Tazewell Republican. [volume] (Tazewell, Va.) 1892-1919, 1898-02-24
1.-The License of the Press. "
Norfolk Pilot.l

The License of the Press"
Norfolk Pilot
Fora long period "the license of the
press" has been subject of much ami
madversion, but never before did the
phase bear the strange significance inn
posed upon it by town in the State of
Virginia, in the great Republic of the Uni
ted States Of America. 1t is true that one
ofour early royal colonialgovernors thanked
God that there was 'no printing press in
Virginia, nor likely to be-" but it was
never suspected that that tyrannical and
Tory sentiment still lurked anywhere
within our bounds since Washington, Pat
rick Henry, Jefferson and the 4th of July,
l776, to break out at last, at this late day
in this city OF Norfolk, which has produced
so many heroes by land and sea, to vindi-
cate the principles proclaimed by Jefferson
and Henry, and so we'll and compactly eX-
pressed by the latter, when he cried: CAS-
for ne, give me liberty, or give me death. "
1t marks a sad, shameful and horrible
stage of degeneracy among us, from lib
ertv TO death" to ''money, and Pm yours,
body and soul" TO think, Oh, ye spirits
of the patriots of 1776, of the Revolution
and Of the Constitution and Union, that
already we have come to this, that under
the fiimsy pretext of the light of taxation,
the freedom of the press is stricken down
bucked and gagged, -ay, assassinated las
on the night of Ducans murder by Mac
beth:
"An eagle, tow'ring in his pride of place,
Was by amousing owl hawked at and slain. !"
The press, with suppliant petition in one
hand and money in the other, has to bow
to petty officials and ask leave to print
for permission to publish,-and buy it.,
money down, cash in advance. Yet, dis
graceful as it is that the freedom Of the
press and of speech should thus be made
a matter of truck and barter, that is a
small matter when it is considered that the
press is put to license-that it dare not lift
its head and open its mouth until it has
asked for and obtained the written consent
of certain persons. The money involved
is, of itself, of little consequence, mere dust
in the balance; it is the usurption OF power
involved to silence and control the free
press and free speech as A MERE INCL
DENT OF THE POWER DEFAMATION;
that freedom of speech and press which
underlies all freedom, upon which our gov
eminent and its constitutions are founded
and which those instruments recognize as
poss essing a sanctity beyond the touch OF
Legislatures, Congress, courts and all pow
ers known to free institutions, and gov
ernment of the people, by the people, for
the people.
Even without the pretext ola tax, this
assumption of authority to say to the press
that it shall not print nor publish without
permit and on certain prescribed condi-
tons, no matter what, is a monstrous pre-
tension, and one that must subvert all hu,
man liberty wherever it is allowed. In
itself, it is the overthrow Of free govern
ment, for it once at destroys "the right pre-
sentative Of all rights" and that freedom
which is the very breath Of life to all Other
freedom. Ay, even with bonus or sub
sidy, the license which any power assumes
to grant the press is an ignominy, an out
rage, a monstrous pretenslon, and an in
sidious blow at all popular right and gov
ernment, that should be spurned indig
nantly.
The power of tax is the highest power
known to the earth, and if it be giver
without limitation to petty municipal gov
ernments, liberty is doomed. Here, ii
this usurption of a power to permit or tc
refuse to permit the publication of news,
paper,-a power never claimed nor exer
cised by any state, or by the United States
the councils of this city arrogate tc
themselves, by sublegation, an authority
which neither our Legislature nor our Con
gress itself have ever exercised or claimed
and which, indeed, if words have any
meaning, our constitutions expressly for,
bid them to exercise, and it is mere quib'
bling, or thimble-rigging, to include this
power over the press, in on ordinary exer-
else of the power of taxation, and schedule
free speech and free press between license
to keep public laundry or to engage in
the removal of night soil.