The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1855-08-02
From the Kaleidoscope.
LIBERTY OF THE PRESS.

If there is one principle which, above all
others, Americans have cherished since the
formation of this Confederation it is the Liberty
of the Press-that intellectual Messiah which
has diifused its light and blessings throughout
the world for several centuries-that perfect
liberty of which Euripides speaks, when he
says,
This is true liberty. when free-born men,
Having advise the public, may speak rec;
Which he who can and will deserves high praise,
Who neither will may hold his peace
What can he Juster ~ a state than thIs,"-
Liberty of the Press, in the widest sense of the
word, bound BIZ no shackes, and trammeled by
no ties.
The objections which have been urged
against this perfect freedom Of discussion, and
there are objections, can be briefly enumerated
and briefly answered. These objections we pro-
pose to bring forward, and trust that we may be
able to refute them. Among the first that have
been urged is, that it is detrimental to Truth;
and that by imposing restrictions on the Press,
Truth may be promoted, and Falsehood repress-
ed. But Truth, like gold, the more it is bur
nished, the brighter it shines, and always event
ualy prevails over hbellous attacks. To deny
the Importance of Truth, is to contend that it is
useless to know the direct road to the place
which is the object of our journey; and to affirm
that error Is not inj uriOuS, is to advocate the
harmlessness or advantage Of wandering in ig-
norance.
Let him that is skeptical to the vast import
ance of Truth cast his eve down the long cata-
ogue of crimes and cruelties which stain the
annals OF the past, and examine the Moderation
which has taken place in the practices of the
world, and he will not inquire into the nature
of the advantages that mark the destruction Of
error. All the liberality Of thinking which now
prevails, the spirit of resistance to tyranny, the
mitigation of national prejudices, the rarity and
mildness Of religious prosecutions, are so many
exemphficatiOns of the benefits resulting from
the progress of moral and political Truth. The
inquiry how Truth is TO be attained, becomes,
therefore, in the highest degree, interesting and
important. As no individual mind is so acute
or comprehensive, or so free from passion or
prejudice, as TO see all the popular arguments
Of complex question on both sides, in their
full force, a cooperation of various minds be-
comes indispensably necessary. Each one may
view the subject in different light, and Truth
will be separated from error and emerge from
obscurity. If attainable by human faculties, it
must, by such process, be evolved. The way,
then, to obtain this result is, to permit every
thing to be said or written that can be said and
written.
There is one objection, however, which car
ries with it some weight. BY unbridled
Press, the vilest and grosSest calunnies are
circulated. Death itself hardly walks abroad
more INCREASINGLY than the spirit OF defamation
goes its rounds in the community. The rep
tiles which attend him do not prey more indis-
criminately on the noblest remains, than the
vermin of the Press on the fairest names.
Nothing so sacred as to scare their rapacious-
ness, nothing so humble as to elude their inces-
SAINT activity. Not only the public characters
of statesmen aud the private conduct of pub
lie men, but the secret actions Of private in
dviduals, are their prey. These they seize
upon with the fury of hunger, and drag them
forth in the blaze of day. But, is there no vay
to counteract these evils? The very principle
for which we contend furnishes a safeguard;
" as sure as the night doth follow the day.
does refutatien follow these calumnies, and the
slanderers are overwhelmed with ignominy.
Say some, it sanctions robbers Of character;
but it destroys tyrants, the robbers of nations
1t stands as a constant sentinel, to warn us of
any attempts on our liberties, to convey the
alarm from one end of the country to another.
BY it, the learning, wit, and genius of the ma
ton are employed on the side of Liberty, and
by it every one is animated to its defence.
Again, it is urged that, by its perfect Freedom,
Christianity is ridiculed; but Christianity, ike
a pure and undefled light, sheds its light and
radiance undimmed around, carrying bliss and
with it wherever it penetrates.
In this country its sway is omnipotent-in-
fuence immense. There is, perhaps, no better
guarantee of peace and progress to this couu.
try, than the Freedom OF the Press.
Twas this which
"From its fruitful womb
Brought forth the arts OF Greece and Rome
Her offspring. skilled in Logic's war
Truths banner waved in open air
This nurse of Arts and Freedoms fence.
To chain is treason against sensen
IT'S the mightiest Of the mighty means on
which leans the arm of progress. IT'S to ad-
vance mans noblest mission-his rights to en-
force and to redress his wrongs IT'S sacred
palladium, which no influence, no power, no
government, can eventually destroy. The ca
lamities we are saved from with it, and to what
we are exposed without it, are described by