Year: 1876

The New French Law the Press.


Exactly what necessary relation there is
in France between the regulation of the
press by law and the maintenance or dis
continuance of the state of siege in several
departments of that country, it would prob


ably puzzle the journalists of Paris and the
lawmakers of Versailles to declare; but the
two subjects have somehow been classed
together in great deal of general discussion,
and they are treated as twins in the ''press
law" just promulgated, which classifies
offences of journalists in one section and
provides for raising the state of siege in
another. 1t is sort of left handed compl-
ment and yet, perhaps, compliment that
the legislators pay to the press when they
act on the assumption that they can only
dispense with military force in the govern
ment of certain district when tolerably
sure that they can muzzle the press by treat
ing obnoxious articles as violations of the
criminal law. To hold that the presence
and activity of the newspaper press
is sufficient reason for imposing
upon a people the pressure of military
power-rather than ruling them with the
mild and equable forms of civil authority
is to lay at the door of journalism grave
responsibility but in country where gov
ernment tends habitually to become oppres-
sive it is perhaps no grave dishonor to the
newspaper press to assume that unless
its operations can be violently and suddenly
stopped at any moment q submissive people
cannot be counted upon. In the new law
this association of press offences and martial
law as parts of a common whole will appear
as the most noteworthy feature to any person
outside of France. This law raises the state
of siege in all departments in which it exists
except the departments in which are situated
the cities of Paris, Lyons and Marseilles
and it provides that in these excepted de-
partments the state of siege shall come to on
end on May l, 1876, unless in the meantime
it shall be retained and confirmed by a new
law. This will put upon the new Legislature
the responsibility of an odious enactment
or give the people freedom under their laws


AS to the press it is protected by this statute
from that effective exercise of tyranny that has
been so frequently felt-seizure and 'inter-
diction." Administrative authority cannot
at its will seize newspaper offices and whole
editions of any journal as it has hitherto
done. But the publication of an article
transcending the proper limits of discussion
is to be treated as an offence against the
public peace and the offending party is to
be fairly tried, and, if found guilty, punished
by fine or imprisonment The acts declared
violations of the public peace are:-The pub
lication of defamatory articles against any
person or any public body; the publication
of offensive articles referring to the President
or to either of the two Chambers, or to any
foreign sovereign or government; the publica-
tion of false news, of any provocation to
crime or any apology for criminal acts, or of
any obscene pictures or articles. This law is
not on its face severe Indeed, although it
would be intolerable in England or here, it
is liberal for France, and if honestly enforced
it will not hurt any good newspaper, while it
will be all the better for the press if it should
destroy some hundreds of the other sort