Wheeling times and advertiser. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1839-1849, 1845-11-21
NEXT NEWS FROM EUROPE.-The
steamship Britannia, from Liverpool for Bos-
ton, has now been out fifteen DAYS.
From The Charlottesville ~Lefersonidn.
JAMES Ii. JCREY.


JAMES II. JUREY.
This young man. it will b. recollected, a
weeks since was indicted in the city of
for forgery. AT his trial he plead
guilty in both of the cases brought against
him, and was condemned to the Pcnitentiary
Tor six years, being the smallest term allow
cd by law. In this community a considera-
BILE degree OF interest is manifested i'm his be-
half, and various petitions from our citizens
have been sent To the Chirt Executive of the
for u pardon. After receiving these Pc
%ti,ions, Mr.. Jurey writes to a friend in this
place the following letter, which we publish.
not only because ot the pcnitence manifested
in it, butrhat it may serve as a beacon TO warn
the youth Of the country To flee from tcmpta-
ton To commit wrong act. Let them re-
member the case of Jurcy and beware. He
stood high, but alas! has fallen, and is now a
condemned criminal.
RlcHMoND. Nov. ), 1915.
My Kind md Faithful Friend:
desire To present 10 YOU, and through YOU
To the kind people of Charlottesville and vim
cinity, a small portion of that gratitude which
an unfortunate, ruined victi m To worldly am
bition. feels Tor the prompt and decided effort
made To deliver him from the doom of u cou-
d;mned criminal; and In save a poor. crushed.
heartbroken wife from a life Of misery, and a
dear little innocent babe from that degrade
ton aud iniamy which the execution of the
sentence of the law must entail upon them.
! know not what NAV be The action of the
Executive when the memorials are presented,
but be il favorable or otherwise, let my future
destiny in this life b. what itmay, / shall ev-
er bear with me a grateful remembrance of
of the kind pcoble OF dear old Chorlotts.
Vile.
/ recall the time when | went amongst
you, a poor, fricndlcss, ignorant boy, with
out knowledge or experience TO guide me-
how kindly | was taken by the hand, coun-
SEIZED and warned of the tenptationst To which
! was exposed; and in a short time elevated To
a respectable standing in society. l remcm.
Der that four short years ago, no young man
in your community could have been happier
no young man possessed higher prospects OF
aiappy aud cloudless future: none looked for
ward with more pleasing and joyous anticipa-
tons To a long life of happiness and useful
ness. ALI! sir, | was happy, truly happy, FOR
| then possessed all that | desired in this life.
and loved my God. The thirst for money and
ambition 10 be rich and great in the world, had
not taken possession of me; | was content
with little, and had one predicted my sudden
downfall and misery, ! should have indignant
ly and confidently replied, "ls thy servant d
dog, that he should do this thiDg"l
i embarked in business with fair prospects
OF success; but soon as the cares of business
began Ia accumulate, l became neglectiul OF
my privileges and duties as a christians; the
world gradually took possession of me, /
learned to look upon afIlucnce, honor and dis
tinclion as the highest created good; / imbib-
ed the belief that men are estimated in socic-
ty, rather by their wealth, than by their vitue,
and that tribute is paid to q mans purse which
cannot BE- demanded for his character. l an
ticipatcd a period when l should be called to
move In a different sphere OF life, when !
should possess fame, and enjoy all the graft
~fications which wealth and luxury afford; | in
dulged the thought, that | would be enabled
to rcquite the obligations of parents and
friends, to supply the wants OF the poor and
afflicted; and to promote the interests of
knowledge, religion and virtue. lndulging
IN these iancied dreams OF greatness, while l
labored with unwearied industry for the meat
that perisheth, | grew neglectiul of that meat
which endurth unto everlasting life.
The passion for wealth took such fast hold
of me, it marred all my happiness; | could not
make money fast enough, and hence my mi
grations from place TO place. i finally moved
TO this, and here might have made a comfor-
table and independent support for my family,
but for this ruinous ambition. ] not content
with my ordinary business, made several hea-
Wy and ruinous speculaiions, sunk all my
capital, and found myself largely and heavily
involved in debt. What then did lido? Did
l., as an honest man, come out frankly and
confess my situation? No. ] thought that
would at once be a death blow TO all my hopes
OF future greatness. | kept up as long as
possible, uatil my liabilities began TO press
upon me-; at length finding myself in urgent
need of a few hundred dollars. to sustain INV
credit, and hoping yet to be able TO extricate
myself from all my difficulties, in a moment
of weakness | yielded TO the temptation to
commit an act deeply criminal in the eyes of
God and man. Since that moment my cxis-
tencc has been n hell on earth-not one mo-
mcnt OF peace have ] enjoyed: and, to prevent
exposure, ! had TO keep up a repetition of the
offence for several months, until at length /
was detected.
When ! committed the first act, il was
with the expectation that j would BE- able TO
meet IL when il became due, but finding nv
self disappointed in this, | had To continue.
| determined after 1 found myself so involved
in the difficulty, that if exposed | would not
escape, but endure the consequences. have
had II IN my power to have gone beyond the
reach OF the laws, with large sums Of money.
before II detection could have been made, but
this was never my object; | desired to pay all
| owed and not to- defraud any one of any
thing. And my liabilities are less now, than
before | committed this crime; for | have
been successful in business several months
and applied every cent | made to the extin-
punishment oimy debts, or invested il in Goods,
all OF which gave up at once. This, though,
is no justification OF my offence; | have sinned
grossly against the Laws Of my Country, aud
against God. | was confidently looking for
ward to the time " hen this crime would cease
for ] designed taking up all the paper | had
out, and issuing nc more such; all OF which |
should have accomplished in a short time but
God Jaw that it was best that ] should be
exposed. ! had been very wicked, had wan
dered lar from Him, made an idol OF the world,
and was in a iair way 10 perdition. | trust he
has used tins Chastisemeut to wean me from
ttp world, and bring me back to Himself
There is no perioi of my whole life when
the blow could have fallen so heavily, as at