Dayton daily empire. [volume] (Dayton [Ohio]) 1850-1865, 1864-12-03
rrne liberty.

planned Of sn sbridgment oi the liberties
of the American people--the repeated .
suppression Of FRER SPEECH, by the inn
prisoument OF exile Of the speakers the
suppression Of a FRrr Pass, by restric-
ting the circulation, by throwing it out
Of the mails or by actually locking up
the doors Of the establishment, and con
signing its keys to the Provost Marshal
they have been pointe by the Repub-
licau leaders 10 speakers that have not
been silcuced, and TO newspapers that have
not been Impressed. Especially was it
an accustomed ietort Of the Cincinnati
Coaplercidl--a Ietort which it was wont
10 make with an air Of insolent aud i'm
pudcnt triumph to both speakers aud
journals who complained Of the alarming
strides Of tyranny in this country "Why
you complain that you have not free
spccch. in the same breath, aud at the
same moment which witness your exer-
else Of Free Speech You declaim in
your editorial columns against the despot'
ism which has crushed the Freedom Oi
the Press, at the very time that You are in
the unrestraued employment Of Free
Press to denounce the pretended tyran-
ny There was Just sufficient plsusibil-
ity in this "fhlacious augmentation" 10
deceive the unthinking masses. and they
were fatally misled. AS the result OF the
election demonstrates.
Freedom does not consist in the rulers
foybearGace 10 oppreSs, but in his '0anf Of
OoUer 10 opprsss. 1t is not enough tha:
he does not imprison us for given speech,
or suppress our paper for specific editon-
al there il no Freedom either Of Speech
or of the Press, if we have no guaranty
tor the uudistarbed employment OF the
tongue or pen. save that the tyiant hap
pens to be in All indulgent humOr, and re-
fraiu~ from the exercise of his plenary
power to destroy.
BLACKSTONE, tory as he was. and ad-
vocate OF high prerogative in the sovereign.
will not he accused of an undue leaning
toward popular rights. or Of entertaining
ideas ot liberty which derogate from the
Legitimate powers of Government. We
commend this admirable passage 10 the
consideration Of all
"However, considering tbs reign oi
Queen ELIZABETH in a great aud political
view, We have NJ reason TO regret many
subsequent alterations in the English Con
stitution For, though in general. she
was wise and excellent princess, and
loved Der people though in her time trade
| Aourished riches increased, the laws were
duly administered, the nation was respect
ed abroad, and the people happy at home :;
yet, the increase OF the power of the Star
| Chamber, and the erection OF the high
Commission Court in matters ecclesiasti-
cal were the work OF her reign, She also
kept her parliament at very awful dis
tance and in many particulars she, at
times, would carry the prerogative as high
as her most arbitrary predecessors. 1t il
true, she very seldom ererted this prerogG
tive so as to opprsss individuals bat std
she had TO exert, and therefore the felicity
Of her reign depended more on her wan
of opportunity and inclination, than wan
of power to play the tyrant. This
is sufficient to show these iVers no
those golden days Of genuine liberty tina
we formerly were taught to Believe; FOR
SURELY, THE TRUE LIBERTY OF THE SUBJECT
CONSISTS not so NUoH IN THE GRACIOUS
BEHAVIOR, AS IN THE LIMITED POWER OF TIL
SOVEREIGN"