The independent. (Harrisonburg, La.) 1853-18??, 1858-05-12
THE PRESS.


ern free people, but simply Public SEMI
ment. There are no longer any civilized
governments that do no' more or less, rec
ognize this influence, and in al it is growing
into rcrmsnence, and building it's authority
over the aris,ocracies and the thrones.
OF this Pubic Sentiment, every where the
! Press Is the fast ally, AID the faithful expo
! uent. Aud every whore the Press is /, il
encouraged and sustained. II corruption or
icentiou>r@ss fa>irns upon the Press, Public
Sentin ent is a, hand, viii, a tinsrr to point
its scorn, and whip to lash ,ra'pGrr,-ors.
Aud where Pubic sentiment halls OF goes a
stray, the Press II near, to enii.. ,en rs ig-
nor nee, invoke i,s justice, arouse It's .n.r
! Cics, ani awaken its 5. n-c If responsibility.
| IL is these that are hard-rnaid, 70 all rol','-
cal liberty, and all persons 'ight--lhe Chan
crllois s,d defenders Of every nation. class
aui Individual. OF the Press, Curran sad,
alt Is surely Che great >-n'ine!--it gives tie
| light 10 see, and The tongue TO speak" Yes,
and when the Press is dan ktncd or restrained,
The public sentiment finds spontaneously a
means Of siudIca'on and redress.
! Men will live with more patience in the
shadow OF a"v other dcspot>m than that
which sutlugates the Press, or maks it The
in>trumcn, Ut rs usnIra'iun~, the oracle of
lis I.'sehools, or the apo'ogi,t Of its crimes.
History has sufficiently stlcsied the hopeless
Hess OF any tyranny by which the Press has
been ei.savpd. By sublime instinct, all
races, countries, factions, where civilization
has lifted the veil OF barbari>m from the
minds Of men, there Is ever :. Jealous and un-
, sleeping vigilance, a lerre,ua, watch and
war, over the tights and imHluni;.s of The
! Pubic Press. Political liberty, freedom Of
conscience, and all excm ptou from mental
restraint are its neeilu aiI>. " here these
, prevail, lEe Press i, the governing power,
crowned ana throncd, siyin., the light to see,
and I'll. tongue To speak some man or wo-
nan, It's i'll Eng au!, may WELD or wear the
, bubbles that are madc 10 constitute the en-
biem> of authority but the Press rcgns.-
| Or, as in France, a pale and miserable char
la'an and empiiic, Knowing himself too poor
TO suh>'d!ze, may yet imaglne himself Sio 9
enough to consirain the tongue Of civ!!ize.
ualions, and the ii-.ht Of the civilized world.
Such an act is the unitiE. precursor Of rev
/
! imperial weakness With the .elt.iu,v With
which penalty always waits on wrong. aud
, to doom co,nmeln>ura' with the maga'
| tude OF his iuiajuaiion, will the magnitude
OF his ibiatna,,ou, will this foolish usurpcr
speedily descend. Public Sentiment in
Frsnce--,oi.tile emotional and glorl .d,in-,
whose name is >,Cniiirant of change ana III
stability, us it Is oil al. the ra>sioual virtues,
will not b long Ill awakening and cnersizins
the cause Of the Press, and 10 ,n,!in. in il
yindication Of solid basis fer future security.
aud notable warning for :u;urc dcspois.
With what degree Of fidelity The Public
Press any whore reflects The Public Scuii-
mcnr, depends upon lho universal irecdom.-
! Hence, in our county II Is radically the pow
CT thai governs. No statute can have :orce
against he influence @. al enlightened nub-
ed with ,rlue-anI 40 statute ought. For,
in 50 far only us legislative bodies enact the
rrueIal will, are they faithful to their trusts.
" hen they seek to lead, and no, to follow,
universal oplnion, they commit nsu'pa,ion.
/ HIS is he prevail ing er,or OF !aw.nakers.-
! They gather no wisdom from the public mind,
/ bu, seek to impart 1t. They do not await
! the common need OF any law, but enact and
expect it to exist without need or the need
viii follow. Ii is for th. reason that lcgis-
I laIion still iucieas while it should yearly
! diminish And hence, too, their is endless
conflict between the statutes and the popu-
/ lar viii. rs reflected hy the Press. Therein
/ the Press in,i;~pen~ably prevails. The Press
makes opinions, inspires sympathy, masne'i
z-s meas minds, while the statues do none
| Of these. The Press is the channel of the
common thought. 1t receives daily from
! individual minds nipples and wavcle's, and
streams OF mcnlaIiry, tiat are poured into
/ the great ocean ana drank ;lom ~ others
who .gain return through The Press new
! streams, perhaps clearer or brighter or Of
/ more depth OF beauty. And these uuceas
! in. mental processes are better AID trurr,
! have sources ever ascending. aud ever high
} or anj nobIer than the enacmenis Of lrgis-
lai,r bodies, who syesn rather 20 make laws
for II. exr:ciaeia,s power, than to exercise
power lor the SAKE oil making just and iced
ul laws.
/ Bat ii is less as the public guardian, than
as the Great Teacher that the Press is widen
ing the Geld OF its influence, and acquiring
daiv more strength. The thoroughiares,
and the public resorts abound with its offer
ings ami easy of access and lavish Of art,
| they lrau unaware he unlettered into com
munion with better minds, and open the doors
OF the great Temples whore History has its
tablets. and Philosophy It's horoscope. To
the common school, Of Education, the Press
is ,owerl,;l auxiliary. The child learns
his exercise by rot", bnt through the Press
expands into early intercourse with the outer
world OF thought aud sentiment. The gra-
vest eu.oyium, or the protound~st disqni>i-
tons a; school, presents to the mind no real
harn Of ahsnlni. truths hut through the