The Project Gutenberg EBook of Letter To Sir Samuel Shepherd, by Anonymous
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
Title: Letter To Sir Samuel Shepherd
Upon the Subject of his Prosecutions of Richard Carlile
for Publishing Paine's "Age of Reason"
Author: Anonymous
Release Date: October 8, 2012 [EBook #40979]
Last Updated: January 26, 2013
Language: English
Character set encoding: ASCII
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LETTER TO SIR SAMUEL SHEPHERD ***
Produced by David Widger
"When hounds and horns the forest rend,"
pricks up his ears, and longs to join in the pursuit. But the Judge also
discharges a still more exceptionable office, that of interrupter on the
part of the crown.
He is apt to lug in his observation, that what the accused is saying in
his own defence is irrelevant to the question; though a man's
penetration must be astonishing who can determine beforehand that any
particular sentence uttered shall not, by a concatenation of argument, be
brought to bear forcibly upon the point in question.
If the accused adduces instances of opposite decisions in similar
proceeding suits, with a view to point out an inconsistency, the Judge
will exclaim, "That is not the cause before us;" though how in the world
can inconsistency be shewn without bringing forward more than one
particular?
These ill-timed interruptions, by breaking the thread of connection of the
defence of the accused, must so maul it, and put it out of shape, that the
jury become unable to make either head or tail of it, even though it
should have been previously drawn up with good judgement, and contain the
soundest reasonings.
In trials for alledged blasphemy, if the accused complains that a garbled
extract made from his book does not convey its true sense, and wishes to
read it at large, the court object, and cry out, that the book is too bad
to be read in that place, and that it will poison the ears of the
audience.
If the accused desires that the Bible may be referred to, in proof of its
contradictions or blameable passages, the court bawls aloud that it is too
good a book to be produced before the profane. If reference be thus
objected to, by what means, then, shall the truth be brought to light?
And now, Mr. Attorney-General, let us proceed to your own probable
allegations and arguments in court in this particular cause; and I will
suppose you to say to the gentlemen of the jury, that you have been urged
by the representations of a respectable body of men, the Society for the
Suppression of Vice, to prosecute R. Carlile, whom you have discovered and
proved before the court to have gone vi et armis, by violence and
with weapons of war, and not having the fear of God before his eyes, to
have published a blasphemous libel, the Age of Reason, by Thomas Paine,
which libel had been previously condemned by a Jury, and burnt by the
common hangman. That the wicked tendency of this libel was to induce a
general disbelief of your and their most holy religion, that pure,
pacific, and benevolent system, which, having emanated from the Deity, is,
to its adherents, the basis of their comforts in this life, their solace
in the hours of affliction, sickness, and death, their moral instruction
in this world, and their providitor of everlasting happiness in a world to
come; that libels of this impious description were with a malignant zeal
thrown in the way of the young and inexperienced, too undiscerning to
detect their sophistry, or suspect the poison contained in them, and too
ignorant yet of the world to be on their guard against the practices of
bad men: that irreligion and; immorality are necessarily connected; and
that the propagators of infidelity are actuated by a malice too virulent
to be attributed to mere human passion, and for which a motive and
stimulus would be in vain sought for, unless it be assigned to the
instigators of the great enemy of mankind, the Devil. The jury will be
conjured, as they value the preservation of good morals, the peace and
good order of society, both individual and public welfare, the happiness
of their fellow-subjects both in this world and in a future life, to
arrest the fatal poison in its progress, and give a verdict of conviction
and condemnation against the accused.
But, Mr. Attorney General, you would not take shining pinchbeck counters
instead of sovereigns for a fee, with as little close examination as you
will wish the jury to admit the weight and validity of your arguments, and
the accuracy of your assertions.
