The New York Herald Newspaper, February 28, 1852, Page 2

meee BEd al 878 followed tuo practiog adopted in the LECTURES IN NEW YORK. case siren, 6 ‘bel, b Mecture on the er a i y Jaa. 0. On Wednesday evening, Mr. Brady delivered the following lecture on the law of libel, in the court Yoom of Oyer and Terminer, new City Hall. H® gaid, in a community like ours, it is of great impor- tance that men of all conditions should understand gbe general principles of the law of slander, and that tho profession should be acquainted with it in its minutest details. Freedom to utter our sentiments | on all subjects is a most important righ: enjoyed wader the eonstitution, and designed to bo only ao | far regulated by law as to restrain licentiousness and wrong. The oxtent of that right and its licen- ttousness shonid be capable of casy perception, so that the legislator, lawyer, editor, or private citi- won, mey aid within his appropriate sphere in pre @erving the right itself against all improper en- croachments, end at the same time securing cha- racter protection against malevolence. To atta’ the double result just stated, has been the ain of mary great ivtellects hore as well as in England; | but we must confess that the end has not yet been secured; for, into the law of slander, as into moat other branches of jurispradence, the ingenuity of advocater, the acuicness, and sometimes the weak- nees or dishonerty of judges, have introduced sub- tleties with which it should not be involved, anda subject of political, as well ae juridical importanse, haz been mace dificult even to him who studios it mort attentively The right of personal security plainly includes a right to the protection of that fair reputa- tion which every hosorable man co highly prizes, and it should be guarded by the law with scrupu- lous caic, The eviightened nations of past ages severely punished the slanderer. Perbapsthere ne- ver was a pericd, nor a couatry, in which, if there was apy!aw against malicious detraction, it was Jess toverely punished than now, and in our own Jand. Yet the law of libel becomes daily a subject of more and more interest and importance, from the struggle to revist, or impose restraint, on the press, which has oflate years occasionally taken place be- tween the editor ard theohjcetof his assaults, or, as baz sometimes happened, vetween the bench and the bar. It is possible that in reference to this eub- ject | may suggest to the student somo general con- Sideratious worthy hisregard I do not imaging that the lawyer can derive profit from my observa- tions on sofamiliar atheme. A libel, as applicable te individuals, is defined to bo a maeliciens publication in printing, writing, or by signs or pictures, eaten either to blacken the me- mory of one dead, or the reputation ef one alive, and expose him to public hatred, con- tempt, or ridicule. The word malicious does net necessarily inelude falsity; for in criminal casea tho publication, though trac, may not be justifiable, and the word batred does not mean only malevo- lent dislike; for it is libellons falsely to impute to a@ man his having a loathsome disease, or any such offensive personal peculiarity as would naturally lead the public to shun his society. The malice epoken of in the definition is such as the law pro- sumes—the wrongful act being taken to evinces wrongful intent. Ina certain class of cases, this malice may be disproved so as to defeat a prosecu- tion; thatis, the ordinary legal presumption may bo repelled. Butin civil cases, the presumption of maiice is generally eo far eonclusive as, when the libel is proved and not justified, to entitle the plain- tiff to arecovery. In euch cases, if the trath of the charge be proved, the action fails, however ma: | licious the defendant’s conduct may have been. In this respect @ well known difference exists between eriminal and civil prosecutions. Tho Roman law | took what has been called a just distinction between slander spoken and written. We make the same | distinotion in punishing a libel criminally and civil- | dy, while verbal slander is only redressed by pocu- niery compenzation. The reason commonly assigned for the distinction is that the written slander is calculated to provoke a breach of the peace. 1 believe experince has shown that the greater danger of violence exists whon a party stung by an insulting accusation is present a his traducer utters the charge. ‘The courts | have locked, also,to the greater deliberation of the Hiboller, and the extent to which his slander may bo ublished. The question arose long ago in ling- Tong, whether, in a criminal prososution for libel, the truth was a complete justification. It was held | that the offence, unlike the speaking of defamatory Words, was an injury to the community, and equally go whether the publication were true or false. Thus originated the maxim, ‘‘ the greater the truth, the greater the libel'—an idea apparently derived from she supposition that men are more likely to feeland resent an accutation which has come feundation, than one utterly false. No epecuietion on either the wisdom of the rule, or of the reazons assigned | for it, can be valuable to us. in our S:ate, and, | | believe, in all States of the confederacy, it is eub— Stantially the constitutional provision that in cri- | minal proeecutious for libel tue truth hall be a fall defence, if it be published with good motives, and for justifiable ends ; ani ie our State the jury are, | in such prosecutions, the judges of the Jaw and the | | | amounted to a libel. } | libe the ciroumstances, the publication should be left to the court or jury to say whetger it was libellous. Insuch a case it was held that the ury should determine. But ibere arose a case, Dol- oway and Tarrill, reported as decided in the late Court of Errore, in 20th Wendell, 333, in which an article complained ofasa libel alleged that the plaintiff, who had been busy in concerting measures to prevent the re-appointment of a certain peraon to office, had affixed his name as p judge to tho jurat of au afidavit to be used in defeating such re-ap- pointment, though no oath was administered to tho party named as deponent, and it was sabmitied by the writer to the public, whether, under the cir- cumstances, the plaintiff had not committed a gross violation of his official oath for the purpose of ruin- ing the incumbent in office. Tho able judge before whom the cause was tried, whose charge was in thi reepeot confirmed by tho Supreme Conrt. instructed the dary as matter of law that the publication was llous, ard not susceptible of an innocent eon- struction. The plaintiff had ji tunately, the Court of rrors heid that the question, in what were used, should have been submitted to tho jury. 1 think that the legal profession, who have been, and are, tho guardians of the poople against judi- cial usurpations, should be watchful to prov: principle of the case just ci alteredin theslightest degree. important now than it ever has been hith We have an elective judiciary. The claims rio. id sarily and freely disoussed in speech and writing ‘The successful competitor ean scarcely avoid foel- ing gratitude toward his political friends, and may not be wholly iasensible to what he considers the deserts of political foes knowingly permit any such feeling to influeace his official conduct; but, being merely human, he is not above the reach of the impulses, woslknesses, or