[lxxxiv. 104]

1822 Jayn. 16.

Codification Offer

?.5. Admission Universal

Applied to audible discourse - to discourse orally uttered /antecedently employed/ these preventive means /measures/ consist in the prevention of meeting, for the purpose of delivering and hearing such discourse

Applied to visible discourse discourse graphically delivered /uttered/ they consist in Censorship in the prevention of all use of the press without licence /permission/ first obtained at the hands of the possessors of the power thus /so/ subject to be abused, or what comes to the same thing appointed by them or subject to their influence, or linked with them by a community of sinister interest

By whomsoever appointed every person occupied in the sitting in judgment over any such discourse for the purpose of granting or refusing a licence stands exposed to corruptive influence influence of sinister interest and interest-begotten prejudice in the same manner as a Representative of the people is: and sooner or later, say rather from the first moment will be seen to be corrupted accordingly to be more or less subject /in a state of actual subjection more or less entire/ to such corruptive influence.

Of such suppression if carried into effect in both its branches, the effect will be to give a compleat licence to misrule in every possible shape. Of every act directed to the purpose of effecting such suppression in either of these branches, the tendency and obvious and incontestable object /design/ and end in view is to establish such licence. Every such act /endeavour/ is an endeavour to destroy whatsoever is good in the Constitution in question: it is an act demonstrative of the endeavour to convert the form of government into an unbridled despotism. In so far as it is successful, every such endeavour demonstrates the inefficiency of the Constitution in question with reference to its declaredly intended object - the greatest happiness of the greatest number: it demonstrates that the functionaries by whom the subject many are governed are their enemies and oppressors to demonstrate accordingly that it is the interest of the greatest number to change, if by any means it be in their power to substitute to the Constitution which admitts of such an abuse the only Constitution which does not admitt of such an abuse.

Thus it is, that by all the art of man the intentions of those by whom suppression or repression in any degree is endeavoured to be applied to the freedom of appropriate public discussion thus applied can not be represented as being more mischievous than they actually are.