Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 15.djvu/70

 56 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY

than its instructive function, and in this it increased in influence and power with every contest. The Economy agitation in 1779, and the agitation for Parliamentary Reform, while not immedi- ately successful, strengthened and increased the popular confi- dence in the platform. It did, however, suffer one serious blow in the excesses into which it was betrayed in the Gordon riots. For years this unfortunate event was used as political capital against the platform. From this one incident inherent evils of the grossest character were generalized as appertaining to all petitions, associations, and public meetings.

According to the common law only those meetings which tended to cause a breach of the peace were illegal ; while freedom of speech, as freedom of the press, were well established principles, every speaker being, of course, subject to the consequences of seditious or treasonable utterances. The right of petition was limited by a law of Charles II, but this law had not been enforced for a long time, and it was at least an open question whether it had not been repealed by the Bill of Rights. The platform would thus seem to have enjoyed legal protection at that time almost equal to that with which we are familiar. But such was not the case. By means of the law of libel, to which it gave very wide con- structive interpretation, the government was able to impose serious restrictions upon both the press and the platform. Justice Stephen has defined a seditious libel, as interpreted at this time, as "a written censure upon public men for their conduct as such, or upon the laws, or upon the institutions of the country." ^* If this applied only to the press, the platform was in no better plight. Moreover the truth of the statement could not be pleaded in defense. The government undertook a large number of prosecutions, in some of which the jury refused to convict, not- withstanding the clearest instructions of the judge. Under these circumstances more effective legislation became necessary. This was the more imperative on account of the agitation which developed out of the French Revolution. The Two Acts passed

•*J. F. Stephen, A Hist, of the Criminal Law of England, Vol. II, p. 348 (quoted by Jephson, op. cit.. Vol. I, p. 179).