frailty, inseparable from our erring and imperfoos natures. All the intellectual or moral tendeacies which d stort our m:ntal visicn, or pervert our will, exercise their ii fluence, without our even suspect+ ing that our gaze 1s wot wholly unclouded, our mo tive perfectly pure, and our objess unexcep- tionably proper. It may well happen that an elected judge, especially when the end of hia ofli- cial term draws nigh, may bo iuvolantarily lei to consider tho influerce of some friendly or hostile press, or ho may, in a case where an editor’s conduct is called in qucetion, pereeive how, by following public sympathy or public prajadico, he way commend himself to public favor. To pro- tect the press, and te protect themselves against ibe consequences of a judicial weakness which might, in any such instance as | bave alladed to, interfere unpleacantly with our immunicy againes the por- version of our language, or agains assault upon our right of free thought, from any searce, we ehould restrict the judiciary in libe! cases toa spnere ef authority as limited as possible, consistent wits an efiective discharge of their duties. cursive ob: ations, I have already alluded to tho defence of justification in criminal and civil prose- outions for Libel, wheu the defenge is founded onthe truth of the matter published. There is another which extends as the interests and dutios of men multiply. Itis called ‘privilege,’ and the publi- cations which it is suppcsed to protect are usually called ‘privileged communications.” This dc— posed public necessity; and if it has not, it certainly should have been the aim of the judiciary, 80 far as they possessed the power, to ro strict tha privilege within the limits of the necessity which produced it. It is what the law calla the occasion which protects a party from alleging what, without the security of that occasion, ho could nov utter without being mado liable for defamation A familiar illustration, applicable to an ordinary incident in life, is where a pereon is applied to concerning the character of one lately in his employment The commurication made 10 answer to such an enquiry, is qualifiedly privileged, and is absolutely protected, unless the party inquired of state a falsehood about the party enquired about, with actual malice. Similar immunity would be afforded to a merchant speakingof another's credit to one who, in the ordinary course of business, con- eulted him. But, in @ recent case, which occurred in this city, it was ruled at the trial that tho de- fence of privilege would not avail men who, in teference to any busineesin which they had no in- terest, and without any actual necessity arising ia their own affairs, undertook to give information about the credit or responsibility of merchants to persons with whom the latter were dealing, or about to deal. It must be confessed, however, that the rules applicable to this subject of privi- lege, are not in all cases very clearly stated, por are they reconeileable with each ot) The defence of privilege is not usually ranged under the head of justification, and yet, in one instane- at east, it clearly belongs to that category. Privilege is either aleolute or qualifie Whero it may be here nLot bo maintained t % the defendant was actual wis fometimes called ¢ 83 malice, 4 mes iw mau nfact. In the case of abzo fact. ‘The rule thus embodied in our fandamental law is just and salutary. No chargeinjurious to a | man’s character should be wantonly and wickedly | published to the world from no motive but matice, | and for no purpose but injury. The assailed party | may, at some time im his lite, have committed travegressions fer which he has atored, and may be engaged in the laudable effort to wipe out the pub- lic recoilection of his fault, and retrieve reputa- tion. Society bas the highest interest in encour- aging the praiseworthy odiort to deserve once more | ie Seg Sd temporarily lost. Tho beautiful moral of the Prodigal Sen's history, is worthy tho appro- } ‘val and enforcement of all who have magnan ci Yet even in the case of one striving to efface the | etain of past misconduct, if an occasion arise, when | from a good motive, and for a justifiable end, his | past career may be exposed to the public gaze, then no matter how cruel to him. personally, may revelation of disgrace which he so is made to suffer the pain and humiliation of the e- posé for the sake of the communi In a civil ao tion the trath of the psblication is a perfect defen in England, and im this State. Tho plaintif preeumed inlaw to be injured by the arsertion « frath, and ineveh an on the defendant could not | be rightfully punished for tho public good. The pub lic vindicate the wrong tothem bythe iadietment In examining the law of libel, thus far we find o way clear and inct. But when wo advance to- ward the questions of publication, intent, constr tion, and initigation, as connected with the subject, the clouds gather rapidly ar us. Out of t conflicts on these, and ct oints of a si ebaractor, one great and goo: reenlt wae long obtained. Wo sre familiar with tho hi noble struggle, made by some of the m minds against the cor} i reign and the judict Were prominent the names of field, and that intellect which the titie of Juniu berch and cc whether a wr fruit of (ai Copstitulion; ar Ous instances, We libeity, in o and perseverat men in our p We bave a as is too often for which cur brethr 2 cessfully contended, abused t the prete, which should us whenever, for the fi excite the public prej fenture. Before the ach: yers and English j eferred, the only ere as to the fa he she oe of duty, w malignant b | sides with one or with m safety to freedom, entrusted to any man elass. ‘The recent atrocious courge of one wh increared ihe detestation ef wh 8 neme to whose lustrous asc nothing, is the last and m ing illu of the enmity which a tyrant feels towards the freo thought which, being permitted to examine and aaroil, would ultimately deetroy his power. He Dever could have established himself a az deepot, thore to whom was encharged the organization Tepublic, aftertbe revolution which dethroned Louis ilippe, had proclaimed entire freedom of speech and of the press. And this incident, illustrating | what a weak and wicked man may accomplish, from the omission of the people in not enforcing | Givil liberty to its uimost extent, when the chance @ocure, should make American @ joaious eye every tendency in ir the freedom of » 0) 0 bas | { was infamous in | a 7 untry to im- atiment which we now enjoy. | low great hes been change in the adminis tion of tho-ilaw of libel in iod when the judgo was, in effec: defendant's fate, is illuetrated by oasee, amongst which may be mentio’ Lawrence, | judge who pree 40 the jury withou ever, whether the publication was or was not libol- | lous, or even giving any inatractions as to what o stituted s libel. On tho roview of the trial, Lord Denman, C. J., held that the jadge was not bound fo state his opinion as to whether or not the publi- eation was libellous. He observed that the act of B21 e IIL, though in terms only applicabie to oases, was yet « declaratory act, and that weing any | vileged communication the commun | of the r te pr.vil the defence fication ai trath fou privileg: fea tion malice body ia r clearly that of j g {rom the occasion instead of the te as if the latter were its en in the cass of qualified e, the occasion furnishes a prima facie justi- only to be