The imposing name assumed by the Society who are the ostensible movers of
the prosecution, might, at the first glance, seem sufficient to carry all
before it, and to dispatch the business at one blow. For what could such a
Society direct their efforts, against but vice? However, men are not to be
judged of by the titles they choose to give to themselves, without some
scrutiny being made into their conduct. This self styled Society for the
Suppression of Vice, exhibit themselves to us as the foes to free inquiry,
and stifling the arguments on one side of a question. In vain will they
excuse themselves as preventing the poisonous effects of reasonings on the
wrong side; for to decide in that way which side is wrong is a petitio
propositi, a begging of the question. Real truth is best established
by the free production of the arguments on both sides; for thereby
suspicion of unfairness is re moved. So many absurdities attend upon error
and falsehood, that truth has a very preponderating advantage against
them, where enquiry is left free. The arguments then adduced on the wrong
side of a question, are not so noxious and poisonous as disingenuous men
wish to insinuate. The truth abhors to be indebted to suppression of
argument, from that it never can derive advantage; therefore it is only
resorted to by the party who are in the wrong. This endeavour to suppress
argument implies disingenuousness, and this last named quality is always
at variance with real truth. Error may be designed, but disingenuousness
never can be; and, therefore, when accompanied with violence, it is always
criminal. Disinenuousness, as far as it extends, cannot consist with the
love of truth, but error may. Now as the love of truth is the basis of all
real morality, this disingenuous self-styled Society for the Suppression
of Vice, are, therefore, detected to be a Society for the Suppression of
Virtue.
I will still suppose you to proceed in the beaten, track of your
predecessors in office, and omitting to reply to the technicality vi et
armis, on which, I imagine, you lay no stress, I take the liberty to
question the propriety of the accustomed phrase,﹃not having the fear of
God before his eyes.﹄You will admit, Mr. Attorney-General, that to forge
the Great Seal of England would be a criminal deception, and also, that to
examine whether it was forged or not, or to state reasons for believing it
to have been forged, would be allowable. Now, as the authority of the
Creator is a higher one than the British Government, so to forge a
revelation from him would be a more criminal imposture than the former
one; and a rigid examination and scrutiny into its truth or falsehood, and
all doubts and rational exceptions against a supposed revelation, would
always be innocent, and might sometimes be laudable. Therefore, as Paine's
Age of Reason is an objection against the truth of the supposed
revelations of Moses and Jesus, the conduct of R. Carlile in publishing it
must be innocent, at least, if not meritorious, and therefore would
consist well with a pious veneration towards the Supreme Being; and this
invalidates your assertion.
"Which libel had been condemned by the legislature." But as the
legislature is composed of fallible men, their sanction does not prove the
truth and validity of Jesus's pretensions; and as the conduct of the
legislature in sanctioning this revelation might be directed and
influenced by political motives, their sanction is an argument rather
against than in favour of its truth.
"And burnt by the common hangman." Jean Jaques Rousseau says, and so must
every reasonable man, Bruler un livre n'est pas y repondre,
"Burning a book is not answering it."
﹃The wicked tendency of this libel was to induce a general disbelief of
your and their most holy religion.﹄The truth can only be ascertained by
leaving inquiry free, that arguments on both, sides of a question may be
brought forward, in order that it may be seen on which side the
preponderance lies. Therefore, the same objection would hold good against
producing the arguments on the wrong side of any other question, as well
as this before us now; this would militate against truth in general, and
is, of course, absurd. Besides, as the Deists have made the offer to argue
with Jesus's followers upon the truth or falsehood of Jesus's pretensions
upon fair and equal terms, which offer Jesus's followers have thought
proper to divine, therefore, to use a figure borrowed from pugilistic
combats, the Deists throw up the hat and claim the victory.
﹃That pure, pacific, and benevolent system, which having emanated from the
Deity.﹄But the Deists offer to bring arguments to disprove the purity,
peaceableness, and benevolence of Jesus's system, and likewise its origin
from the Supreme Being; and your laws hinder those arguments from
appearing. Now, this endeavour of yours to suppress is concealment. And if
there is nothing criminal in this system of Jesus, what could you have to
conceal? The Deists do not endeavour to conceal any thing, it is the
hiding, hushing, concealing party which are the guilty; where morality is
concerned concealment implies guilt. If the Deists venture to bring
forward demonstrations from the four Gospels against the personal moral
character of Jesus, you call that blasphemy. But recollect, that when the
Deists make you the offer to discuss the moral character and the
pretensions of Jesus to a mission from the Almighty upon honourable and
fair terms, and you choose to decline this equitable proposal, the charge
of blasphemy falls upon yourselves; your sneaking evasion and concealment
cause the charge of blasphemy to be brought home against you, and you
stand convicted yourselves as the blasphemers.
"Is to its adherents the basis of their comforts in this life." Observe,
that those very men who lay heavy taxation upon this country, and, what
was unknown to Pagan times, entail those taxes upon unborn children, those
men are among the most zealous asserters of Jesus's pretensions, and
employ Jesus's priests as diligent advocates for the imposition of public
burdens on the land, and sundry abuses. So that the bulk of the people of
this country are not much indebted to Jesus's system for temporal
comforts. Nay, it rather deprives them of many comforts, and even
necessaries in this life. We have such men at present in office, of
greatest power and trust, who are of such principles that they would
countenance and patronize no religion but what suited their purpose, and
promoted their tyranny and oppressive objects and designs. Therefore, we
may see what Jesus's religion is by its suiting them so well.
"Their solace in the hours of affliction, sickness, and death." Jesus's
religion has caused the affliction and death of far more people than it
has solaced on such occasions.
"Their moral instructor in this world." The real moral tendency of Jesus's
system is one of the points at issue between his followers and the Deists;
therefore that position is not to be assumed as it has not been fairly
proved. The effect of Jesus's religion may have been to repress some vices
in the world, but it has greatly increased others. When the Pagan Romans
possessed Britain, there was not as much gin, brandy, and whiskey drank
here as there is now. Nay, the Pagan Romans used to mix water with their
wine most usually. Unpaid Bank notes were unknown to them; and thus
millions of inhabitants were not employed in circulating among themselves
falsehood and fraud, which horrid practice among us renders those two last
crimes familiar to the view, and abates the abhorrence of them. Indeed,
perjury was evidently not near so frequent among the Pagan Romans as it is
now that Jesus's system has prevailed; this fact we can clearly infer from
what remains to us of Greek and Roman writers. The unnatural tax on unborn
children was totally unknown to those ancients: so that Jesus's morality
has not done us much good.
"And their providitor of everlasting happiness in a world to come." There
are some drawbacks in this world, at any rate, if we reckon the Sunday's
weekly gloom, and the tythes on all landed property. Whether this future
happiness be attained to at last or not by Jesus's followers, it is a
long, a very melancholy road, however, that they go to it. And as a tenth
levied on all landed produce and other church dues are pretty large,
payment in advance for an inheritance in an unseen country, which no man
living has visited, it seems unreasonable for the law to hinder a scrutiny
and examination into the validity of the title-deeds. Besides, as the land
is rated heavier than other property, the payment falls very unequally on
the holders of shares in this Terra Incognita.
﹃Libels of this impious description are zealously thrown in the way of the
young and inexperienced.﹄This practising upon the minds of the young and
inexperienced, if it be culpable, is not so chargeable upon the Deists as
upon Jesus's priests. The deistical writings are argumentative, and
therefore cannot be read by the young till they are almost grown up, and
the judgement is always appealed to by the Deists; neither do they
discourage the examination of the other side of the question, as Jesus's
followers usually do. On the other hand, Jesus's priests burden the memory
of children, not seven years old, with creeds and catechisms; besides,
they labour to prejudice the young in favour of Jesus's system, and to
discourage all fair inquiry into what concerns its truth; a conduct which
the Deists would abhor to pursue in favour of deism. Moreover, the
catechisms and other machinations of Jesus's priests are calculated to
impair the discerning faculty of the young, and to blunt its acumen.
