It is true that freedom is an ideal that we wish for all the colonists in the young America to grow upon, but treason is far beyond a freedom. Freedom should be allowed as a privilege given to the peoples of the colonies and should not be taken advantage of or misused in anyway. The articles that John Peter Zenger had printed had no drop of proof or liability. Simply, Peter Zenger was stating things that were beyond the limits of freedom.
What horrifies me more than the fact that Zenger had printed potential lies were the contents of which he lied about. The colonies are under British control, and in many other places of the world, he could be punished for just treachery alone. This is not simply a matter of the "freedom of press" or the ideals that Andrew Hamilton represented. The British government is not suppressing the people, but when it comes to arguing for no reason, or for wanting to print libels about authority, this is simply unacceptable. There is no reason for alarm to arise in the colonies. Andrew Hamilton had most certainly taken this ordeal much further than was intended, and he also stated the "the loss of liberty is worse than death." This is quite severe, and as a member of the jury and a citizen of the colonies, I would also find that true. At the moment, however, we are not telling Mr. Zenger that he may not publish articles as he wishes, or that we are feeding him certain articles to print, we are simply deploring his actions when he wrote lies about the authority. Certainly, conjuring ill-meant "facts" about the government is going beyond the limits of freedoms. Opinions should also be held to a minimum, because although there is a freedom of thought, Mr. Zenger is surely creating ruckus by imbuing a young colonist's mind with fears of authority, or uncertainties in the way the colonies are run. There should not be any of these fears, as the Majesty's Government is growing a healthy new world with high living standards and fair treatments of the colonists.