THE LIBERTY OF THE PRESS, SPEECH, AND PUBLIC WORSHIP. REING Commentaries on the Liberty of the Subject AND THE Laws of England. 10-8.47 PREFACE. THE introduction to these Commentaries contained a classification of the law under ten divisions, one of which was entitled "The Security of Public Worship," and another was entitled "The Security of Thought, Speech, and Character." It was also pointed out that these two divisions might well be treated as substantially one, seeing that the Security of Public Worship was only another name for the Security of Thought and Speech, when applied to one prominent subject-matter. But, nevertheless, it was deemed advisable to treat them as separate divisions, and even to give precedence to that which was specific, over that which was generic. The reason was, that in all countries, ages, and conditions of mankindeven in the savage state-something has always been recognised as Public Religious Worship, which, moreover, has always been a settled and conspicuous practice; whereas, until the invention of printing, the Freedom of Thought and Speech was scarcely dreamt of as a branch of human government; and the minds of legislators had been almost blank with regard to it. Moreover, the degree of toleration accorded in the one case seemed to differ from that accorded in the other, and at least, both 1 1 Pat. Com. (Pers.) 66. |