previous next


Signs of the Times.


The Freeman's Journal — the Freeman's Appeal.

The circulation of the Freeman's Journal of New York through the mails and expresses having been suppressed by order of the authorities at Washington, Mr. McMasters, the very able editor of that paper, has resolved to discontinue it, and has issued in its stead a new paper, which is styled the Freeman's Appeal.

In his address to the public he states that ‘"the Freeman's Appeal will be a different paper from the Freeman's Journal,"’ and gives the following cogent reasons for the change:

‘"The Journal was conducted on the theory that the press was free, within the limits of the common and statute laws of the several States. The Freeman's Appeal will be issued on the distinct understanding that under he new kind of government inaugurated by Mr. Lincoln and his Cabinet, the press is not free, as it used to be under the old United States Government." ’

In consequence of this new order of things, he proposes hereafter to avoid all reference to the deplorable political and military events transpiring, and to confine himself ‘"to the discussion of the great question of morals and religion, that lie deeper than the plane of polities"’

‘"If, however,"’ he adds sarcastically, ‘"Mr. Lincoln and Mr. Postmaster- General Blair, with the rest of that virtuous Cabinet, have also got ready a new theory of morals and religion, to which all newspapers must yield 'a hearty support' or be suppressed — then we must submit to suppression of the Freeman's Appeal, as we are certain we can yield no support to their notions of morals or of religion."’

In ceasing to publish the Freeman's Journal Mr. McMasters protests against the lawless violence to which he has been forced to yield, and gives public notice, as he has already done specially to the responsible officials, that he intends to sue them personally for damages at the earliest moment that liberty and order is restored.

In the meantime, he calls upon those who sympathize with him in his efforts on behalf of ‘ "the perishing rights of the people"’ to exert themselves to extend the circulation of his new paper — the Freeman's Appeal.


Retirement of the editor of the Courier des Etats Unis.

M. E. Masseras publishes in the Courier des Etats Unis a card addressed to the proprietor, in which he alludes to the change of proprietorship in the Journal of Commerce, and the rumors in regard to the Daily News, the Day Book and the Brooklyn Eagle. ‘"This quadruple abdication,"’ he says, ‘"on the part of our American contemporaries, leaves the Courier completely isolated in the attitude which it had taken in common with them."’ He proposes that for the present the paper should confine itself simply to the news of the day, as that is all that is now permitted, and says that he himself will seek retirement until the moment arrives when he will be permitted to speak his sentiments.--He concludes as follows--‘"To day as in April--still more than then — I am convinced that war will not save the Union, and that, on the other hand, it will destroy the Republic. I am satisfied that the majority of the nation submits to a war which it does not approve, without believing in the happy termination about which it seeks to delude the people. I am satisfied that the war is the work of a party, who will push it to the last extremity, without hesitating at any means to maintain its supremacy. In all this I see nothing but oppression, ruin, then as a last consolation, inevitable revolution. And as the situation in which the press is placed only leaves me the choice between blandly praising everything or holding my tongue, I decide upon silence."’


The New York Daily News.

The following card from Mr. Benjamin Wood flatly contradicts the report alluded to above: Office of the Daily and Weekly News, New York, Sept. 1, 1861.
To the Editor of the New York Times:
Please oblige me by contradicting the statement publicly made that the editorship of the Daily News has undergone any change. There has not been the slightest cause for any such report. Respectfully yours,

Benjamin Wood.

[From the N. Y. World.]

Speaking of the new proprietorship of the Journal, the World says:

Mr. Stone gained some notoriety last December by wearing publicly on change a secession cockade; and his efforts to embarrass the negotiation of the late loan effected by Mr. Chase are well known in financial circles. It is understood that the paper will be reduced in-size.

The Tribune, we understand, is about to reduce the size of its sheet, as the Times had previously done — we presume for the same stringent reasons. It has already raised its subscription price to $7.


The fire Zouaves.

The New York Times, of September 2d, says:

‘ On Saturday night five or six compositors employed in the office of the Times entered an eating house on Chatham street for refreshments. On coming out one by one they were set upon by a gang of rowdies who had followed and waited for them, and were knocked down and beaten. Their assailants claimed to be members of the First Regiment of Fire Zouaves, and declared that they took this mode of revenging themselves in part for the remarks that have been made in the columns of the Times on their conduct at and after the battle of Bull Run.


A slight change of Tune.

We find the following in the Louisville (Ky.) Journal:

‘ When the ultra prints of the North, flatted by the uprising everywhere in Kentucky, Maryland, Western Virginia, "c., mistake that sentiment, patriotic in its purposes and honest in its intents, for a spirit of ‘"conquest"’--when they venture to speak of making that subsidiary to ‘"subjugation."’ they need not suppose that the Union men of Maryland or Kentucky will keep silence, or that they would not do all in their power to sustain Southern constitutional rights. In this reposes all our strength.

And we warn the ultra North, when they lose sight of these plain guarantees, when they propose to abate one jot or tittle of what is honestly due all Southern men, they not only paralyse the arm of the Federal Government to that extent, but at the same time they strike a deadly blow at all-Union sentiments in the South, upon which our wisest statesmen must hereafter rely for ‘ "reconstruction."’


