, 1878-09-14

rs tSS'y ~ AihiSeseO VIC ~
sensational journals which gain
notoriety and circulation by pan
! dering to grovelling popular
. APPETITE for that class Of litera-
ture which is tabood in cifcles
where morality and social decen-
cy is respected. One FL. L.
Blanchard, a small Attorney,
with no knowledge of the busi-
ness either as a printer or editor,
undertook the management of
this infamous enterprise as the
nominal editor and publisher,
under the impression that as the
statutes of the Territory failed
to provide any punishment for
the crime of libel, he could ply
the vocation of q common libel
Ter with impunity. But he did
not take into actount the fact
that the law which failed to pro-
vide punishment for the crime,
gave to the offended citizen the
remedy Of q suit for personal
damages. Gov. Ferry. who had
been grossly charged through
this mediums with high crimes
in Office, conmenced , suit
against the editor as the only
means of vlndicating his .barac-
ter, and that has resulted il the
following humuLting confession
of guiItandprayss for Exclusive
clemcney:
In the discharge 81 our duty ~ .
public journalist ws deemed it in
cumbent on us to give space - .
communication whish reflected ON
Governor Ferry IN the matter Of
his exercise, Of the pasI1oning power;
and, at tie same tine, appendi3S
our editorial comments.
We had NO doubt that the state
ments made were resiable; in fact,
they were endorsed By q lawyer who
has heretofore stood near the head
OF his profession, in the estimation
of the public. as being. sufficiently
substantiatsd to conviction fo21
corrupt conduct in Office. But for
this, we sheuld never have allowed
the PRESS to.do- what We now con-
cede to be "a. injusties to public:
officer.
We have. during the last three
weeks, made thorough iuvestiga
ton of the Proofs upon which the-|
charge ,cas made. and are satisfied
that they fall short Of suhstantiating
it in any particular. We therefore
now retract the charge, not only in
justice to Governor Ferry, but in
vindicatioa of the reputation of the
Press for fair dealing with all pub
lie questions and the. conduct of
public officers.
This confession Of guilt in view
of imminent punishment, has no.
element of penitenee or promise
of reformation, but from first to-
last shows sneaking evasion
solely with reference to escape,
from punishment. While it fully
vindicates the Governor in rela-
ton to the false charges made
against HIM, it leaves that public
functionary in the questionable,
position of having compounded
a felony upon restitution to him.
self, leaving the criminal at lib
erty to repeat his practices upon
others, and without demanding
surrender Of his pals to public
odium. The very number OF the
paper in which this confession
appears is almost exclusively de-
voted to libellous invective, in
sinuation and inuendo, more
malicious and cowardly by the
attempted disguise under which
the shafts are sped, SO that the
personality indicated by inuendo
cannot be established in an ac-
tion at law. Thus an object of
its libelous attack is indicated
by certain personal characters
ties which attract the attention
Of the whole community to him
as the individual meant, when
the editor, on being called to ac-
count, will make oath that he
meant some other man whom
nobody had thought Of in that
connection. That is one of the