The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1864-05-03

The democratic press has been severely ex-
, ercised of late about the sacredness of free
speech, because the House of Representatives
censured two of lis members for the utteranee
of reasonable language on the floor oil the
House, one OF them having expressed the
hope, that the Almighty God would never
allow the Government of the United States
to subjugate the 1ends who mastered hun
dreds of surrendered unarmed soldiers at
Fort Pillow, or who are daily engaged in apol-
ogizing for and defending that act Of unpai-
allelled barbarity. When Gen. Burnside put
an Injunction on a reasonable press for daily
melting revolt against authority in his Depart
ment, the same champions of a free press and
of free speech were actually pathetic in their
lamentations over the Inauguration OF despo-
tism, and the extinguishment Of Liberty's
torch In the City OF Chicago, and they called
public meetings to express their profound re-
spect 70. those two greatest and highest and
dearest rights of American freemen, - the
freedom of speech and the freedom of the
press.
But case has just occurred in New York,
In which the boot is on the other foot, showing
that it makes all the difference in the world
whose OK Is gored. 1t seems Mr.. Greeley, of
the Tribune, made some severe structures upon
a transaction said TO have taken place in
Judge Barnard's court, which, it turned out,
did not take place. Mr.. Greeley labored un-
der Misrepresentation of the facts, and under
that misapprehenson INDUCED in his structures
In the columns Of his paper IL was for SO
doing that this Judicial copperhead = this
champion Of free speech-had Mr.. Greeley ar
rested and brought before bis august presence
charged with contempt for his authority. 1t
is the general theory of the law that con-
tempts Of courts are only committed by those
who disturb their proceedings, disobey their
mandates, or wilfully violate their rules and
orders and that publications made or acts
done out of court which do not amount to
either Of these, do not constitute contempt.
II is true that in New York they have a
statute which provides punishment, for 1.-THE
publication Of q false or grossly inaccurate
report Of its proceedings" But the article in
the Tribune complained OF was not report
Of proceedings, but comments upon report
made in another paper, published two days
before.
This is the way a Democratic CD Judge
vindicates the freedom of the Press when the
power Is placed in his hands to deal blow at
the friends of freedom and of the Union. The
fact Is, as we have had frequent occasion TO
remark heretofore, there have been no men in
he Iii. A.
that speech was opposed to them, or of free
press when that press opposed their iniquities.
as those who now lay the highest claims TO
democracy. 1t is such men who mobbed
sbolitionists, destroyed anti-slayery newspaper
Offices, murdered L. P. Loveioy in Alton, ILL.,,
mobbed and imprisoned VIM. Shreve Bailey
In Kentucky. draeGad Wna-Li~yd- Garrison
through the streets of Boston with a rope
around his neck, and within the three last
years broke up anti-slavery meetings in the
same city, and followed Wendell Phillips from
the lecture-room TO his home, throwing rotten
eggs, on the Sabbath. Their works have been
known and read of men in this state. In
Bridgton they entered the house of God.
dragged ipom the altar preacher of Right
eousness, because he was inveighing against
human slavery. In this city, in Bath, in
nearly every considerable town in the state,
the solid arguments of these democratic
champions Of free speech have been felt by
unoffending abolitlonists, for no crime, for no
act except that they denounced the sin of
buying and selling human beings like cattle,
and invoked the universal prevalence of that
Liberty which is the inalienable right ofevery
man. And it is only because their own ineli-
nation to preach treason and openly to espouse
and advocate the cause Of rebels in arms is
interiered with, that they now, all OF sudden,
pretend SO much regard for the sacred right
Of free speech and the great blessing of a free
press. 1t is only because The bull that cores
the OK has changed owners.
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