overceme by proof of the a i onsible for what he says in the legisia- tive chamber hewever falso, unjust. or uvcalled for. | »¢ (Hastings vs. Lusk, 22d Wend, 117, por Chancellor Walworth.) And this immunity is supposed ne- ccesary in order to encourage the legislator ina bold and fearless di ‘ge ofwhat he deems his duty, uninfluenced by any private considerations The peors of England, or the representative here, only enjoy this privilege within the walis of the houses to which belongs, and, although he caa- not be made liable if bis speech be communicated to the world by a reporter, not acting under his immediate dire the contrary is the rule if he procure bis cp be h forde counsel, partios jurors, and wit- of anything published in the course ‘ ing. It has evea been tended to gran ey rt defama- orymatter in those general presentments which never effect any object which thoy profess to be ntended, igned, quite us often, to ratify the va 3° from whom thoy ema- te as to be community to which they . igned for the pro- & nal umed to ha end it is cone them @ pr per idered ss and f, [ wie before referred ong absolutely pri- of all the ¢ the pri- seg of their g their own tand from rything tha;in any etate cf tand pertinent to the mat- ore tho court, comes within this where those facts which would ; relevant and pertinent do not counsel, in the argument of his vail himself of opportunity of a wil the evidence to jastify a euspi- t he was a thief or 4 murdoror, actuated by malice, aud im- e is situation as counsel y tration than the euppositious case of the Chancelior fa reported in Ist |) 41, the case of Gilbert vs The People, in whic declaration for trospass for breaking and enter killing bis ahoep, it was alleged that the defendant “was teputed to be fond of sheep, bucks, and ewes, | and of wool, mutton, and lambs,” and that ho was “ond of biting sheep,”’ and that if guilty he ‘‘ought to bo hanged and ehot;” and it was held on demur- rer in en action on tho libel, that it was not a pri- Petitionors to any body authorized to receive and ast upon their petition, and remonstrants, are not liable to be prosccuted | for what they allege in the regular couree of any | to which their communications or allo- © appropriate. Whother in the eases gations stated, the privilege ls absolute or qualified does not seom t o bo eaturely settled in this country. In ate, the bettor opinion probably is that cation is oxly prima facie privileged, tay be the subject of an aetion, it shown to ave been published from actual malice It ia ite clear that as to suitors, what was alloged by 1 Mansfield, in 2 Burrowe, $17, is not the law of ew York. Ho says that “if the allegation ina al proceeding be mat 1, there can bo no and if it be not material, the court befo tho indignity is committed by immateri 1 may order satisfaction, and expurge it out dif it be vpon tho recerd.” Jt is not, pur own & and iteboul an allegation defamatory of another which be ktlows to be faise, and yet scroon bimeclf on the ground that though’ wilfully or wickedly false it would have been material iftrue. Asif a party prosecuted on a note made by him, which he woli know to be genuine, should allege that it was Even with us thore existed at | field, although that ma; one time @ tendency toward investing the judiciary | rightfully, though to a limited extent by a court With sometbing like the power which wastakenfrom | of equity, it never belonged to a court of themin England. When the language of a publiea tion was ambiguous, it beoame a question whether it ted being impaired or | 'Tais duty is more | merits of candidates for judicial position are neces- | Ofcourse be would not | In thesa die~ | defenco of frequent usc recently, the application of | fence is allowed for reasous of real or sup- | justification—a justi- | lc seems that no member of a legistative | published, where it oon- | | tains libellous matter. The same immunity i jud, O83 against whom | cate for a jury to say whether | A better illus- | g the plaintif’s close and | d not be, the jaw that a party may make | f leaving it to\\he jury to say whether, | forged by the plaintiff. And in regard to t the ox- yanging and satiefaction mentioned by Lord Mans- bo a power exorcised w. In none of the instances which I have mentioned should an abselute privilege exist irrespective of tho truth. Ailthe protection demandéd by any reason | of justice or policy is afforded where a party making a publication, as suitor, judge, juror, witness, or in any other capacity, affording prima facie privilege, is justified where he is not shown to have wilfaily | stated falzehood, er malevolently distorted trnth | But where it appears that he hag perverted this capacity in which he acts for the gratideation of private matic, under the pretext of performing a mere duty, and where insuch oaso it isatlirmatively proven that he deliberately uttered falsehood, that capecity whieh would otherwise yield himimmuvity, should aggravate his offence, and expose him to condign punishment. “The rules to be applied to the report of a public proceeding, where tha writer alleges nothing of his owa knowledge, sbould be much more liboral. Any fair and impartial report of such a proceoding, is now fully privileged. But it has been held, that the publication of an cx parte procecding, a8, for instance, the complaint ia ® police office, and an account, however o » of what takes place publicly in regard to if, is neither absolutely nor qu ly privileged. ‘This latter rule is founded on « dications in England, which Ceclare that such publications are not only not privileged by law, but are regarded as groat mia- demeanoys. Jt seems tome that the courts have erred here, in taking the liabikty from the oi toimpore it on the press. If the party maki | criminal aconsation against his neighbor 3) | held responsible aa for a libel, whera he acted either without probable cause or against what ho knew to be the truth, if an absolute and arbitrary privilege were not secured to him, the evil of the | publication would be appropriately reached. Quite | a8 much injury is done to a citizen by the repyrt of & public trial where bis character is assaile 3 | Where mention is made of an ex zxrte ohargo. | Counsel may, from some secret spleen, or tho vic\ous habit of reckless vituperation, lacerate the feel | ings, and asenil the reputation of party or witness. | Their covert imputations against the fategrity o the bench may be in the highest degree iojarious. These sssaulis may be transwitted, through the press, to myriads, and the publisher is not respon- sible. In England, it was held, and not long ago, that to publish the vituperative speech of a lawyer, | withcut the evidence in the caso, would deprive | the defendant of any claim to privilege. Yet here, | according to the judicial view of the subject, there | is that epportunity for reply, the absence of w: | ia assigned as one great reason for the acti | ble quality of an ex parte publication, Tho reason jnet mentioned is wholly inapplicable to our criminal system, where the party agcused of an of { zea a | | fence has aright to be heard, even before tho ma, | bad | gistrate who receives the charge, and a trial ibere the report of which, though without j | no more hkely to injure tho accused party thau the | account of the hearing of an equity cause, or of & | proceeding on hubeas corps. And whea we con tider that a police office is in fact a