Year: 1861

FREE SPEECH is most certainly great blessing,


and We think sometimes that II We were placed In


condition whore we were deprived Of it, we
should not mind how soon we "bade the world
| good night" But as important and indispensable
as free speech is it makes but comparatively slow
progress and one can hardly help wondering
whether the time will ever come, even in this pro-
fessedly free country when men can give utterance
to all their thoughts upon oil subjects with "none
to modest nor to make them afraid"i We would
like to live to see that day though if we should,
we don't know but we should reach hard upon the
age of old Methusaleh, so tardy is mankind gener-
ally in recognizing and maintaining free speech.


Every body however, will seemingly admit the
correctness of the sentiment, that TO speak his
thoughts is every freeman's right" and yet, if
man undertakes 10 carry out practically this self
evident truth, be will certainly get himself into
trouble as that the sun will rise tomorrow, prov.
ded his thoughts on any given subject differ from
those of the majority. What mass of testimony
might be adduced to prove the soundness of this
assertion yet in the face of the whole of it, free
speech is not established even in this, the freest
country, so called in the wide world


huen Dr' Trles'ley, tne celeOrateu Unitarian,
first preached in Philadelphia, he was mobbed, his
house torn down, and his life endangered. So
when John Murray began to preach Universalism
in this city, he frequently stoned in his pull
pt-"rather hard arguments" said the witty
preacher, "but not very convincing" Some twen-
tyfve years ago, were in State Street one after
noon where great crowd had assembled, and in
the midst of it we saw a man with a rope around
him, and number OF men at the other end of
the rope were dragging him down the street. We
asked respectfully dressed gentleman near us
who the man was, and what he had been doing,
supposing of course that be was either murderer
or robber, else he would not be treated so. "It's
that cuss of Garrison !" was the reply "he has
been talking about abolition, and they are serving
him just right he ought to be choked." He had
to be carried to Jail in order to save his life. A
fe years after this, we looked through the bars
of a dungeon in the Leverett Street Prison upon
the venerable and excellent Abner Kueeland who
was there ncarcerated sixty days, because he said
that he did not believe in the God that the Univer
salists do. And finally, the United States are in
process of dissolution, because the North have ex-
ercised the right of free speech upon the subject
VI olo'ViJ'


These exampes-and they are only a few out
of a thousand-prove that free speech cannot be-
stopped, whatever may be the consequence Of its
exercise. And yet, if the right is freely allowed
and protected, it will produce no bad consequent
ees These never take place.except when the right
is nterfered With; hence free speech is respon-
sible for mobs, but mobs are caused by the attempt
to stop free speech. Therefor, let all parties speak
without being mOlested, for no one is obliged to
hear them and BESIDES if we not like their views.
we have the liberty to get up meetings to oppose
them. Now this is equal and exact justice, and if
universally carried out will prevent mobs; but
human nature must be made Of different material
from what it is now, before mobs, imprisonment
persecution, martyrdom or even the dissolution OF
the United States can prevent free speech.