Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1861-03-06

OleS ought 10 Oe prONlutu' 1Hui ledilhS Iu'
the respectable and patriotic committee {
thirty-three might omit this matter, and il
: asmuch as We supposed that We were
have fnal settlement of all existing az
counts, l submitted resolution calling al
tention to these facts, but no remedy ha
been proposed.
Mr.. MAYNARD, I desire to state t
the gentleman from Ohio that the laws c
Tennessee provide for the punishment G
such offences.
Mr.. CAREY. I object.
Mr.. MAYNARD. That objection come
with very bad grace from the gentleman
from Ohio. Mr.. CAREY, who was allowe
yesterday to interrupt the gentleman frOn
North Carolina, Mr. SMITH.
Mr.. HUTCHINS. was about to re
mark that 1 brought this up at this tim
that l might hereafter call on the chair
man of the committee of thirty-three t
prove that this matter has not been adjus
ted, so that it shall not By barred by wha
might be called res adJudicdta.
Mr.. MAYNARD. l simply wished Il
state that, by the laws of Tennessee, iftha
outrage had been perpetratcd as stated il
the paper, those men could not only b
made to answer in damages, but could alsc
be imprisoned for years in the peniten
tiary.
Mr.. HUTCHINS- l have no doubt O.
that fact. And all those outrages on what
you call southern rights are also punished
by the laws of the free States. am glad
to say that 1 do not regard this as any just
cause for a dissolution of the Union. | in
troduced the matter to show that if charges
are to be made, they can be made on the
one side as well as on the other.
l now propose, Mr.. Speaker, to consid-
er, very briefly. the remedies proposed for
the difficulties under which We are labor
ing. ] come, in the first place, to the re-
port of the committee of thirty-three l
have great respect, sir. for the respcctabil-
ity and patriotism of the members of that
illustriOus committee. l voted against its
formation, because l did not bevieve that
that anything had occurred, or was likely
to occur, requiring the interpositiOn of such
a committee That committee has made a
report. To some of the propositions repor-
ted. there is no very great objection. There
is, however, clause Of the report to which
l have some objection. After referring to
the charge against the free States, of the
President, in his annual MESA &c, without
it, the chairman of the CON-
mittee uses the following language:
Publications emanatiDg from the news
paper or periodical press, having ten
dcncy to prornnto domestic inSurrection in
any of the States. and circulated with that
intent, are in the judgement of the CON-
mittee, highly criminal and Should be 50
treated by the laws of the several States.
The right of free discussion, while it Is re-
garded as absolutely necessary to the
of free government, may be
expected, in times of great excitement, to
run into occasional licentiouSness. The
Of this evil remains with the
State governments; and the committee do
not doubt that the desired corrective will
be promptly applied in all cases when the
evil shall have assumed a formidable aspect;
while tie Just and rational freedom Of
speech and of the press will be carefully
preserved y
Mr.. Speaker, l am vel aware that that
is the carefully prepared language of the
distinguished and eloquent chairman of
that committee; but, in my judgement, it
principles more fatal to the liberty
of the press than the famous scdition law
of 1898. The gentleman undertook, in
his speech, to break the force of that pass
age. and soften down its meaning by stat
ing that, if such circulation were Intended
to promote domestic insurrection, it ought
to be punished in the free States, relying
upon the criminal intent to work convic-
ton. The chairman of that committee is
l good lawyer; and know one knows bet
Ter than he that the maxim of criminal
aw is, that man is presumed to intend
what is the natural and necessary result
If the act which he commits. How easy,
therefore it would be to indict the New
York Tribune, the New York Evening
Post, the New York independent, or any
,ther out-spoken anti-slavery paper, for
/ publication that slavery is wrong, that
ilavebolding is criae: and on the trial,
o claim that such publication tends to
make slaves discontented; and therefore,
ends to produce instruction. The papers
o which l have referred are already re-
,arded insurrectionary in slaveholding
states; for the reason. as it is claimed, that
hey are circulated to produce insurrection;
nd if these papers were in slaveholding
states, they would be suppressed under the
ule laid down by the chairman of the COM
nittee
The gentleman in his speech, referred to
he efforts of Lord Erskine to take from the
ourts and give to the jury the right to judge
f the criminal intent of publication, and /.
hat, through his efforts, the law of Eng
and and of this country now is, that the /
ury, and not the court is to pass upon the I
ntent of the publication. 1t occurred to
nc as singular. that the gentleman should /
efer to Lord Erskine as an authority to .
eStrict the liberty of the press, when it is
Tell known that one of the great efforts of 1
is life was the defense of the liberty of
he press, in the celebrated case of the
Jean of st. Asaph FIR the publication of .
ract illustrating the general principles of
overnment, written by Sir William Jones.
Mr.. CAMPBELL. l will say to the
entleman from Ohio that. having been
lember of the committee of thi ty-three.
understood the proposition laid down by
be chairman of the committee has reference
5 the publication and circulation of docu-
tents intended to stir up instruction in the
lave States. Does the gentleman az prove
ne converse of the doctrine?
Mr.. HUTCHlNS. Who is to be the
ldge of what is insurrectionary? That is
nice question, depending upon circumstan-
IS
Sir James Macintosh, in his great ora
on in defense of Jean Peltier, which Frs
inc pronounced to be "a splendid monu-