The Winchester appeal. [volume] (Winchester, Tenn.) 1856-1856, 1856-04-05
The Tennessee Press.


with others it was thought exceedingly
pise and prudent by one of our Leg
islatures to dispense with what little
legal advertising Of Importance that
was done in the State. The first stab
at the Press was to make it fineable
for any editor to insert in his paper a
notice of a Lottery, though it might
be drawn in another State. This we
suppose was intended to protect the
morals of the people. Wonder they
didn't pass q law that no blooded horse
was to he raised in the State, for fear
somebody would want to see him run!
Experience has shown, that the
greater the number of bidders in at
tendance at sale, the greater prices
will be obtained for what is sold.--
Take the present law ofTennessee on
the subject of public sales and how
does it act? A man is in debt, say
$7OO, he lives in county where but
few men can command that amount
in cash, without great difficulty. An
execution is issued against his prop
erty, and his only negro is levied on, a
man worth $1,000. The officer puts
up a few written notices, frequently
so unintelligible that no sense can be
made out of what he writes; the negro
is sold for cash in ten days and pur-
chased perhaps for $500 or $500. No
one scarcely knows of the sale, and
consequently the unfortunate debtors
property, worth $1,000, is sacrificed for
seven or eight hundred dollars! Can
any man say that this is an extreme
case or any. over-wrought picture!-
Surely not, for it is almost an every
days occurrence in some portions of
the State for some kind of property
Now for the small sum of four dol
lars. this negro could be advertised in
some paper, for three weeks, which
would cause spectators from adjoin-
ing counties to attend the sale, and
thus the property would bring some
thing like a fair price. Any man, who
will reflect upon this subject, must sec
the utility of advertising all valuable
property in order to bring bidders to.
gether.
We ask for no exclusive priceleges
for the Press; all we desire is to be put
upon equal footing with the Press in
other States.
That the present penny wise and
pound foolish" laws Of Tennessee are
injurious, not onl " to the Press, but
act most ruinously upon that very
class Of debtors whose property has tC
be sold, all must see who examine the
subject. And that the great cause Of
popular and practical education has
suffered by the existence of said laws
none can deny. Why ten years ago
Tennessee had more newspapers than
she has now, all sending tributaries tc
swell the stream Of general iniorma-
ton among the people. What has
put out so many lights in the State?-
The answer is to be found in the ig'
norance and darkness eminating from
her Legislatures.
So far as we are individually con
ccrned, we are independent of legis
lative action on this subject. But how
, many other Presses in the State are
even paying expenses? Leave ou
Nashville, and what is the history O.
Tennessee publishers in almost every
other place in the State?
Another oppression and injustice I'm
der which Tennessee publishers labor
is the conduct Of many Postmaster
in the State. How often is it the cast
you find Post masters in the South &C
!, lively engaged in making up large
clubs of subscribers to Northern pa
pers and periodicals, to the exclusion
of their own home papers. Sucl
Post-masters are not aware of the ex
tent ofthe injury they are infictins
, upon the South. In all of thes'
Northern papers there is vein of Alb
olitionism to be seen by the reader o
discernment. Then look at the injus
tice done Southern publishers-th
means which should go to them, ar
sent North to build up papers that ar
continually making war upon tn
rights of the South. Did ever one O
| these Southern Post-masters hear of
Northern Postmaster making u
clubs of subscribers to Southern pa
papers! No, never!
Our object in throwing out thes
remarks is. that the editors of Tennes
S see may direct their artillery agains
4 the expressions under which they Ia
: Dor, and at proper time, we sha
suggest the calling of State Coz
vention of Editors at Nashville, t
right these wrongs.-Jackson Whis
D U We learn from private lette
2 that JOHN L. THOMPSON, Esq, has bee
$ appointed Clerk and Master of tn