Iowa territorial gazette and advertiser. [volume] (Burlington, Iowa Territory [Iowa]) 1840-1846, 1842-12-03

WINCH they visit with the lash must be such as are
otherwise punished in the cirlixed world at least
in that part of it called the United States This Is
wrong. and ought to be Set right a 1t will not do
| for Iowa to interfere with the privileges Of the
Navy. Ut American citizens may be logged a.
ioat. where they cannot he the n,selyes and their
government .ciH not. that is no reason why low a,
whch IS not aloat. but decidedly on terra firma !
should follow the barbarons example, and give il
the sanction Of legal enactment. Public opinion.
IN respect to tins matter must cak into Iowa as it
Is about to sail into the Navy. Fine, mprison, or
lianS American citizens, il you will. according as
they may deserve it. but don't degrace them with
tie LASH
The above copied from the sBal,imore
Sum- may be taken as a fair specimen Of:
lecturing, which we, Of this Territory,
are now receiving from the newspaper
press in almost every part Of the coun-
try, upon the subject therein alluded 10.
Quixotic philanthropy can find no sufii-
Gent objects at home on which TO exert
ITSELF but Rosinate is mounted and a
sally is made iato the benighted regions
Of Iowa. to redress the fancied wrongs to
which humanity is here Subjected
Whipping, as punishment for crime, is
declared to be species Of .sLynch-L Law
Our courts are said to have disgraced
themselves by directing its infliction, and
our Territory is held up to the pity and
scorn Of tho 'scir,lised world,'' as a
heather country, where soucl, barbarism
is tolerated. Perhaps these philanthropy
lists will not think it amiss il we take the
liberty Of capsising tho whole train Of
their refined sen,imentality, by giving
them the facts Of the case that has fur
nished them with the theme Of all their
pathos and wit.
At the last term Of the District Court
in Van Buren, County, one Henry stivers
was indicted for horse stealing. The
crime having been committed in the In
dian country, beyond the limits Of any
organized county in the Territory, he
could only be punished by the laws Of the
United States. 1t was the first case Of
the kind that has ever arisen in the Terri
tory, and but few Of the acts Of Congress
were then within the reach Of the court !.
Reference to the law Of 1890, showed
that whipping was the punishment tina.
had been provided by Congress for this
offence, and in hopes that less brutal
punishment might be found provided in
some more recent statute, the court di-
rected the trial of the cause to be trans.
ferred TO al adjoining county, in order to
give opportunity for thorough examina
ton Of all the laws on the subject. Such
an examination. however, only resulted
in disappointment, and by reference to
the most recent work that has been pub
lished on the subject, it will be seen that
the court did not mistake the law. [See
Kinne's Digest Of U. s. Criminal Code,
page III The law was therefore admins.
tered and the punishment took place &c.
cordingly.
And now let us ok all those editors,
whose humanity appears to have got SO
far ahead Of knowledge, wherein. tho
Legislature, the Courts, or the people o:
Iowa are to be reproached Tor what has
been done in this matter? Nay, do NOT
your reproaches fall upon your own
heads? While you were condemning
US, you probably little thought yon were
passing sentence against yourselves.
Laws are made for US, not BY u.s. made by
your own Senators and Representatives
in Congress assembled, wherein we have
not single vote, and yet you taunt US
with the existence Of such laws! Much
as they are disnpprovcd Of our Courts
perform their duty and carry them strict
ly into effect, and you call this s:I4ynch
Law" Such system Of ethics and die
tionary Of definitions, have never been
adopted in this Territory. It seems ID
US, gentlemen, that your own houses are
Of glass--ours Of cast iron, you wish tc
engage in the business Of throwing stones,
on MacdufT!
The following, which we clip from one
Of our exchanges, is an excellent hit upon