Let us examine the beginning of the church of England catechism as an
example. "Q. Who gave you that name?"—"A. My godfathers and
godmothers in my baptism, wherein I was made a member of Christ," &c.
How should a child at seven years comprehend the meaning of a membership
with an unseen metaphysical being? This beginning with children on
subjects beyond their comprehension is playing tricks with their
understanding.
"Q. What did your godfathers, &c. then for you?"
﹃A. They did promise and vow three things in my name: first, that I should
renounce the devil and all his works.﹄It is a monstrous proposition to
instil into a child's mind that one person could swear to the certainty of
another's conduct. Surely these priestly tricks must be meant to
incapacitate these young children throughout life from thinking ever
acutely on religious subjects. And what idea could a child have of the
devil's works? Of the devil himself they might form some notion from the
picture of him, and might
"Dream of the devil, and wake in a fright."
The processions [i. e. pomps] and empty things of this wicked world. Would
any pious man swear that a child should not be fond of processions, pomps,
and splendid shows? Neither could a child distinguish empty things or
vanities of the world. It is unavailing for Jesus's priests to say that at
any age of maturity these distinctions will be comprehended, for they have
taken care before hand, as far as they could, to injure and debilitate the
discerning faculty: and if they should afterwards distinguish vanities,
they would still be less able to examine religious truths; and to place
impediments in the way of this last, is the priest's object.﹃Secondly,
that I should believe all the articles of the Christian faith.﹄How can
one person swear, to what another shall believe? and what a notion this
swearing must give to young minds of the reverence due to an oath!
Descant, Mr. Attorney-General, as you think proper upon the good moral
tendency of the religion as by law established, but you will find it very
difficult to prove your assertions in its favour, whenever you may please
to advance them. The oath extends so far as that the child shall believe
not one article only but all the articles of Jesus's religion, and that
without even comprehending them all, for some, as that of the Trinity, are
quite unintelligible; and some of these articles contain other articles so
as to embrace the whole volume of the Bible, all and singular every
passage of it.
"And thirdly, that I should keep God's holy will and commandments." Then
they must swear that the boy shall never be a godfather.
All this is done to impair the intellect, and accounts, in part, for the
extreme obstinacy and prejudice of Jesus's followers. Somebody must have
sworn, Mr. Attorney General, that you should never be an Attorney-General;
for this exercise of your office herein described, is not compatible with
much scrupulosity. As for its being said that the child afterwards takes
the oath upon itself, oaths cannot be so transferred; therefore that plea
is futile. No description of people, besides Jesus's followers, ever
admitted the execrable principle of the transfer of an oath. In fact, if
the godfathers had sworn that the boy should turn out a pickle, after all
the rest of priestly management, they would have stood a pretty good
chance of having nothing fall upon their conscience from that quarter.
Jesus's priests are apt to injure the intellect of young people by telling
them, that if they do not believe Jesus's religion they will be damned to
eternal punishments. Now as in all natural belief, when the intellect is
sound and healthy, the mind is always passive in the act of giving its
assent to any proposition, this trick of Jesus's priests disturbs,
impairs, and disorders the understanding; and by this means also people
are rendered incapable, throughout life, to reason and inquire with
penetration, discernment, and impartiality on religious subjects. The
natural belief of a sound mind is not determined by the will. If men
could, in all cases, believe whatever they pleased, their minds would be a
complete chaos; yet have Jesus's priests, in all ages since the days of
the founder of their religion, offered this violence to the human
intellect. Thus, I think, that I have shewn you, Mr. Attorney-General,
that the young and inexperienced are not more in danger of imbibing absurd
notions and depraved principles from the Deists than from Jesus's priests.