court of ju tice, whose traueactions are and should be open ; the public, where the | texd, it ia very urious may and do at- | questionable whether thera | | can be anything wrong in extending tho | | publicity throug the prese, which is justified logally and morolly when e trialis had. Ifan inquest bo | takenin a court of justice—it damages by default | be asececed before a sheriif’s jury, the proceedings | may be repoited without liability; because, though | the party has mado no defonce he had an opportu nity to do eo, and where a party charged with tho | oritue is arrested, he has an opportunity and the right to hear the proofs against him, and moet or explain them. If it be said that the preliminary charge may reach the publio before the answer, that remark is equally applicable to any trial where the proofs or allegations of ene party are given to the public before the rebutting testimony is intro- duced. And in @ case like the latter, aluhough it has been suggested that it would be wise to resiraia apy publication until all the proofs are adduced, it is difficult to perceive bow any beneficial resuls would be attained by such @ regulation. Those who would form their opinion on certain evidence, 80 that it could not be affested by proof which coun- tervailed it, would commit the same folly though the injmious charge and its entire refutation ap- pearedin the same column ofthe press. The Ame- rican people are emphatically—peculiarly—a people of newepapers. When our gallant army pursucd, like that of Cromwell, a oarcer of victory unbroken by a single defeat, the press followed in its foot steps—tbe types were amongst the appolntments of the phalanx, and even on the red fisld of battle the bulletins of the triumph were strick- en off Out of this peculiarity abuse may and does arise; but we can afford to encounter the accompanying evil in consideration of tbe great good it elightly qualifies. A remedy for | the wrongs of the prese, should, no doubt, be co- exteneive with that enforced against individaals— thore who can reach thousands of eyes and minds | in an instant, being held te a strict accountability | lor ng the truth, or wantonly maligning cha racter. But while they confine the stavement of what tranrpircs in a public proceeding within tae \ hi ftruth, and de not transvend in their ; @ ts the legitimato cffice of censure, they et enjcy @ pericet, protect under the law. | general result of these observations is, t dgmert of him whe e3ze8 you, ma ice should eno immunity which is foonded on fulsehoed; but truth should be progected by all the means with which the law cansurround it, except in those vbere thecommunity cannot be deemed bana | d by the publication of @ dete | without a good motive, or for an pose. ltit be ar, judges have maivtained, that there is no good rea- eon for m g the public acquainted with c. accurations, | answer that the ends of pnd! and public welfare are more frequently p | than frustrated by such publications. They may prejudice an individual with thoee who aro ready to condemn unheard; but ne rule of law shoald re- | pose, or generally does repose, on the presumption that mankind willcommit injustice so gross. Oa contrary, morality, ordinary prudence, fairness, justice—there are preseumedin law to be exhibited by all men towards each other in the affairs of life. Ard why should it not be inferred that where the accueation proves to bo falee and malevolont, the sawe prest, which without matics, recorded the charge, will gladly announce the vindication. {am well aware that, in this respect, the press does not always discharge the magnanimous duty of heralding the triumph of innocence as readily as it proclaims the appearance of guilt; but this evilis one which the law is powerless to remedy, and must he correoted by that deliberate and jast public son- timent, which shall sustain the right, and condema the wong, whenever and whe r they are ox- hibited. Kcsides the free pubdtication of all that transpires in public affsire, whether legislativo or judicial, is a m tke folly or oor- g the people ao- co who, under our political system State, are chosen by the community, aud ble to them directly for tho perfermance cf Over these, an hone okled may and dees stand ag tho jealous guardian of © public inter -the sentinel to give alarm at the moment of danger—and the champion io vindicate the common welfare against ig- horance, and treashery. 1 havo ed be overcome by proof of actual somotitmes the caxe, want of pro- am well awa: t my erade sug: either the ess, forse, nor dig- dirconrae, and that no lawyer tion on the familiar subject will derive any | Of my lecture i7 1 objcct i8 branch of the e who might do the honor to hear me, have not yet had the time or the inelina- tigate a subject importar i litical and rociel as well as its legal bearings. | bayo bad one other object in view. It has long | becn evident to me that the lew of libel, uolike mest topios of jurisprudence, is capable of much | improvement from codification. The rights and | Habilitios ofthe citizen in all capacitice, private or | public, in which he utters his thoughts to tho world, should ba clearly defined, and with a dis~ criminating caution to preserve his constitutional | freedom of sentiment unimpaired, while, at | the same time, any melevolent license, under pretext of enjoying such a right, is adoquatel; | restrained. 1 detest the slanderes as muol | a8 1 admire the freedom of thought. I know that the ancients took care to make tho wan- ton and wicked maligner severoly punishable for his base conduct. In that we perceive tho wie- dom of the Romana, who, in an extravagant and | unlearned idolatry of what is called the common | law of England, havo beon denied their just ap- | plause for their liboral and refincd contributions to | what is wisest and most worthy of preservation in all modern jurisprudonce—a people who have fur- nished, from the remote period of prosperity which has ceared forever, the ontire body of the Jaw for {| one noble State in our dy ten vad ‘Taere is | something Gib hat and beautiful in the remark of D’Agucescau, that ‘the grand destinies of Romo are not yet accomplished; sho reigns through- | out the world by her reason after having ceased to” | reign by her authority.’ 1 believe it has become necessary for the wholo community, and every citi- zen, that the law of libel should be reduced by wise legislation to & complete and beneficial system, and less valuable, nor wonld writers of any kind, if in strictures of @ nature such as they are allowed to make, they were admonished that truth and docen- cy were as admirabio in ianguage asin personal character. Andourprofession would gertainly nob find its downward tondescy increased if every member of it who doesnot feel that no occasion can juctifya faleehood, nor warranta malignant and unjust attack upon any person subjected to his professional observations, were admon- ished by vVigorens provisions in tho written law that the privilege to lie and slander waa with- drawn from bia class forever. [t ia difficuls to un- | de dwhy sny rule of law sheald exist in any civilized community which affords protection to falsehood or to malice. And tho sooner such rules | are obliterated from our jurisprudence, the betior for our morals and our deportmont. ‘To acods which effected a happy change in this respsot wo | should’all give our aid and approbatiop, Wheasuch a oode, or & law worthy of @ placo in is, is enacted, there is no danger that any exsremoe golicitude about the character ef men shall impair the freedom of thought. J, forone, should be very sorry if it did | The pretervation ef private character from the ma- | lignent atvacks of the calumniator, is a very so- | temn and imperative duty, wherever is inculeated amongst men the oherizhing of pure reputation as dearer even than life. If wo would have our young men to feel liko tho Spartan boy who concealed bia crime even at the cost of agony, we must le} them feel ever convinced that the community, whose good esteem their fair fame is to ensure, will pro- tect that fame, and keop its brightness unsuilied when the joul breath of detraction id tarnish its Justre. Bat when the disregard of charactor ex- poses him who might have preserved it epotless, to | the contempt or hate of bis fellow-men, there is no injustice in making him feel for the wrong he has done the community and himself, and making the punisbment which attends his dereliction a warning to those who have not yet imitated hia bad ex- ample. I shall be very happy if | ever have reason to belfeve that any casual observation of mine, in @ discourse prepared without the deliberation or care due to my hearers, if not myself, contribute, in the slightest degree, to improve the knowledgo, encoursge the study, or strengthen the regard for profersioual or private charaoter, of any one amongst the gentlemen who have bonored me with their at- tencance on this eccasion. And! promise them that, if the opportunity oocur, and they can be in- daced to bear with we once more, I will endeavor, in 2 manner worthy their potica, to elucidate more professionally, acd perbaps with more profit to nme topics connected with the subject of bis Jecture, which I have not recently had tho leieure to consider or di 8 | Sphitual Mai Mestations, BALDATU DEBATING SCHOOLS, Our reporter attouded, lsat Suuday afternoon, in a large lecture or ball room, eslled Eagle Hall, attached to a groggory at tho corner of Delaney | and Chrystie streeta, to listen to a lecture on Spirit. ual Manifestations, and a debate betwoen the | disciples and disbelievora of this new faith. At | the head of the room waa placad a small tabloor | stand, covered with a red cloth, behind which at | those who were to take part in tho discusaion, | several persons camo forward from among the | benches to the stand, and communicated their | ideas on the subject. The attendance was mado up | of from seventy to eighty moa, someof them young, | but many beyond tho prime of life—all, however, | seeming to hold respoctabdle positions in society, | and appearing to be completely absorbed in the | | interesting question before them. Tho discussion | was opened with a lecture by a sedate, gensiblo | looking young man, apparently a mechanic, ia | which he ridiculed the stories of spiritual knock. ings, and written communications from the other | world, attributing them to slight of hand, the use of illegible ink, or some other deception. He avowed bis disbelief in the existence of the soul after death, and defended his tenets by an elaborate metephyeical argument. He was replied to by Dr. somobody, a famous o'airvoyant and sturdy apostle of the new doctriacs, an intelligent, respectable looking goutieman, of some fifty years ot age. He very gravely asserted bis unwavering faith in supernatural agencios, aud was certain that beiore long spirituai manifosta- tions would command univereal credence. They were designed, in his opinion, to arrest the unbe- lieving tendency ef the age, and to re-establish faith in atuture stato. He vouched for the authen- ticity of the signaturee—somo hundred in all— atiached by the spirits to adosument in possession of the Misres Fish or Fox, counselling a peaee prlicy, aioong the names to which were those of oye Washington, Benjamin Frasklin, and Tom aine. This declaration of faith waa responded to by ther old gentleman,named Smith, who, in a al wanker, exposed the fallacy of the Fish aud Fox humbug, end declared his own convictions that the ideas of & future stato were all gamaon He would not, however, allege positively that man had orhadnot an immortal soul; but they knew just ae much about heaven or hell as they had known of thie earth before they were born, Heatso introduced some political remarks bearing on the | Presidential question, and said that they did not want any such oratorical genius as Webster, who | would speak more than a thousand Washingtons , but a plain, practical, matter of fast man. He was followed by a champion of knocking dovtrines—a strong, lazy, loater-looking chap, | whose appeatance would operate strongly against | | his credit in a court of justice. This genius went out and out for the spiritual manifestations— | | venched for the truth of the Fishes and Foxes— | cescanted cn his own superior capabilities as a medium, aficming that he could procare louder knockings than thoae vestals, and told an impadent story of his operations, a fewdays before, with a party of four or five ladies, smong whom was one | jolly good looking youvg widow, and how after | erjoymg themselves in the gamo of blind-man’s- buff, and other like innocent gambols, they hed gathered round the fire, aud engaged in tho amuse. | ment of “calling up spirits from the vasty deep.” | | This apostle announced that ke would deliver a | course of lectures on the subject. | ‘The nextspeaker was asmart, fopplsh, wiry little chap, with an incipient moustache, and he ener- getically denounced the wholo affair of the knock- | ings as & ross delsvion, and challenged the deniers | in the article to make a manifestarion then and there, and if they did he would become a convert. Another cadaverous locking medium intimated that he had made great progress in tho cabalistic | ecience, and would also lucturo on the subject. | Fut the Isst and best disputant of the evening was ahale, sturdy old lrishman, in rather shabby habili- | mente, and locking very much like a village school | master. He demoliehed, in a regular cut-and- | thrust style, allthe argumonts that the ** knocking” | ndvecates bad set up, scouted at the Bible, alleging thathe had es good reason for believing in tho | Koran, with whick, too, he was as familiar, as he had given much of his time to theological inquiries. The betiof in a futuro cxistenco was all moonshine, | the werd soul beiug represented in the old Ooptiy hierog)yphic language asa whilf of wind, mero air, | and it war enly man’s vanity that prompted him to | beliove in a fature existence. If there were such | placesas heaven and hell, whore were they? Theo- | jiegians would point to the skies and say tuat honven wes there, but it must follow, from the earth’s revelution, that sometimes hell is above and | heaven beneath. He wouldn’t believe oven what he saw with his own cyos, when he kaow | it was at variance with great natural laws. Tn the old country, bo bad coon o juggler take a | | cock, cut of his head, throw it on one side, and | the body en the other, and afterwards take and stick on the herd again, when the cock trould clasp his wings and crow. Now he did not believe that, Dien he eaw it—and tho spirits could do no- thing half eo worderful—but he know of course | that there was a deception”practised, which he was not able to discover. The foregoing sketch of tho Sabbath evenin avocatiors of rational men might appoar som what incredible, were it not an open, well knowa fact. For the last few months, this sage assombly of infidels, atheists, clairvoyants, and modiums, have met inthe samo place, by public advertice- ment, to dirouss the same question; and it cannot | be doubted that their argumexts would have a | great influence over the minds of any young | who might be attracted to attend. The parons jeuld look out, and guard against the contagion which might spread among thor charge frem this little hotbed of infidelity. jarine Affairs, Tor Bersw Steamer Giascow.