Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1870-03-09
powRR OF TEE pa1Nr1Ne pnnss.

the sequel. Although confused In
metaphor, q great truth is expressed
with graphic force and power. That
impressions remain aftert the newspaper
which gave them form is forgotten, Is
one of the facts upon which rests the
influence of that great power in the
State-the free press. Spoken words
are even more evanescent, yet their
force survives when their sound is for
gotten. Printed words have this adj
vantage, that sight imprints them upon
the mind. The great power which the
public journal exercises is accompanied
by an equally great responsibility.
He who gives currency to 4 falsehood
in statement, or in opinion, is q moral
derelict, whose evil lives after him.
And he who gives himself to the teach
ing Of truth, and to the advocacy Of
right, survives in his work after both
the printed matter and the author of it
are forgotten. Ideas have the vitality
of spirit, and more than the force Of
matter. We are familiar with the in
fluence of newspapers and periodicals
in our own country. The free speech
of legislators would be almost wholly
wasted, but for the free press which
carries their %utterances to Unlimited
audiences. The power of q great
speech in Congress, for instance, Is as
nothing in the chamber where it is
spoken, compared with its influence ON
the nation at large. Legislators are
powerless in the end, unless supported
by public opinion. And public opinion
Is made by the published thoughts
and ideas Of the thinkers who
speak, seconded by the thinkers who
write. Quite as often rs otherwise the
origin OF the thought is in the writer,
and the eloquent orator only resets the
gems which have been mined by the
diligent author or journalist. The in
fiuence Of the press is as subtle as the
air we breathe. Nothing can conquer
or obliterate it. Despotic governments
may repress utterance at home, and
establish a Gordon of censorship to OBJ
struct the entrance Of free expression
from abroad. But thought thus banned
and confined is like gunpowder conf
pressed. Left loose, the "villainous
saltpetre," as Shakespeare calls it, may
harmlessly burn with the mere flash.
Confined, the explosion, when it
comes, is irresistible. So thought,
hidden and suppressed, when the kind
ling spark reaches 1t, explodes, to the
terror Of tyrants and the destruction of
the obstacles which absolutism piles
up against progress. We all have a
general idea of the advance which lib
eral ideas have made in the Empire of
Russia. The French cynic defined the
Russian Government to be "despot-
ism, limited by assassination That
would hardly be said at this time, and,
indeed, the Gar is just now in less
! danger Of a violent death than some of
his contemporary sovereigns; and
though the progress of reform in the
State Is necessarily impeded by the re-
mains of old ideas on the II side, and
by the impracticability Of newly manu-
mitted serfs on the other, the tendency
of events is surely toward the political
regeneration Of the vast empire. But,
though we have all n general idea of
these changes, we do not all remember
one Of the most important agencies by
which they have been promoted. There
Is no strictly free press in Russia, al
though the present style Of journalism
there has made considerable advances
toward freedom Of expression; yet
the press has among its labors and
triumphs the honor Of having in
no small degree contributed to the
amelioration of Russian politics. Ten
years ago Alexander Herzen, a Rus
sian author and journalist, was n
refugee in London. For six years or
more he diligently wrote and printed
books, pamphlets, reviews and news
papers, for Russian circulation. He
discussed Russian matters and men in
a style which had never before been
attempted; and though his works were
nominally prohibited, they found their
way promptly to the Russian domin-
ions, freely circulated from hand to
hand, and were regularly read in the
palace. The reason Of this freedom
was obvious. The "limit by assassi-
nation" upon the Car was held by the
nobility. The peasantry Of Russia are
loyal to the Car. 1t Is the Boyer class
with whom he is brought into antagon-
ism. and the publications Of Herzen
were devoted to the very reforms which
the Car has since established. Hence
the freedom which his writings found.
But he transcribed at length the limits
to which the Russian Government was
willing he should 70. Yet the Goyern7
ment was spared the effort to suppress
his publications. He offended the
national pride BY defending the rebel
lion Of the Poles, and from that date
his influence and popularity were at
an end. He retired from the field, and
passed the remainder Of his life III
seclusion at Geneva, There he recaptlY
died, and the event Of his decease has
recalled bis name to notice as that of
"the first man who, with the pen,
exercised an influence which the Rus
sian Government was obliged to &C
knowledge and pay Difference to-"
The sentence quoted at the beginning
of this article Is from his pen. And
the day will come when farther con-
eess;ons, and even justice to Poland