a sentence
will please or displease this or that man or set
Of men, in contradiction to his own clear and
unbiased judgment, that moment he sacrifices
the proudest prerogative of an American edi~
tor-proyes recreant to his duty and to the in
terests of his patrons and the public-and loses
that independence and moral courage so essen
tial to the conducting Of a useful and valuable
paper; for nothing can be useful or valuable Of
a mental character which is utterly devoid Of
truth, and consequently a fearless spirit. Be.
sides, in acting and speaking for policy's sake,
without reference to the principles Of integrity,
an editor tramples upon the honor and dignity
Of his profession. When an editor writes and
throws to the world what he believes from pre-.
vious convictions, to be wrong, untrue or abs
surd, he certainly becomes dangerous to the
community in which he lives-and thus, unim-
pressable to the feelings which Conscience ef>
fects in minds not totally depraved, he is for
saken by this silent but powerful monitor, and
left to pursue his own hideous course Of de- |
and error, unchecked and unadmonished |
the seorn Of the high minded, the Upas.shadc
10 The correct and the virtuous.
It is with pleasure that we sgree with our
friends in our remarks upos topics Of any ma.
it is no less a pleasure for us to listen to
advice and gather instruction from their
But if we are thought worthy
% hold and continue in a station which we
rave occupied for so many years, we assuredly
will be allowed a little Of that free thought and
oppression, without which an editor is Of little
1alue in this country.
In a parish where We have made our home
as time advances, the surety becomes
loudly sure, that here our pilgrimage on earth
'as found its final resting place-we conceive
t to be our duty to support the interests of the
'arish not only when it is in the right, but our
lUty thus to act euen ,chen It Is in the wrong.--
Our country, right or wrong" is tho motto of
he patriot. But in this matter relative to the
wnership of the district of Crosse Tate-a
ubject which we did not know that we should
yer touch upon again-whatever we said was
one upon the convictions of right and justice,
18th regard to the claims of this parish, and .
'at it rested with Legislative power to sane.
on the claims of contending parties, or say
ow they should be settled. We examined the
Eatutes relative to the rights of Iberville to the :
ecton OF country alluded to, and found them /.
Aid to the satisfaction Of our own mind. We
ID not stop to count the costs of advocating
lose rights; and it is seen that we suffered n
loss in consequence, which is some. i
ing to a poor man., but nothing to the editor
would rather be right without prosperity
glorying in the wages Of a dishonored Fl
'nscience!
UA convention of the editors and printers
the five western counties in New York, was
'lden at Springfield, Wednesday Of last week,
ID a permanent organization adopted. After CT
discussion, it was agreed to raise the prices !
advertising from Is to 80 per cent, and tho
les ofjob work 20 per cent.
The Black Warrior Afair.-The London er