Vicksburg weekly herald., 1870-07-23
TW RAER o. AnrRan.

Ihe hepuOliean press OF the state (;
and certainly strong reasons are
given for the exhibition Of such
feeling. It is somewhat singular,
however, that those reasons are in
effect, that if he has been false to
his party, and his own previous
declarations, he has been at least
true in the end, to the people Of
Mississippi, the convictions Of
duty, and the prOmptings of JUS
tice. 1t is openly avowed now,
that "only one Republican paper
can live in this State without pub.
lie pap" that the Constitution it.
self was so framed, and "after ma.
ture consideration, with the de-
sign to give all the Judiciary
printing to the Republican press
of the State" and as the only way
to provide against n Democratic
victory at some future period !:
and the head and front of Gov,
Alcorn's offending is that he has
not carried out this radical pro.
gramme, to which he was pledged
both as partizan and as man.
1t is not the province Of con.
servative or democratic presses
to step in to the defence Of Gov.
Alcorn; but this they can say,
that there is probably less dis.
grace in acknowledging an errol
and correcting it, than in cling.
ing to it when the peoples inter
ests are suffering under its op
pressive weight. Gov. Alcom i,
Governor of Mississippi. How
ever much Radlcalism may have
used him for its bad purposes
during candidacy, it canno
wholly prostitute his oflicia
course; and surely Mississippian'
can thank him for every act where
he rises superior to an injudiciou.
promise, foolishly given, or is I'M
willing to fasten the chains o
factious partisanship still more
closely upon the people that ha,
elevated him.
1t was once said of a celebra
ted Statesman that he gave up t
party what was meant for man
kind. If Gov. Alcorn q yea
since added to Radicalism th,
strength of his name and position
and thereby made it at least tenn
porarily dominant in Mississippi
we have no censures 10 cast upoI
him for now recollecing that Statt
has higher claims than faction
and great public interests outweigh
the selfshness of politica
schemers. The Judicial Printing
bill was a great iniquity-an out
rage upon the private rights o
parties in depriYing them of thu
power of selecting the papers il
which they choose TO advertise
Government publications and Off
cial edicts may properly be giver
to papers selected by governmen
officers; but the Courts Of th'
country are open to all alike; thei
process reaches all the interests
of individuals, of litigant parties, o
estates, of creditors and debtors
are greatly mixed up with the cir
culation and character ofthe jour
mails in which certain publications
are to be made. The notice of SALE
tackled to q tree in some unfre
quented place would not be a notice
on a par with that placed at tht
Court House door; the latter he!
given way to the advertising col
umns of the press; the very objecI
of the change is to give publicity
and to say that they shall now be
published only in some unknown
paper which cannot live without
this public pap, and which without
it dies like an unsuckled blind pup.
py, is to return to the Ignorance
of apast age. The fault of Gov
Alcorn was that he ever made
such promises as he is stated to
have done. His need of praise is
that notwithstanding he made
them, he has the moral courage
not to persist in error, but rather
to screen the people from its pois'
onous fruits.
We have yet to see, however,
| IL i