—This fine steamer, efter having had the done to her bulwarks fn the late gale repaired in a most efficient manner, left Greenock, for New York, on Saturday, with o large complement of passengers. Captain N. Btewart, the late commander of the Glasgow, having been appointed to tl emmand cf a steamer sailing out of endo, th officer, Mr. Craig, bas been appointed to succeed that gentleman, and, from the way he is spoken of by his for employers, there is ressom to expeot that be will tult admirably. The cargo of the Glargow has not been | Gieturbed since her arrival, there never baving been the | slightest indication of her having it ia the | least degree. Liverpool poper, Mth Feb. | Tauncu Tho steamehip Reindeer, built at Philadel. | phia, war launched on Tuerdey. Her tonmege is 1,200 tons; and her cont will be about $100,000. The Reindeer | is deotined for the California trade, will be ander the { | I think the project of having it so adjusted is wor- | thy tho advocacy of all good men. It cortainly would not decrease tho dignity, injure the manners, debase the language, nor impair the usefulness of our Jegislators, if the law ceased to shield them against liability for the utterance of malicious false- hood, or violont abuse, Mditoss would not become command of Uaptain D. L. Wileox, an experienced and b hough it was not exclusively confined to those, as | & LECTURE IN WASHINGTON. Before the Smithsoulan titation. ROFESSOR SILLIMAN’S FOUK(H LSCTURE ON TUR STRUCTURE OF THE BARTH. The lectures of Professor Silliman increase in in- terest on each succeeding evening, and are, if pox sible, still more numerously attended than at first. On Monday, he addressed @ very crowded audience, on the remaining volcano, of which he had prine cipally to treat—ihat of Etna; which exceeds in magnitede, majesty, and beauty, all the othors, we had almost said combined, that are scattered over tho face of the globe. On the preceding evening, he éenid, his auditory had been occanied with the considoration of the voleanic phenomena of continen’ urope— especially those of Vesuvius, and the ruins oaused by their eruptive energy. Ic was bis purpose this evening, he eaid, to pasy on to Sicily, and to call the attention of his auditory more particalarly to tho coxtemplation of Etna. Ho then gave a brief account of his voyage to Sicily, and of tho islands in the bay of Naples. The morn ing after leav Naples, ho said, they were up with the Holian islands, and close to the volcano of Stromboli. These islands are ton in numbor, and lie between Sicily acd continental Italy. Strom- boll, ibis said, has never ceased its voloanic action a single day~its fires aro in uniemitting astivity, the eruptions taking place at regular intervals, varying from three to eight minutes; but as tho Yerssl pasted it in the day time, the tire was not visible, which would have been apparent at night, and they merely witnessed the emission of smoko and cteam, at an elevation of fifteen or sixtecn hundred feos. ‘They passed on, and discovere Sicily, with the hern of Etna towering above th asjacent mountains, the cone of which is capped with lava—then comes the region ef ico—then the woody region, and then that of a highly fertile character. They passed through the strait, abont two wiles in length, and completely landlocked, in which issilusted Sylla aud Charybdis, without seo- ing anything of the famous whirlpool, se romark- able in classic story, although it was stated that at aperticular Cura of tide danger might be appre- ed. ‘The party landed at Masaoiri, aod dis- ly traced the ravages of the earthquake of in Which poor Calabria was destroyed, and from fifty to eighty thousand persens perished. They then visited Ssourminia, and theace pro ceeved to Catania, that they might have a better view of Mount Etna. At Hartford, Connecticut, tho Professor taid, there is in the possession of Mr. Cole, a sketch of the moun- tain, taken from this spot. Lava is so abundant here, that all the houses and other structures aro built of this material, and which must have been discharged at a very early date. The fret object that attracted attention was an immense field of lava, that overflowed in 1669, which is threo miles long and three broad. Jt flowed on to the walls of Catania, which had boon constructed to the height of sixty feet in anticipation of such an oocur- rence. When it had arrived near the walls it | seemed to pause, and then mounted up, and with- out touching them, feli over and overflowed the city, and thence flowed cn to the sea, where it formed a cove, and created a harbor whore none dhbefore. The arrest of the progress of the lava oppesite the walls, the Professor attributed to the gases which were emitted in advance, and thus obstructed the onward movement. - The lava in this place, he said, was not decomposed, although it frequently decomposes, and becomes rtile soil. © party pow commenced the ascent of Mount Etna. From Catania to its summit the distance is thirty miles; and tho latter is upwards of eleven thousand feet above the level of the sea. Its cir- cumference at its base is one hundred and eighty miles, and on its sides are seventy-seven towns and villages, containing 115,000 inhabitants. The mountat#, a8 has before beon observed, is divided into three regions—the fertile, the woody, and the barren. The eultivated ceuatry abounds with all that is required in oivilized life, and extends through an ascent of from twelve to eighteen miles. Tho woody or temperate region, extends in adirect line eight or ten miles, and forms a zone of the brightest greon all round the moun- tain, exhibitisg a pleasing contrast to the snow and ice above, and many parts are considered as the most delightful spots upon earth. Around the main cone, are numerous parasitisal or subordinate cones. From these different substances are thrown out sometimes gases, sometimes water. sometimes ashes, and eometimes small stones. The Professor etated that he had mentioned, on a former evening, that the diameter of tho cup of the crater of Mauna Loa is seven miles in diameter, with a depth of one thousand feet; but here is a crater with a diameter of twenty miles, and @ cup of up- wards of three thousand feet deep. Etna, he con- tinued, had been often eruptive, and its eruptions wero recorded from the earliest poriods of history; but during the present century they have not teken place cftener than once in four years; the noize that is made, which resembles tl iting of artillery, being heard at regular intervals of three minutcs. And, although during one of the eru lions upwards of fifty thousand people de- stroyed, yet the inhabitants die!l on the sides and at the bate of the mountain, entirely unappreben- tive of danger. The Vrofeszor said he might multiply instances of volcanic phenomena; bat afier what bad been described, i: would only be a wasteof time. He gave a minute