Effect of the hard Times.

A letter from New York says:

‘ The war is pressing hard on some of our first-class educational institutions. The general Theological Seminary of the Protestant Episcopal Church, in Twentieth street, I understand, is reduced to great straits, financially speaking, so much so that in the course of a few days the trustees will issue an appeal for assistance to the church at large, and failing in that, the doors of the seminary will probably have to be closed until the advent of more prosperous times, when they shall be able to convert to account its immense landed estate, which has been the ample source of its support in ordinary seasons, but which is now, like all other city real estate, entirely unavailable.


Secret and Solemn.

The New York Leader, in a personal sketch of Colonel Corcoran, makes the following curious assertions, probably referring to the secret Irish Society known as the ‘"Emmet Monument Association,"’ or ‘"Phœnix Brigade:"’

‘ ‘"This is neither the place nor the time to speak of another army as formidable in numbers and at least as well drilled as that to-day under McClellan, in which Col. Corcoran also holds a post of high command. It is an army scattered through the chief cities of the Union, and having powerful ramifications through a distant island. It has, and for several years has had, companies and regiments and brigades — not seen save by the eyes of the initiated; but meeting in squads and companies and battalions, two or three nights every week, in nearly all the more populous towns and cities of the Union, and undergoing the strictest and most active drill. The army to which we refer is loyal to the Republic, and only wishes that the Republic were more loyal to the Republican idea as understood by Mirabean, Jefferson, Wolfe, Tone, and Robert Emmet. Should the evil destiny of England lead her to take part against the Union in the present war, then, but not until then, will this invisible army, in which Corcoran holds a General's commission, swarm forth into daylight and activity, only asking arms and transport ships from our Government to give full employment within sight of the Welsh coast, to all the naval and military resources of Great Britain. "’


Rude if not Rebellious.

The Chicago Post, a very decided war paper, in noticing the subject of ‘ "treasonable"’ newspapers, makes the very pertinent inquiry, why no grand jury of the loyal city of Boston has taken official notice of a newspaper there called the Liberator, which, ever since the commencement of the war, has kept displayed at the head of its columns, the traitorous and infamous sentiment, (so uncivil to the President and Cabinet, too,) ‘ "The Con- stitution of the United States is a league with hell and a covenant with the devil!"’


The Attitude of Kentucky.

The Louisville Courier says:

‘ The response of the President to the Kentucky Commissioners, in our opinion, renders civil war inevitable. The President has declared that he will not respect the neutrality of the State; he has deliberately determined that the State which gave him birth shall be crimsoned with fratricidal blood. Upon Abraham Lincoln will rest the fearful responsibility of inaugurating war in Kentucky. * * * It now becomes the people of Kentucky to unite as one man. All parties in the State are committed to the doctrine of neutrality. Let it be maintained at all hazards.


Wanted friends for the Constitution.

A Democratic committee in the East has offered a reward of a thousand dollars for a Republican speech, or a Republican newspaper, that insists that the Constitution shall be adhered to and sustained.--Wayne County Gazette.

The reward might be increased without any danger of its being called for. There is not a Republican paper, nor a Republican speaker in the country in favor of administering the Government in accordance with the Constitution. At least we have not seen or heard of one. --Dubuque (lowa) Herald.


Not to be Scared.

The Syracuse (N. Y.) Courier, of August 31, says:

‘ We may be coerced and suppressed from enjoying the rights guaranteed to a free press through the Constitution, by illegal enactments, but by the mob violence — never!--If our office is piled in ruins before this paragraph meets the eyes of our readers, we shall issue another sheet inside of ten hours.


Garibaldi.

The report that Garibaldi had it in contemplation to organize a legion in this country in support of the Federal Government has already been denied. The following is from the New York Times:

‘ Contrary to what was anticipated, we have nothing by this steamer from Garibaldi, and it is therefore probable that he has deferred his purpose of tendering his services to the Government. He probably recollects with some regret the jealousies of officers of Nationalities in whose behalf he has heretofore drawn his sword, and is unwilling to encounter them again, as he doubtless would, unless there is a paramount necessity.

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

An XML version of this text is available for download, with the additional restriction that you offer Perseus any modifications you make. Perseus provides credit for all accepted changes, storing new additions in a versioning system.

hide Places (automatically extracted)
hide People (automatically extracted)
Sort people alphabetically, as they appear on the page, by frequency
Click on a person to search for him/her in this document.
Abraham Lincoln (3)
Garibaldi (3)
Corcoran (3)
Benjamin Wood (2)
McMasters (2)
Robert Emmet (2)
Wolfe (1)
Stone (1)
McClellan (1)
M. E. Masseras (1)
Jefferson (1)
Chase (1)
Blair (1)
hide Dates (automatically extracted)
Sort dates alphabetically, as they appear on the page, by frequency
Click on a date to search for it in this document.
February, 9 AD (1)
September 1st, 1861 AD (1)
December (1)
August 31st (1)
April (1)
hide Display Preferences
Greek Display:
Arabic Display:
View by Default:
Browse Bar: