Nashville patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1858-1860, 1858-10-07
The Press i'm France.

| The Journal DIES Debats, saws the Baltimore
american, treats with great skill and delicacy
| the question of the state of the press in
France. The writer on. Saint Marc Grardin)
| speaks of the press as grandeur dechlGe--a
| fallen greatness. existing in great humility
and contrasts its state with the Furnishing
| condition of the same institution in England
and the United States. where, he says, il
performs part of the public powers. He
replies to the argument that the liberty of
the press is all very well for a cold-blooded
nation like the English, but would not be
well at all in France, where men are $50
impetuous, and have such violent passions
and such a quick temperament" by the
following neat little dprOpOs anecdote:-"I
was once talking in France, to an Arab, upon
the seclnsiOn of women in the East which
custom he defended by arguments both good
and bad. Among others he used this. In
the West he said, there is no danger in
freely seeing and conversing with women,
because you have such sang froid But it is a
different affair with us in the East and the
gesture of vanity with which he said this was
delightful to behold. HereupOn l asked him
how he managed to get through this difficulty
here in the West. co. said he, very we'll; |
have become used to it.'-Now might not we
in like manner, despite the vivacity of our
temperament and our warm passions, become
accustomed to the liberty of the press" The
writer refers TO NJ. de Persigny's recent
speech, to which he attaches much weight,
because it gives to the councils-general a
parliamentary Importance reasonably denied
to them under the parliament monarchy, but
which may be with less Inconvenience now
attributed to them. "since now the central
tribune no longer completes with the local
tribunen
NJ. Girardin concludes his article with a
reference TO NJ. Dncheval-Clarigny History
nf hn in E1rl md ha f.H
States and with the following paragraph:
"What spectacle is that of this English
and American press! What movement
What vivacity! What ability! Where is it.
or what is it not? What does it do, what
does it not do? What struggled What COM
bats! What apparent discoTd! What an
action and general effect on the march of
society! Does it prevent any good thing,
provided it be solid good, common to many,
and not a private good confined TO a few
privileged persons? What evil is not combatted!
In England and the States the press often
annoys and yexes individuals; but if the
annoyance extends to injury, if the veXation
becomes hurttul, the law is there and the tri-
bunals fear not TO allow to those who Justly
complain such damages as discourage the
malignant and the envious. As every one
knows that be may be attacked, so every one
knows that he can defend himself: and what
encourages to such defence is that the
individual knows that he has to defend him
self only against an individual. In France,
on the contrary, with our universal cen
traliZation. when one complains it always
seems that he has to struggle against the
State, and not against an individual. In
matters Of the press private action is rare with
us. Public action everywhere prevails be-
cause, with us, everywhere also the State
prevails over the Individual