The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1873-08-13

that 1t was only obtained by a long, bitter
and unrelenting war, marked, all along
down its progress, by fines, penalties, i'm
prisonments and, even, death on the scat
fold The victories and defeats-aye. the
scaffold-has not been all on one side. II
was complained of Charles the First that
'no newspaper was suffered TO appear
without his allowance" and that no news
paper, as they were mscalled lever con-
tanned any intelligence which II did not
suit the purposes of the court to publish"
Charles head was struck off, hut the same
blow did not strike off the shackles of the
press. We need not follow the contest
down, until, under the sturdy blows of
"Junius," in the Public Adcertiser, the |
bolts commenced to give away until, final |
ly, after the lapse of years, the freedom of
the press was acknowledged and, as it was
believed, established. We hear. to-day,
however, different story. Mr. Whallcy,
who has been for twenty-five years mem
Der of the British parliament. has recently
arrived in this country, searching after
evidence in the interest Of the Tichbornc
claimant. Whoever or whatever that
claimant may be- Mr.. Whallcy is reported
gentleman of honor, integrity and ability,
and he declares that the press of that coun-
| try is ''muzz!ed.' Certain II Is, that he
and other members of parliament have
been fined from one To five hundred pounds
each because they discussed the Tichbornc
case at public meeting. No printer dared
publish these speeches without guarantee
against loss from governmental prosecution
and no one could be found to distribute
them, after being printed, tor fear of pros
ecution for libel. although every word.
therein uttered, was strictly true Mr..
Whalley declares. HIS reported in the 7ri-
June, THAT the course of Sir Alexander
Cockburn in adjudging all words which
might influence jurymen to be in contempt
of court, was even worse than that of the
notorious Jeffries. who relied upon pleas
of contempt of court for his most danger
GUS onslaughts upon liberty and Protest
antism. Sir Alexander C0ckburn practi-
cally proclams that he will allow no free
discussion in England, and there was moth
ing in the annals of James ii. more out
rageous or tyrannical than this"
We are not compelled to rely upon Mr.
Whalley's statement alone, for these are
matters of general and common notoriety,
and are exciting an intense feeling through
out England. Whether this attempt to
''muzzlc the press" has its origin from one
source or another, is not a matter of much
Importance, so long as the attempt is made.
We trust that these efforts which, so far at
least have been successful in England may
yet he stayed if not, however, we can
console ourselves with the sure belief that
this last despotic effort of monarchy
whether of church or state-to abridge and
limit the freedom of speech and of the
press will but hasten the day when Great
Britain shall be governed by the peopl,
alone, and the divine right of kings to rule
become a tradition of the past We don
naturally expect much of France. for he
whole history, under all rules, is bristlinl
with assaults on the freedom of speech ant
of the press. Whoever has had the pleas
I ure of reading NJ. Hatins manual of tin
Liberty OF the Press in France has ha,
u an opportunity of seeing, at Il glance, on
J, of the most frightful accumulations, posi-
o BILE to be conceived of ofoppressions and re
l. strictions piled up, for three centuries, 70
~ the avowed purpose of crushing the free
u dom of the press. Cotemporaneous, if no
o actually simultaneous, with the movement
/ in the United States and Great Britain, al
l. ready referred to. President MacNIahon is
y sued his orders to buy, bride or silence til
" press of France, while even the radical re
y publican leaders called upon the govern
:, ment to prosecute, criminally, all news
v papers that unfavorably criticised Thiers
Not content with this, the courts of Franc
y have actually fined James Gordon Bennet
- some six or seven thousand francs for
criticism called libel
II which was published in the HeroM in Nc'
q York city. These may be, and perhal
N are, all mere condolences, but they tent
y all the same, to show the temper of I'll
y times The press is power in the worl
II and is terror to evil doors and despotism,
IT and no stone will be left unturnel to mli;
zle it or cripple its power. Fraud and dii
u honesty appear to lead in the work here,
Z hate of republican principles s,apparently
e the lever in France, while, in England, sti
other influences afford the motive power
f. The whole movement may be urged o
e from one or several main-springs, but thel
IL is danger in the air and ii now looks as
i the old battle for liberty of speech and {
IL the press must be fought over again.