false, malicious, &c. and the jury, at the same time, are sole masters of their verdict, that is, may ground it upon what considerations they please, it is very probable that they would acquit the accused party, if the facts asserted in the writing before them, were matter of undoubted truth, and of a general evil tendency. They, at least, would certainly have it in their power.

And this would still more likely be the case if the conduct of the government itself was arraigned; because, besides this conviction which we suppose in the jury, of the certainty of the facts, they would also be influenced by their sense of a principle generally admitted in England, and which, in a late celebrated cause, has been strongly insisted upon, viz. That, "though to speak ill of indivi duals was deserving of reprehension, yet the public acts of government ought to lie open to public examination, and that it was a service done to the state, to canvass them freely."

C

And indeed this extreme security with which every man in England is enabled to communicate his sentiments to the public, and the general concern which matters relative to the government are always sure to create, has wonderfully multiplied all kinds of public papers. Besides those which, being published at the end of every year, month, or week, present to the reader a recapitulation of every thing interesting that may have been done or said during their respective periods, there are several others, which making their appearance every day, or every other day, communicate to the public the several measures taken by the government, as well as the different causes of any importance, whether civil or criminal, that occur in the courts of justice, and sketches from the speeches either of the advocates or the judges, concerned in the management and decision of them. During the time the parliament continues sitting, the votes or resolutions of the house of commons, are daily published by authority; and the most interesting speeches in both houses, are taken down in short-hand, and communicated to the public, in print.

See serjeant Glynn's speech for Woodfall in the prosecution against the latter, by the attorney-general, for publishing Junius's letter to the king.

Lastly, the private anecdotes in the metropolis, and the country, concur also towards filling the collection; and as the several public papers circulate, or are transcribed into others, in the different country towns, and even find their way into the villages, where every man, down to the labourer, peruses them with a sort of eagerness, every individual thus becomes acquainted with the state of the nation, from one end to the other; and by these means the general intercourse is such, that the three kingdoms seem as if they were one single town.

And it is this public notoriety of all things, that constitutes the supplemental power, or check, which, we have above said, is so useful to remedy the unavoidable insufficiency of the laws, and keep within their respective bounds all those persons who enjoy any share of public authority.

As they are thereby made sensible that all their actions are exposed to public view, they dare not venture upon those acts of partiality, those secret connivances at the iniquities of particular persons, or those vexatious practices, which the man in office is but too apt to be guilty of, when, exercising his office at a distance from the public eye, and as it were in a corner, he is satisfied that provided he be cautious, he may dispense with being just. Whatever may be the kind of abuse in which persons in power may, in such a state of things, be tempted to indulge themselves, they are convinced that their irregularities will be immediately divulged. The juryman, for example, knows that his verdict, the judge, that his direction to the jury, will presently be laid before the public: and there is no man in office, but who thus finds himself compelled, in almost every instance, to choose between his duty, and the surrender of all his former reputation.

It will, I am aware, be thought that I speak in too high terms, of the effects produced by the public newspapers. I indeed confess that all the pieces contained in them are not patterns of good reasoning, or of the truest attic wit ; but, on the other hand, it never happens that a subject in which the laws, or in general the public welfare, are really concerned, fails to call forth some able writer, who, under one form or other, communicates to the public his observations and complaints. I shall add here, that,

though an upright man, who may labour for a while under a strong popular prejudice, may, supported by the consciousness of his innocence, endure with patience the severest imputations, a guilty man, hearing nothing in the reproaches of the public but what he knows to be true, and already upbraids himself with, is very far from enjoying any such comfort; and that, when a man's own conscience takes part against him, the most despicable weapon is sufficient to wound him to the quick.d

Even those persons, whose greatness seems most to set them above the reach of public censure, are not those who least feel its effects. They have need of the suffrages of that vulgar whom they affect to despise, and who are, after all, the dispensers of that glory, which is the real object of their ambitious cares. Though all have not so much sincerity as Alexander, they have equal reason to exclaim, "O people! what toils do we not undergo, in order to gain your applause!"

I confess, that in a state where the people dare not speak their sentiments, but with a view to please the ears of their rulers, it is possible that either the prince, or those to whom he has trusted his authority, may sometimes mistake the nature of the public sentiments, or that, for want of that affection of which they are refused all public marks, they may rest contented with inspiring terror, and make themselves amends in beholding the over-awed multitude smother their complaints.

