The Life Of Thomas Paine, Vol. 1. (of 2): With A History of His Literary, Political and Religious Career in America France, and England; to which is added a Sketch of Paine by William CobbettConway, Moncure Daniel
Religion
The Life Of Thomas Paine, Vol. 1. (of 2): With A History of His Literary, Political and Religious Career in America France, and England; to which is added a Sketch of Paine by William Cobbett
Conway, Moncure Daniel
Paine, Thomas, 1737-1809
start wrong, we may look forward to six or seven years more of war. The
influence of the press rightly managed is important; but we can derive
no service in this line, because there is no person in England who
knows enough of America to treat the subject properly. It was in a great
measure owing to my bringing a knowledge of England with me to America,
that I was enabled to enter deeper into politics, and with more success,
than other people; and whoever takes the matter up in England must in
like manner be possessed of a knowledge of America. I do not suppose
that the acknowledgment of Independence is at this time a more
unpopular doctrine in England than the declaration of it was in America
immediately before the publication of the pamphlet 'Common Sense,' and
the ground appears as open for the one now as it did for the other then.
"The manner in which I would bring such a publication out would be under
the cover of an Englishman who had made the tour of America incog. This
will afford me all the foundation I wish for and enable me to place
matters before them in a light in which they have never yet viewed
them. I observe that Mr. Rose in his speech on Governor Pownall's bill,
printed in Bradford's last paper, says that 'to form an opinion on
the propriety of yielding independence to America requires an accurate
knowledge of the state of that country, the temper of the people, the
resources of their Government,' &c. Now there is no other method to
give this information a national currency but this,--the channel of the
press, which I have ever considered the tongue of the world, and which
governs the sentiments of mankind more than anything else that ever did
or can exist.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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