account of the arcent and descent of Mount Etna on the backs of faithful mules and donkeys, who aro left to select their own path, wading through ashes, the person who is mounted having to hold only the mage in the steep ascent, but who, in doscending, experi- enoes more difficulty and danger. The scone, he faid, on arriving at the summit, is magnificent be- yond conception ; and its beauty was enhanced by the subordinate or, as he termed thom, parasitical cones, of which, it fs said, there aro three hundred ; atono time he counted fifty. After all that had been stated, Professor Silliman remarked, his “ | audience could necd no other proof of the existence | of fires in the interior of the globe, and which may broak out at any time. Conneat the circumstence of the existence of these volcanoes with the heat that is found to exist beneath tho surface of the eerth, and thore could remain no doubt that in- | ternal fires are constantly raging beneath. There cannot be a greater fallagy than the popular idem which prevails, that cold water may be obtained by digging deep, for, at a depth of two miles from the surface, such is the heat of the globe at that point, that water will boil. Still, he said, this internal heat bas nothing to do with the tempera- ture ef the atmosphere on the surface of the earth The Professor here stated that, in his introductory leoture, be gave some general definitions ef the trap end basaltic formation. Of the former of theso wero the Pullisades in Now Jorsey, on the North river; tho Giant's Causoway in Ireiand, and a mountain of trap formation near the Colum: bia river, in Oregon—drawings of which wore ex- hibited. The term trap, he explained, was derived from the Swedish word treppa—a stair, which these strata very muck recomblo, between each of which, on that near the Columbia river, is a layer of peb- bles and debriz—the cause of which he did not very fatisfactorily account for. He considered it, how- over, aé & subTaatine mountain--of which there aro doubiless many under the osean—in fall voleante activity ; and if they do not protrude above its sur face, it is because of the aupsrincumbent weight of water. ‘The Professor hero diverged to toucl upon Siberia, where there is only three feet of soil over a bed of ice, through which a well has boon sunk ninety feet; end it was oxpeoted that water would bo reached at the tomperaturo of 32 deg. On this hin soil, however, rye will grow, and even trees are to be found. After altuding to the circumstance of igneous rocks not being always volcanic, the imperceptible transition trom compact lava to basalt and trap in their varieties, aud various rocks veed in architecture and the arts, he concluded by illustratin the theory of internal heat by some ex- perimental illustrations. Having satisfectorily Troved the existence of internal fires, he said the qeestion naturally presented iteolf—whence ia this heatderived? Werner, owing tohis limited field for observation and study, referred the changes on the earth's surface, for the most part, to and attributed the combustion which produces veloanic | action, to the burning of cenl fields. But all the coal in tho world, tho Profoesor said, would net su py Mount Etna. Of the sourecs of this internal cat, however, modern science hae informed us. About sixty years since, Galvani made the disco- ror, of which, doubtless, many of those present et had heard. While dissectin OZ —W) - taal is much used for food on the fools vo one touched it with a motallic substan become immediatoly convulsod, and this the subsequent diseovorics im galvaniom, which was at firet thought to be peculiar to animal life. Bat 1500, the construction of the voltaic pile—whioh the Profogsor deseribed—showed that such was not the fact, and that it was not restrict- ed to animal life. By tsking certain ma- terials from the earth itself, and spplyin, galvanic action, an intense heat is produced. Here then is the socrot of central fires. Tho fact being aseor- tained that this intornal hoat existe, it is equally evident, owing to tho progress of scientific dis Govery, in what manner that heat may be gener- ated. Tho hs themselves wore regarded as simplo bodies until the brilliant researches of Sir Humphrey Davy proved thom to be compounds ; and who, by means of the voltaic apparatus, made potash to undergo fusion, and from it extracted small metallic globules called potassium. He was equally succeesful in discovering the metallic base of soda, which forms ono-third of common salt, end from which also he extracted sodium. It is evident, therefore, whon wo consider the power of Religious Liberty In the United States Its Origin — Allusions to Archbishop Hughes. Wasuinaron Crry, Feb. 25, 1852. Mr. Bennurz:—Uhe subject of religious liberty j8 increasing in interest in our country; you know thie, however, very woll, and consequently have, Very commendably, deomed it worthy of notice in the Heranp—and, as your coluians seem always open to calm and moderate discussion of all subjects of interest aud importance to the world, you will pardon me for requesting the publication ia your universal paper, of tho following attempt to corres one or two popular errors respecting the introduciag and securing of religious liberty among as. Once at least, each year, the doscondants of the Puritana and the Rowan Catholios, discuss their respective ciaims to the honor of boing the pioneers in the establishment of religious hberty in the Weetera world, aod vio with each other in their celebrations of the advents of their *‘ pilgrims,’ flying frcm religious bigotry and persecution, to a distant and savage wilderness, ** for liborty to wor- ship God” according to the dictates of their eon- sciences. A patient inquiry would satisfy any one, | think, whose mind is not steeped in prejudice, that neither party hag auy grounds for boasting ; for the Puritans in a very short time be- came as intolerant s8 the Catnolics of Franco; and Catholic Maryland, in 149, only fifteon years after the landing ot their ** pilgrims,” passed a law in the spirit of their toleration, consigning Jews, Quakers, Unitarians, &o., &¢, to death, and con- fizoation of proper'y. Members of the Church of England enjoyed fall religious liborty, and some others such rights and priviloges as the common law afforded; but these were expressly guaranteed by the charter, which neither tho freemen of the colony or the lord proprietary, or both united, could abrogate or change. Whether this charter was the composition of George Calvert, the first Lord Baltimore, or not, as some bave tuppoeed, is of little consequence, as it bad to pass the inepeovion of a Protestant privy council, and reeeive the sanction of the Protestant king, and is just such an instrument as one might reasonably expect under all the circumstances, ecrupulously refraining from any expression which might by possibility be construcd into authority of the guarantee to persecute or oppress the kiag’s Protestant subjects inthe colony; on the contrary, all the rights andliberties, which the laws of the kingdom afforded to subjects residing in England, were expressly and unequivocally secured to the colonists by it. I would here make quotations in support of what I have alleged, but cannot without extendizg this communication to an unreasonable length. ‘Tho charter, however, may be found in almost any library containing the laws of the States. Whoever wil! examine