[199] and they who deny men the right to use it, are the enemies of the republic. In conclusion, I would remark that, on my first trial, his honor Judge Brice informed my counsel that if the case had been submitted to the Court, instead of the jury, it would have been thrown out as containing nothing actionable. The facts are now before the public. It is for them to judge whether imprisonment and a fine of one thousand dollars (giving the worst construction to my motives and language) are not excessive punishment; and whether, in the publication of my strictures, I exceeded the freedom of the press, or the legitimate province of an independent editor.1As his trip to Massachusetts had failed to afford any encouragement for the renewal of his partnership with Lundy, and the revival of the weekly Genius, Mr. Garrison resolved to establish a journal of his own; and in August, 1830, he issued the following prospectus, of which the original draft, in his clear handwriting, is probably the only complete copy now in existence:
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1 The Manumission Society of North Carolina appointed a committee to investigate the subject, and their report, which was adopted, was a vindication of Garrison, with a recommendation that the Society should protest against the illegal and unconstitutional decision in his case (Genius of Universal Emancipation, Oct., 1830, p. 98).
2 Ms.
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