404 Wcllhigton Admiimifuliaii, Slar-Chainber, [[Oct. 



enlightened advocates; and more than all, to the moral force of public 

 opinion in our days, as the barriers, the bulwarks, the strong hol<ls of 

 defence, against the enormous evils of former days ? We do not deny 

 the validity of his appeal, but we will tnj its value by a supposititious 

 test. " The generality of all ranks of men," says Fletcher, of Saltoun, 

 " are cheated by words and names ; and provided the ancient terms and 

 outward forms of any government be retained, let the nature of it be 

 never so much altered, they continue to dream that they still enjoy their 

 former liberty, and are not to be awakened, till it pi-ove too late. Of 

 this there are many remarkable examples in history." 



We state our hypothesis thus ; — suppose it were the object of any 

 government, or of any influential member of a government, to extinguish 

 the liberty of the press, under the pretence of punishing its licaitioir.sness ; 

 or that such government, or such individual, limited its or his design, 

 to merely suppressing an vbnoxious exercise of that Uberly, leaving 

 untouched the use of it in every way that did not affect, embarrass, 

 expose, or thwart its or his measures. What is the plan that would 

 obviously suggest itself, where no such engine as a Star-Chamber process 

 couldhe employed ? Let us consider : in the first place, it would occur, 

 that the comprehensive law of libel makes it almost impossible for a man 

 to put pen to paper, and not violate it. This is so undeniable a propo- 

 sition, that we have no hesitation in affirming, there is not a single paper 

 published in the British dominions, not a magazine, scarcely a book, a 

 ballad, or a pamphlet, wholly and entirely free from all matter upon 

 which an action for libel might be raised. Verdicts of juries, sustaining 

 such actions, is another matter ; and we sliall show, by-and-by, how 

 immaterial it is for our li)'pothesis, whether juries convict or not. With 

 respect to newspapers, indeed, the choicest one that issues from the press, 

 would be found to contain almost as many libels as paragraphs, if the 

 experiment were fairly tried of subjecting it to examination for the pur- 

 pose of simply ascertaining how many assertions, opinions, statements, 

 and facts, there were capable of being brouglit into court. 



Well then : this admirable fitness of the law of libel for circuitously 

 accomplishing a partial or total desti'uction of the press, would first sug- 

 gest itself. The next consideration would be juries. Ah ! They are 

 ugly things to deal with, sometimes. There is no certainty of getting 

 them to do the work that is wanted. They may take it into their heads 

 to fancy themselves wiser than their betters, and declare, upon their 

 oaths, that what the latter call scandalous and infamous libels, are no 

 libels at all. But then, it would be remembered, that all juries are not 

 alike ; and that as there is said to be wisdom in a multitude of council- 

 lors, so there may be p: izes in a lottery of juries Upon a fair calculation 

 of the doctrine of chances, if eight or ten separate juries be impanelled 

 to try eight or ten separate causes, one-third at least, perhaps one-half, 

 would perform good service : for jurymen, be it remembered, have " a 

 local habitation and a name ;" and when a prime minister, a lord chan- 

 cellor, or other dignitary of the state, comes forward in his own person, 

 to ask a verdict at their hands, it is not difficult to comprehend, through 

 how many subordinate and dependent links individual interests may be 

 touched, in such a way, as to influence conduct, without a shadow of 

 direct proof being attainable to prove the influence. Therefbre, the 

 advantages of the jury lottery would not be overlooked. 



But these are not the only advantages of opening a fire from several 

 batteries ; for by doing so^ we compel our adversary to work his single 



