Alexandria gazette & daily advertiser. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1817-1822, 1817-11-01
ALEXANDRIA:
SATURDAY,. .NorEMRFn l, 1877.

! cessary to supply their own want of an
! attractive assortment by fiatteriEg the
people AID feeding their vastly, to insti.
tute comparisons between the moral ha-
bitudes Of this country and those OF Eu-
rope, greatly to the disadvantage Of the
latter, and making tLeir estimates upon
the accounts given in public prints of the
judicial sentences passed upon offenders
in England, to exagserate the criminal
account OF that country, as if the balance
were greatly against it on thc score OF
moral dePravity. But that this is an err
ror can be easily demonstrated. In the
first place, an infinite multitude Of those
offences which, in England, never fail to
be severely punished, are not, among US,
always brought under the cogn;zance Of
the magistrate, but connived at, out of
mistaken tenderness in some, and by the
indOient habits Of the people in general
respecting such things; and sometimes
the inferior magistrates, for one reason
or other best known to themselves, slur
! over offences which ought to be punished.
There is now, tor instance, net far som
US, homicide walking about at large on
, inconsiderable bail, who, in England,
would be fast ironed in prison, and If
what was sworn in the first instance be
proved at trial, would be hanged. There
are more murders committed in the Uni.
ted States in one year than in England
anu Scotland in fiye-( do not even in
cIude duels.) And on the account Of
this most tremendous Of all crimes, En-.
gland Is comparatively so clear, that even
IN their most furious and mischieyeus RI
OTIS, in which h1uses-nay, streets have
been burned, aud thousands of property
destroyed, there is not an instance with
in the las! century Of any Of the mob
themselves ilubruing their hands in blood.
In lord George Gordon's riot not Ike
was taken By the rioters. The same may
be said Of the Birmingham riots. For the
extensive and frequent commission oil
forgery we surpass the whole world |
taken together. In the very important
business Of pecunilry obligation aud the
duties OF debtor to creditor no complri.
son can be fairly instituted; since the
same detention of money, which il uni.
forlniy the subject of coercion and penal
ty in Europe, is here scarcely remediabIc |
by law. And with respect to gambing,
ii that be crime, We afford iucomp.ra-
bly, more subject matter for reprnach than
the whole dominioas which Britain Dos.
sesses in all parts OF the world taken TO-
gether, since it may be doubted whether,
in some large portions of our country,
there be ole tavern III five that is not a |
constant place OF rendezvous for gam-
bisrs. And this is the vice which, beyond
all others, strikes deepest at the mvfals
of youth.
Plato being informed that one of his
disciples Was fond OF gaming, reprmand.
cd him for it. The disciple excused him.
self by saying he only played Tor tlilc.
" But" said Plato, " do you reckon for
nothing the habit Of gaming, which play
Ing for trHc will make you cont act :"
Lctrchsr, the German fabulist, he.
the following spolaSue: " A man who
had ramb!ed about the world for some
time. at length returned 10 his native
country. His friends ilucked to see him
every one expressed joy az lis return,
and each was DESTROYS that he should re-
count to them some OF his ADVENTURES
Inc budget Of miracles was presently O.
Pened. Among many other things, h.
said, you well know, my friends, the
prod sious distance frcm this country to
that inhabited by the IIuIons: well, two
hundred leagues beyond that | saw
species Of men who appeared very sirgu-
lar to me. They would often sit round