The Council Bluffs nonpareil. [volume] (Council Bluffs [Iowa]) 1857-1867, 1858-07-10
Personal Rights.

The Postmaster General has promulgated
a decree Of his department, to the effect,
that letters bearing fictitious addresses shall
not be delivered to persons calling Tor them,
but shall be forwarded as dead letters to
the Department at Washington. This strikes
us as rather a remarkable regulation. How,
we should like to know, is Postmaster to
decide whether the address upon a letter is
s.ictitious" or not2 By what possible rule
can he determine this very delicate point
And why, We should like to know, has not
any person right to have his letters sent
to 'sfctitious address," if he sees ftp
Take the case of an advertiser in the Times:
May he not direct answers to be sent 70 ga.
b. through the Post Office? And if he
does, will the Postmaster refuse to deliver
letters, so addressed, to the person for
whom they are intended?
1t strikes us that our Government is car
rying its surveillance over private business
a little too far. Mayor Ticman, we are in
clined to think, set the example, when he
sent to the Post Office and seized letters ad
dressed to private persons, upon private
business, without shadow of authority or
the slightest warrant of law. Zeal in pur-
suit of vice is very good th!ng-but it
must not trample on private rights, or it be-
comes the greatest and most dangerous of
crimes. The French Government will not
permit messages in cipher to be transmitted
by telegraph. We consider this very great
outrage, the legitimate result of a despotic
government, and one which, in free coutry,
would not be tolerated an hour. But how
much worse, we should like to know, is it
than department decree which confscated
letters bearing fictitious address?
The fact is,-and it is one to which our
people will wake up some day,-invasions
upon private and personal rights are prac-
ticed and tolerated every day, in this country,
which would not be endured an hour in
England, and which nothing but the sword
could compel submission to in any despot-
ism of Europe. Where, out of Turkey or
Austria,-except in New York can posse
ade the doors, and without warrant, COM
plant or p oc,ss of any kind, seize tho
occupants, men, women and children-com-
hitting no offence,-drag them to the Sta
tion-house and lock them up for the night
If such q thing were done in Paris, how
would our Press ring with denunciations of
the despotism which should practice, and
the servility which should tolerate, such out
RACES upon personal rights. suppose we
should read Of French gems d'drmes order
ing peaceful pedestrian to stop and account
for something he happened to be carryinS,-
and shooting him because he started to run
away-what should we think of French So
ciety and French law and order? Yet pre-
cisely such case occurred in this vicinity
day before yesterday.
These seem very small matters, and as
they occur in the professcd service Of order
and morality, they are over looked and
even lauded by the public at large. But
they are none the less violations of private
rights-and like. all invasions Of personal
liberty are perpetrated under pretcnce of
regard of public good. And if they are al
lowed to 20 on unchecked, they will lead to
results which cannot be ovcrloOkcd.-N. Y.
Times.