But when the laws give a full scope to the people for the expression of their sentiments, those who govern cannot conceal from themselves the disagreeable truths which resound from all sides. They are obliged to put up

d I shall take this occasion to observe, that the liberty of the press is so far from being injurious to the reputation of individuals, as some persons have complained, that it is, on the contrary, its surest guard. When there exists no means of communication with the public, every one is exposed, without defence, to the secret shafts of malignity and envy. The man in office loses his reputation, the merchant his credit, the private individual his character, without so much as knowing, either who are his enemies, or which way they carry on their attacks. But when there exists a free press, au innocent man immediately brings the matter into open day, and crushes his adversaries, at once, by a challenge given to all, to lay before the public the grounds of their several imputations.

even with ridicule; and the coarsest jests are not always those which give them the least uneasiness. Like the lion in the fable, they must bear the blows of those enemies whom they despise the most; and they are, at length, stopped short in their career, and compelled to give up those unjust pursuits which they find to draw upon them, instead of that admiration which is the proposed end and reward of their labours, nothing but mortification and disgust.

In short, whoever considers what it is that constitutes the moving principles of what we call great affairs, and the invincible sensibility of man to the opinion of his fellow-creatures, will not hesitate to affirm that, if it were possible for the liberty of the press to exist in a despotic government, and, what is not less difficult, for it to exist without changing the constitution, this liberty of the press would alone form a counterpoise to the power of the prince. If, for example, in an empire of the east, a sanctuary could be found, which, rendered respectable by the ancient religion of the people, might ensure safety to those who should bring thither their observations of any kind, and that from thence printed papers should issue, which, under a certain seal, might be equally respected, and which, in their daily appearance, should examine and freely discuss the conduct of the cadis, the bashaws, the vizir, the divan, and the sultan himself, that would introduce immediately some degree of liberty.

CHAP. XIII.

THE SUBJECT CONTINUED.

ANOTHER effect, and a very considerable one, of the liberty of the press, is, that it enables the people effectually to exert those means which the constitution has bestowed on them, of influencing the motions of the government.

It has been observed before, how it came to be a matter of impossibilty for any large number of men, when obliged to act in a body, and upon the spot, to take any wellweighed resolution. But this inconvenience, which is the

inevitable consequence of their situation, does in no wise argue a personal inferiority in them, with respect to the few who, from some accidental advantages, are enabled to influence their determinations. It is not fortune, it is nature, that has made the essential differences between men; and whatever appellation a small number of persons, who speak without sufficient reflection, may affix to the general body of their fellow-creatures, the whole difference between the statesman, and many a man from among what they call the dregs of the people, often lies in the rough outside of the latter; a disguise which may fall off on the first occasion; and more than once has it happened, that from the middle of a multitude in appearance contemptible, there have been seen to rise at once Viriatuses, or Spartacuses.

Time, and a more favourable situation, to repeat it once more, are therefore the only things wanting to the people; and the freedom of the press affords the remedy to these disadvantages. Through its assistance every individual may, at his leisure and in retirement, inform himself of every thing that relates to the questions on which he is to take a resolution. Through its assistance, a whole nation, as it were, holds a council, and deliberates; slowly indeed, (for a nation cannot be informed like an assembly of judges,) but after a regular manner, and with certainty. Through its assistance, all matters of fact are, at length, made clear; and, by means of the conflict of the different answers and replies, nothing at last remains, but the sound part of the arguments.

a This right of publicly discussing political subjects, is alone a great advantage to a people who enjoy it; and if the citizens of Geneva, for instance, have preserved their liberty better than the people have been able to do in the other commonwealths of Switzerland, it is, I think, owing to the extensive right they possess, of making public remonstrances to their magistrates. To these remonstrances the magistrates, for instance the council of twenty-five, to which they are usually made, are obliged to give an answer If this answer does not satisfy the remonstrating citizens, they take time, perhaps two or three weeks, to make a reply to it, which must also be answered; and the number of citizens who go up with each new remonstrance increases, according as they are thought to have reason on their side. Thus, the remonstrances, which were made some years ago, on account of the sentence against the celebrated M. Rousseau, and were