New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-06-06
THE LIBERTY OF THE PRESS.
PROSECUTION OF JOHANN MOST.

| GRACE TO REPUTABLE JOURNALISM.
| rFRoM THE REGULAR CORRESPONDENT or THE TRIBUxE.l
LONDON, May 26-You can hardly have forgotten
the outcry that was heard When the Freihet was
seized and It's editor and owner Most, arrested.
Some Of the newspapers protested very loudly indeed
| Questions asked in Parliament; which the
Home Secretary answered with his usual clear de-
cioveness. No Jury, said the protesting newspapers.
will ever convict anybody accused of Mosts offence.
The liberty Of the press Is imperilled The right
Of free speech is denied The English Gov
| ernment, heard with surprise and
from surprising sources, Is doing tho
dirty work Of foreign despots. There were ominous
references to Lord Pamersons Conspiracy bill, and
to the fate Of tho Minister who proposed IL. Then
the storm died away. Fresher exctements occupied
the public mind. The ultra Radical papers, how
ever had contrived to create belief that the Gov
ernment had made q mistake, the bitter fruits Of
which they would harvest by-and-by. And sup
pose they did persuade good many worthy people
that some new danger had arisen against which 10
behooved them to be on the watch, and for aught
know they have been watching ever since.
Yesterday, however, the Fteheit tried.
Most-I do not at all see why be shoud be called
Mr.. or Herr Most-who was punctually locked up at
the time Of his arrest and has been living since
at the public expense called TO plead to tho
indictment found against him. The indictment was
framed partly under the common law and partly
under certain statutes. 1: charged Most with pub
lishing In the FTcihdt newspaper o scandalous,
malicious and immoral libel justfyng assassination
and murder nciting persons to conspre against the
lives of the sovereins and rulers of Europe and to
murder them; and especially to murder Alexander
ILL.,, Emperor of all the Russias. The last two counts
charged him with melting TO the murder Of the
Emperor Of Germany also. Most has been tried on
this indictment and has been found guilty. Some Of
the protesting newspapers, who were so sure he
would be found guilty, have the prudence not
to refer to their predictions Others say that though
a British jury has in this instance failed to show
itself palladium Of British liberty their failure
/" leaves the against such proceedings intact"
But l have not yet come across any one of these
loud-sounding organs which maintains that the
liberty of the press has really been diminished by
the verdict Nobody seriously says that speech in
England is any less free because Of Mosts con-
viction, or that any principle-of Magma Chsrts,
let us say-which was in existence yesterday Is
dead to-day. II any mischief is to come Of this
prosecution and verdict it must be in the future. 1t
does not disclose itself on the instant.
But is there any such mischief; and If so what Is
itf read all the articles have referred TO above
read them at the time they appeared, and much
regretted not to be able to say then what thought
about them and about this Frehdt case. have read
those appearing in the same journals to-day.
Neither then nor now did / share in the apprehen-
s;ons expressed. think may say that Americans
set az much store by liberty of the press and cree
speech as Englishmen do. We are quite as apt,
may add, as they to turn liberty into license. But
never yet heard of any American definition Of
liberty Of the press which could be stretched
to include incitement to the assassination OF par
tcular class of individuals and Of particular indi
viduals Also mentioned by name. In England, and
I may assume In America also, there is a statute
which makes ncitement 10 murder a criminal of.
fence. Most was indicted under that statute. u
the argument about the liberty of the press worth
anything it would extend to the repeal of that
statute Yet have not that repeal specifically
recommended.
WHAT Is ISCITEMESr TO MCRDERf
Perhaps The PdH Mall Gazette may be mentioned =
~ the chief of what | call the protesting news
papers. IL is the function in life Of The PdH Mall
to take critical views and its radcalism is Of type
that might-in more than one sense Of the word-be
called revolutionary. The fact that its confidence
in the British jury has been misplaced need not
affect its argument the merits Of the case 10
may be relied on, to state its own case in
the strongest and ablcst manner Whatever can be
said against the prosecution Of Most has been said
with the utmost vgor and intellectual force in this
paper. Yet to-day it IL reduced 10 the necessity OF
msstating the point at issue-innOcently missating
it, of c0urse-but good faith in such is
only one more proof Of the logical difficulty in
which the writer has got entangled The PaU Asu
tells us that the important legal question involved
in Most's case is " whether general exhortation to
practice tyrannicide published in newspaper Is
an offence. That may be a legal question, but 1t
does not the legal questions in iosts case. His
article was full, donbt. of general exhortstions
TO murder sovereigns aud rulcrs such. But also
contained a specific exhortatiOn tO murer Alexan-
der ILL., and the Emperor William And ! suppose
even The PaH Nal will admit that for the purpose
Of criminal jurisprudence, IL is one thing 10 justify
tyrann;cdc in the abstract, and quite another thing
TO incIte to the killing of two particular persons
whom the writer believes rightly or wrongly, 10 be
tyrants
Mosts article was a long one. II is not disputed
that he approved the murder of Alexander H.. nor,
80 far know. that he connsced that OF his sue
cessor. But will cite single passage which pnA
the matter beyond doubt. OF the murder of Alex
andcr II. Most says Who is scoundrel enough to
bewa the death Of such beast +" lie then adds:
But il is said Will the Of the smashed
one do any better than he did We know il not.
But this we do know, that the same can hardly Ae
permitted to reign long if he only steps in his fath
ers footsteps. Yes we could actually wish that 10
should so happen"
The translation, beg to say. Is not mine. quota
from the official version, the author OF which is in
,pred by the passion for pedantic liberalism Of
which has guided the steps of the authors
,f the Revised Version of the New Testament. Most
adds. with reference TO the suppostion that Alex
lnder Ill may prove more liberal ruler than his
ather: - BE this as il may, the throw was good.
md We hope that it was not the last. May the bold
Iced, which, we repeat it, has our full sympathy,
inspire reyolutonists far and wide with fresh
lge."