I now proceed to examine a supposed assertion, rife enough among those of
your side of the question that﹃infidelity and immorality are necessarily
connected.﹄That the Deists and other unbelievers are more immoral than
Jesus's followers, is more than can be proved. And when we consider that
Jesus's religion is always taken up as a prejudice, and is maintained in
the world by violence, and by a pertinacious determination of Jesus's
adherents to hear the reasons only on one side of the question, that side
which is favourable to his pretensions, a procedure which is utterly
repugnant to the love of truth, the most probable conjecture is, that the
unbelievers should be, upon the whole, the more moral party. But it must
be allowed to be a difficult matter to determine such a question as that
to any thing like certainty. Until it be determined, however, you have no
right to make the assertion alluded to.
When you declaim upon the too great prevalence of infidelity, you speak a
language which implies the insane and monstrous notion that natural belief
is dependent upon the will; whereas it is the known and suggested reasons
which always naturally determine the assent. A man is no more culpable
merely for what he believes, than he is for discovering by the taste that
sugar is sweet and aloes bitter. Your slang when you speak of infidelity
and belief, as virtues or vices, reprehensible or laudable, would be quite
unintelligible to us, if we were not already acquainted with the tricks
and machinations of priests to create prejudice, or frighten people into
an assent to points, which they dare not trust and submit to the test of
fair inquiry.
If the Creator were to require an assent without a sufficient reason to
determine it, he would demand what is contrary to the structure of the
human mind, which was formed by himself: thus he would disorder his own
work, which is a thing incredible. If he has suggested reasons which would
not have been otherwise thought of, let Jesus's priests produce them, and
let them be examined. Then the prosecutions of Deists would be
superfluous, for they would be forced to: believe when the reasons were
found cogent enough. But no such reasons have been hitherto produced:
reason or no reason, the assent is still required. And how shall such an
assent without reasons sufficient be distinguished from what is
universally allowed, by physicians and all others, to be insanity and
mental derangement?
"That the propagators of infidelity are instigated by the Devil." This
assertion, very usual from men in your office, Mr. Attorney-General, you
are unable to prove. And hereby you remind us, that Jesus's followers
universally admit the very absurd notion of two principles in the
universe, a good and a bad one.
I know that the moderns being ashamed of it, wish to abrogate it, and to
throw it off from themselves upon the early heretics. But we shall not
allow you to escape that way. If you advance any principle, you must admit
all the consequences which necessarily flow from it; and we will not
suffer your evasions in this particular. When pressed hard, you followers
of Jesus want to pass off the Devil upon us for a mere angel, and tell us
of his war in Heaven, and that he was cast out upon the earth. This will
not do, we shall not allow you this subterfuge, for in other places your
received canon of Scripture maintains the ubiquity of the Devil; this
extravagant notion with which we charge you, we shall bring home to you.
In 2 Cor. chap. iv. ver. 4, you have,﹃In whom the God of this world hath
blinded the eyes of them that believe not.﹄implying, that the Devil, i.
e. the God of this world, is present in all unbelievers. This is still
further confirmed by 1 John chap. v. ver. 19,﹃The whole world lieth in
the wicked one,﹄i.e. the Devil. I know that it is translated,﹃lieth in
wickedness.﹄But this is a sneaking evasion of Jesus's followers, who are
ashamed of the notion of the two principles. That is an extraordinary
vicious translation of the passage. A man who knows the least of Greek at
all must be sensible that the passage will only admit of the rendering
which I have here, and others have before me, given to it. The Devil is
said by Jesus's followers to pervade the whole unbelieving world. If you
complain, Mr. Attorney-General, that this is pressing a lawyer too far on
a theological question, I shall lay the blame on you, and those who have
held your office, for starting this particular subject; and whenever an
Attorney-General advances a position he takes the risks attending it. The
story of the Devil's fall from Heaven in Revelations, chap. xii. may
establish and show an inconsistency in Jesus's religion, but it does not
get you nor his followers clear of the silly notion of the two principles,
when your canon of Scripture has once advanced what clearly implies that
groundless notion.
