The dollar weekly bulletin. [volume] (Maysville, Ky.) 1862-1864, 1863-10-08
From the Louisville Democrat, Sept. 29th'
=. 49, A Free Press.

5 .-s A Free Press.
The restrictive measures Of the sedition
law were not suffered to pass without open
frebuke and indignatiou.-Inde eed, the long,
scarcely interrupted, rule of the Democratic
party may bs said to have taken its origin
from the adoption Of that measure, and to
have been. in some degree, caused by it
The people had just passed through a fiery
struggle to secure unrestricted liberty Of
thought and action, and such gross viola
tion of the sacred right of freedom of opinion
could not be allowed to pass. This opposi-
tion was most general in the Western and
Southern States, partly from the sympathes
of the people with the great Democratic
| leaders, and partly from the natural instinct
of a bold aod hardy population, accustomed
to the utmost latitude in their action. A
rotigh pioneer, who had struck his home 10
the wilderness, aud was accustomed to ex-
press and defend his opinions in peril, could
not appreciate why, # the man thought the
Chief Magistrate was untrustworthy, he
should not say so; or why he should be SUBJ
jected to tho penalties of the law for doing
it, when, in his opinion, the good of the
country demanded its expression. Indeed,
It may be said that. not much accustome ed
to feel their Government. they found its
chains irksome, and were ready to burst the
shackles that had been placed upon them.
Still, the Federal party was not defeated
without a struggle. Intrenched in power.
ard strengthened by the assistance of such
men as Adams and Hamilton, it would sub
nit to no easy defeat. The same argum ents
popular now were popular then with these
who, filled with distrust of the people, only
looked with alarm upon their daring criti-
cisms of those clothed with little brief
authority.
So powerful were they that many began
to despair Of the union so recently formed,
and to believe that its only effect would be
to build up Government too strong for tn
freedom of the people. Under these cir
cumstances, at the mitigation of Mr.. Jeffer
son. the struggle was transferred from the
Federal to the State Governments. The
appeal was made to save the Union by re-
moving the causes by which it was being
rendered oppressive. The Legislatures of
Virginia and Kentucky adopted the cele-
brated resolutions of '98, which have ever
since been regarded as one of the chief tenets
of the Democratic party, and with these
went into battle and speedily routed the
enemies of the freedom Of opinion.
From that time up to the election of Mr..
Lincoln there was no restraint upon the free
dom of the press. Although in New Eng
land from 1903 to 1913 the secession of the
Eastern States was discussed in the papers,
no one thought to bring to bear upon it the
terrors of legislative enactm ents or OF martial
law. Even the Hartford Convention was
suffered to hold its reasonable session un-
| interrupted, the Government relying upon
its Justice and the wisdom Of the people to
thwart the designs of reasonable persons.
During the Mexican war the same liberal
itv was exercised. Although many of the
Wing papers of that day in the most
strenuous terms and with marked ability
denounced and opposed the war. no one
thought of visiting them with the terrors of
the Federal Government. A member of
Congress was found audacious enough to
wish that his countrymen should be vel
coined by the enemy with bloody hands to
hospitable graves, and was left to no other
punishment than the odium such a ssnti-
meut N erits., The present Government has
however, thought him worthy of foreign
mission. -. .4i a7-
In our day the method of dealing with
the press has been greatly similifed. The
summary act of the military disposes of the
whole subject There is, it is true, heavy
tax; but this, we may presume, is rather for
revenue than restriction. There is no law
in the Federal Government which warrant is
this summary procedure Indeed, its au-
thors decline aoy such interposition. 1t is
claimed as a part of the prern9ative of the
/ President as Commander-in-Cb Chief, just as, a
hundred or more years agoi the same au-
thority was claimed to be part of the pre-
rogative of the Crown. Mr.. Lincoln has as
extended power to exercise censorship of
the press as the Stewarts claimed over the
Englsh Newsletter. The matter is taken
from the Jurisdiction Of the law. The pub
Usher has no trial by jury. A despotic order
suppl a newspaper or imprisons or
ex!es its editor. and the matter is ended.
OF the coustitutiona!ity of such acts we
need saw nothing. We only state the facts.
If any newspaper cfiticises the Administra-
ton, the editor knows that he does it only
on sufferauce. He knows that he renders
himself liable 10 punish ment by an ire
sponsible authority. There is no real free
dom Of the press where there is only dis
cusson by permission. sa~
,.-.r- = sa- 81 do wear
The tyrants fetters; when it only wants
His nod to put them on; and bear his stripes
! When, that suffer them, he need but hold
His finger up" .
In localities where there is immediate
danger Of invasion it cannot be disputed that
the military commander has some such con
troll; not from the law, but its abuse OF
supersedure. This, however, is widely diff
fefent where there is no such danger Of in
! vasion. -. ....-......
Wo have thus briedy-too briefly fol
| justice-traced the history of the freedom. oi
the press in this country and in England
| is the defender Of the temple Of liberty. Its
giant arms are wound about its massive p!l-
[ lars, powerful support, aud ere they can
be torn from them the mighty fabric itsel
must fall aud drag down in one crushing
ruin all that is dearest and most worthy o
human spprobaion.
The TEACHINGS of the mas. have bsan