New-York daily tribune., 1843-02-28
H. EW-YOR

county Of Middlesex woa Id be required to DO, and
does greatly exceed the proper line of his duty,
allowance for such circumstances ought unGues-
tonably to be given to him"
From these decisions the writer draws the fol-
lowing conclusion =
Away upsn the blue water, therefore, and in the
distant camp there are times and occasions whom
necessity is too urgent to wait on the measured
and stately gait of the law. High-handed mea-
sures must frs, be taken, despite all human laws,
and in obedience to g the reat first clause of the
constitution of himself, written upon his
heart by the hand Of Onnipotence-' PREsE RYE
YOURSELF In such cases. justice tries with
her balance both the animus which prompted and
the necessity which governed. If these prove un
bending and true the plea for noble justification is
trumpet.tongued, and the ministers Of the Law
merciful.
This article, which is incomplete, presents seye
raj cases of decisions and executions equally sum-
mary in other military offences. The number Of
cases presented, and their characters are very strk
ing-and show very clearly 'hatin repeated inslan-
ces measures as prompt and summary far the sup
preston of mutiny and deseriion as could we'll be
conceived, have been taken and fully justified
We copy the following -
Lord Camelsford, of the Favcrite sloop-of-war,
ordered Lieutenant Petersen, of the Perdlix, to
guard in English Harber. The Lieutenant
refused and shot dead on the spot. His Lord
ship was tried by 3 court martial; and, the court
being fully sensible of the necessity of prompt
measures ncases Of muliny, unanimously declared
him to be honorably acquitted.
But to nearer home.
In 1885, Colonel Parish ordered Lieutenant
Ward, of the volunteers in Florida, to be arrested.
The Lieutenant threatened TO shoot any one who
should attempt to arrest him, and no one would
attemptit. He was then himself shot down by
Colonel Parish. We make an extract from the
finding of the Court of Inquiry ordered on the oc.
casion
" The Court is Of the unanimous opinion that
Lieutenant William Ward was killed by Colonel
r. C. Parish; the said Colonel Parish being in the
legal execution of his Office, and that ho is fully
justified, from the circumstances of the case, in
doing So"
In the debates of 1920 on the Seminole War,
Colonel Reed, Of Maryland, stated from his place
in Congress- that when he was Lieutenant,
commanding an outpost, he appreheaded desert
er, and caused him to be executed on the spot;
that he then cut off his head and sent it to head
quarters, whsre it was hung up IN terserem, and
thereby restrained desertion.
A very striking case is alse quoted from the his
tory of Gen. Washington. During the Revolu-
,iasry war the soldiers Of the Pennsylvania line
demanded certain privileges and revolted. They
were granted as an act of prudence; but the New
Jersey brigade caught The infection and made
like demand Gen. Washington, feeling that the
case was one Of urgent necessity, and that unless
the revolt was crushed by summary means the
mischief would extend indefinitely, Immediately
ordered Gen. Howe to march against the mutt
neers; and gave him this explicit command "if
you succeed in compelling tie rcvolted troops TO
a surrender you acW instantly execute a feao Of
the most actire and most imcendiary leaders"
The Messenger contains number of critical
papers, among which are that by the late Miss
Lomax on Racine The conclusion of Pref. Mime
gerode's paper on the Greek Dramatists, and
notice of Miss NJ L. Davidson. " The Fair Maid
of Flanders A Sunday in South America, De-
scliption Of Naples and Scenes in the Army
are titles of some of the remaining articles. From
literary notice of Wlight's translation of La Fon-
taines Fables we copy the following anecdote;
La Foutaine, the bon.homme us he was called,
was the friend and companion of Moliere, Bol-
leau and Racne and though married to woman
for whom he cared little, ne fought his most lnti-
mate friend I" to satisfy the public" The public
thinks that your friend Poignant visits madam, and
its expected you wiIlcall him out y said ne shbor
to the 6oa.homme. The next morning at O'Clock
La Fontene called on his friend in bed, and asked
him to come out. Poignant followed in aslonlsh-
ment, and when they had reached a retired spot,
La Fonlane said, "My friend, we must fight. =
Poignant disarme! him, asked to know the cause
of the fight. The public maintains, said La
Fon,aine, :" that you come to my house daily, not
to see me, but my wife," :" 7rotest, then" said
the other, will never darken your doors again
con the contrary" replied La Foataine, 81 have
satisfied the psbc, and now you must come to my
house every day, or will fight you again.
Congressional Doc, Sd May, 1920, No. ll9.
THE CnrusrlAN OBSERVER. American Edition; Vol No
2 February, 1913. Joseph Masen Two Dollars per
annun