"The jury are conjured." Since the detection and exposition of that
infamous list of jurors, out of which a jury used to be packed for the
Crown whenever it was prosecutor, some sort of reformation has taken place
in the manner of appointing a jury, so as to leave a better chance of
having disinterested men on the jury. Before Hone's trial the scene which
used to take place in prosecutions for alledged blasphemy was scandalous
and detestable. The legislature take upon themselves to assign a
revelation to the Almighty, but as a revelation is a delineation of his
character, they assign to him a character of their own choosing; and as
they labour to suppress and hide the objections started against it, that
character which they have given to the Supreme Being must of course be a
bad one, because concealment in this case implies guilt in the concealing
party: so that the charge of blasphemy is justly retorted upon the
legislature and upon the prosecuting party in this case of R. Carlile, and
also in the preceding cases of Houston, the reputed author of Ecce Homo,
of Williams, who was
Paine's printer of the Age of Reason, of Daniel Isaac Eaton, too, and
others. The legislative bodies, I repeat, and their accomplices, are the
real blaspheming party, who have given, as they testify by their
concealing practices, a bad and slanderous character to the Almighty, and
whose guilt is aggravated by their endeavours to hinder other men from
vindicating him from their foul aspersions.
The jury on all those above-mentioned occasions invariably gave up the
character of the Maker of the universe to be traduced and calumniated by
the legislative bodies and their accomplices; and this abandonment of all
rectitude and decency was by bad men termed a verdict, i. e. a vere
dictum, whereby infallibility was attributed to twelve mortal men at
the same time that it was denied to the Ancient of Days, the real
proprietor of all worlds. If persons, sitting judiciously upon the
character of this exalted Being, gave it up thus to be reviled, they
ought, at least, to have been Gods whose judgement was to have been thus
appealed to; in fact, this sort of appeal of the prosecuting party to
twelve mortals was erecting them to something far above the human nature;
and these twelve mortals were induced by a gratuity of one or more guineas
a piece, a good dinner, with plenty of jovial nectar, at the expence of
the country, to consign over the character of the Almighty to reviling and
insult, thereby opening a door for a supposititious system of morality,
"And raised to gods confess even virtue vain."
—Pope.
"As they value the preservation of good morals." This, as I have shewn,
must be merely ironical, these prosecutions having the opposite tendency.
"The peace and good order of society." This is to obtain a submission to
tyranny; which submission Jesus in his religion inculcates by his Apostle
Peter, 1 Cph. chap. ii. ver. 13:﹃Submit yourselves to every ordinance of
man.﹄And this will account for zeal of the ruling authorities to support
Jesus's pretensions:
"Individual and public welfare." This, after what has been shewn, must be
all rant.
"The happiness of their fellow-subjects here and hereafter." This can
never be promoted by suppressing argument and stifling inquiry.
"Arrest the fatal poison." Here the fair and free investigation and
examination of propositions is called poison. Yet, who but the wicked can
have any thing to dread from inquiry?
I apprehend, Mr. Shepherd, that you and the self' styled Society for the
Suppression of Vice carry on separate prosecutions, but I have classed you
both together, because you are both of you aiding, abetting, and assisting
in the same design. Of what individuals that Society is composed is not
known to me, but as the Bishops of Durham and Rochester are the
presidents, I conclude, that many priests of Jesus are among the number,
and that, at any rate, the parsons are the chief instructors in this
business. That free inquiry should not generally take place is much their
interest, for thereby their "gains would be gone." They would much wish
that the ignorance of ancient days, so profitable to parsons, could be
brought back; and I send you a verse or two upon a desire expressed in the
Gentleman's, or as it ought to be called, from its treating so much of
ecclesiastical matters, and expressing the wish of the parsons, the
Parson's Magazine, that the level near St. Andrew's church should be
filled up.