it will find my affirmation to be true, viz :—shat the colony of Lord Baltimore had no power to make any law restrictive of reli- face liberty, not consonant with tho laws of Eng. and. lt is also a fact, that many Protestants came with the first expedition, and that with the acoes- sions from Virginia and elsewhere, and Clayborne’s settlement in Kent Isiand, in the Chesapeake, which had been there ostablished before Lord Balti- more received his grant, they were able to control, and did controlana aseume the government in little more than halfa dozen years atter the landing at St. Mary’s; and that, although the government was regained very soon by a dextercus movement, and the help of friends from Virginia, by the pro- prietary’s party, the latter never was afterwards, piysically or otherwige, able to impose apy law upon the colony against the will of the Protestants. Without authority then under the charter, and without the physical power to persecute, wherein consists the merit for # toleration which could act be prevented ? jut every one knows with what unrestrained severity eertain Protestunteocts {cated all others in Maryland, as soo they obtained the power, untrammeled by the tr. Reger Williams an William Penn are ox'olled for the mildness of Leir governments ; but who knows to what extent thoy wore not influenced by surrounding circumstances? As the Catholics of Maryland in a few years aftor planting their colony were intimidated, firat by the Presbyterian Parlia- ment aud then by that man, at tho stamp of whose foot every despot in Christendom—even the Pope hbimeelf—trembled—so Williams and Penn, it is rea- sonable to suppose, Were not uninfluenced by, as they could not have been ignorant of, the circum- stances of their times. The truth ie, sir, no religious sect should be trust- ed with power. They always have abused it and robably always will. I know that Hume says, the dependents, when in full power, allowed fail reli- gious liberty to all others; but this, if I mietake not, was of short duration. If any of the emigrants to this country can be said to havo voluntarily practiced religious tolera- tion, it was the Dutch settlers on the banks of the From the commencement of tho first ablishment en that river, in 1609, I be all events, from 1614, when the sottle- ments afsumed a permanent form—till the Dutch was superieded by an English government, the ights of conscience were free and unmolesied; and hoee settlements offered ready and safe asylumafor he perscouted in the neighboring colonies. ! am, however, half inclined to the opinion that trade and fishing so completely cngtossed their thoughts that little room was left for religious reflection. As to the Puritans and Catholics coming to this country for “freedom to worship God ” according to the dictates of their consciences, the ides is pre- posterous. The Puritans were permitted in Holland, whence they came to this country, to preach their peculiar doctrines and to worship in their peculiar way without let or hindrance; and Neal, who is admitted to be their best historian, expressly states that thoir ebject in coming here was to preserve their distinctiveness as a seot. Lord Baltimore’s colony have as little ground te stand upon in maintainanco of this position as the Paritans. Had his object been simply to finds pace where some hundreds or thousands, or hua- reds of thousands of Catholics might enjoy their faith and worship unmolested, tho king ot France would have received them joyfully, to oooupy, the tenements made desolate by his barbarous expul- sion of Protestants. Thut a company of Koman Catholics should seck an asylum from British op- lee in British dominions, in tho midst ef Pro- t Colonies, thousands of miles from an Catholic kingdom that ht afford them assis ance in @ time of necd, and under a charter, the Yery terms of which rendered a preponderance of Protestant power in the colony at no distant day very probable, does not well comport with the a0- knowledged sagacity of Sir George Calvort. There is but tittle reason to believe that ho, and still less that his son Cesilius, who planted the colony, had a stronger motive than the aggrandizement of his family. Some of the more pious membors of the colony mny have had religious motives. Indocd, Father White, ono of tho priests who accompanied the first expedition, oxpresely declarcs “ that the pee of this voyage was to pay honor tothe lood ef our Kedeemer by the conversion of bar- basians.” And this ho says, ho dociared, in ex- tiomity, during a torriic storm, and when ail were expectirg to be lost, ‘tothe Lord Jcsus, and ts ; bis Holy Mother, to St. Ignatius, and tho protect Angels of Maryland.” From which, it woul feem, he regarded tho expedition as a parely Indian missiopary undertaking. And can there be better evidence in the case? Many persons think that religious liberty is uarauteed by the constitutionof tae United States. tis notso. Littlo or nothing was seid on the gub- ject in the convention that formed the constitution. It was considered by all as one of tho reserved rights of the States—like the liberty of speech and the liborty of the pross—not to be meddled with by the ae government; and Mr. Jefferson pro- cured the amendment to the constitution, declaring simply that “Congress chall make no law respoct- ing an cstablishment of religion, or prohibiting tho free exercise thereof.” ‘These, of course, aro pri- vileges reserved to tho States or to the people. ‘They may pacs such laws when they please, oir wn Cg find toed do not forbid it, and theso the cople may chango. ia his Liverpol dinner speech, 88 reported in tho Heap, of 27th June last, Bishop Hughes says: — “When they” (the people of the U; States) lived long enough to set up housekeeping for themeelves, they mot, and smongst other things, the question of religion camo gelvanism, not only to decom neces, but to 4 vense beak that tre enorate intense heat, that tl yayege on Ste tar Apel mua” a7 Ve oan opeeet mi Bn Acta. apices whe path tse hacia phenomena moe Naval Intelligen 7 ye, = oF Lane the sauces of Cope ge lootures, inot., ong to Nieasaguaall well, | azo the andoubted evideneo. "= °* Malek they Fee ce “a... hie By Se up. And do you know why thoy have roligious freo- dom? Because they could not agree on an: reli vel Coo Peale i bef ‘0 alludes of courso @ general convention that formed tho conetitution of the United States. I deny that any such circumstance as ho describes ocourred ; and J ask bim for his authority. I asked him before, in a private and rerpoctful manner, and receiving ne reply, I repeated the question in tho Hrraup. Ho not yot given an answer, but. erhaps will, in his coming addross, expocted on he 8th March. ** We will sco what wo will see.” With groat respect, &c., J.F.P. The Seventh Day Baptist Church, New Yorn, Fi 1862. Tn a report of a lecture en spiritual manttortath en spiritual man: one. delivered by Rev. J. 1. Boott, in Hoangue Tall Broow: lyn, which appeared Ip your columns to-day, allusion {9 made to Rev. £. t, Harris, who ta styled pastor of the Seventh Dey Baptist Oburch in Bleventh street, In this statement your reporter has fellen into» The Seventh Day Baptist Church in thia city is not Sateen eet in the cause of spiritual feat . church edifice, in temperorily leased to the rudent Chritian Independent Christian a fe dg day, (Bunday) services and of this latter L, Beott is not, as vt peyohologist fi now been