『Priests, who through fiats their trade sustain
Wish level Holborn Hill;
And wish the world were flat again
As erst when it stood still.』1
The self-styled Society for the Suppression of Vice, are zealous to
substitute useless or absurd observances as parts of religion, instead of
real true morality; and have taken great pains to prevent amusements, and
produce a gloom throughout Sunday, the only holiday for many people. There
are not less spirits drank on amount of a sabbatical gloom; for harmless
chearfulness is rather a preservative of innocence. I have therefore sent
you, Mr. Attorney-General, a song, which I beg you to deliver to the
parsons of that Society, and to any other parsons, to help them to keep up
their spirits.
1 Joshua, chap. x.
SONG,
To the tune of "Come, bustle, hustle, drink about, and let us merry be,"
of George Alexander Stevens.
Since Paul affirms that Heaven has chose
The thoughtless foolish things, 1
And bless'd with Paradise all those
For paying priests and kings: 2
Then a preaching we will go, will go, will go,
Then a preaching we will go.
Fanatic herds, as if with strings
At their nose, by priests are led;
And know not that the knavish things
Made that choice in God's stead.
Then a preaching, &c.
As crowds believe the heavens reject
The prying, shrewd, and wise,
No fear lest he our fraud detect,
Whose faith has closed his eyes.
Then a preaching, &c.
Now Sion is rubied, gilt, and pearl'd,
As the seat of blockheads' bliss;
Our flocks may take that future world,
Give us the joys of this.
Then a preaching, &c.
1 Cor. chap. i. ver. 27.
2 Rom. chap. xiii. ver. 4.
Our muttons, gulled and ignorant,
Dare never close inquire,
Lest if they disbelieve our cant,
They fall to Hell's hot fire.
Then a preaching, &c.
Thus dolts suck in through panic dread
The Gospel's milk 1 and crumbs,
And with all nonsense fill their heads,
Lest Hell should scorch their bums.
Then a preaching, &c.
March 2,1810. PHILALETHES.
1 1 Cor. chap. iii. ver. 2.
and Heb. chap. i. ver. 13.
End of Project Gutenberg's Letter To Sir Samuel Shepherd, by Anonymous
*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LETTER TO SIR SAMUEL SHEPHERD ***
***** This file should be named 40979-h.htm or 40979-h.zip *****
This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
http://www.gutenberg.org/4/0/9/7/40979/
Produced by David Widger
Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
will be renamed.
Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules,
set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project
Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you
do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is
subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
redistribution.
*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at
www.gutenberg.org/license.
Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
electronic works
1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all
the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be
used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few
things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See
paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
works. See paragraph 1.E below.
1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the
collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an
individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in
a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check
the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning
the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
States.
1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase『Project
Gutenberg』is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
copied or distributed:
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
1.E.9.
1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked
to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
Gutenberg-tm License.
1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or
distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
that
- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is
owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments
must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
License. You must require such a user to return or
destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
Project Gutenberg-tm works.
- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
of receipt of the work.
- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the
Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
1.F.
1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
your equipment.
1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the『Right
of Replacement or Refund』described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
DAMAGE.
1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you
received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with
the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy
is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
opportunities to fix the problem.
1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO OTHER
WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any
provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists
because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
people in all walks of life.
Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org
Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
Foundation
The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at 809
North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email
contact links and up to date contact information can be found at the
Foundation's web site and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact
For additional contact information:
Dr. Gregory B. Newby
Chief Executive and Director
gbnewby@pglaf.org
Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
Literary Archive Foundation
Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations
($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
status with the IRS.
The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations
where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To
SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
particular state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate
While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
approach us with offers to donate.
International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other
ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations.
To donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate
Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
works.
Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
with anyone. For forty years, he produced and distributed Project
Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily
keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
www.gutenberg.org
This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.