New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1846-03-25
After The statemen, of the first, we thus

pFOceco.
i" then an e..enp: is made 70 evade The force Of Ibis
by ,ayng The taTbaros CONDITION Of the Jel-s required
ouch ieselcio1t II only involves them in sui deeper
difficulty. Il would then stand thus
" Ii the uatursl effect OF any law is 10 make men re-
vengefu erocious and form them for the commission
OF murder then, fort'oTa must such tT,cis be
SreGtr upon a bcroaroUs aad uactri-sd than npon re-
fned aaid ciriii..d people
The punishment Of death for murder is such law .
Therefore the punishment, OF death for murder has a
natural tendency 10 make barbsrous people sui more
cruel. !erocious iDauman," &c.
But tue Almighty did expressly impose such "a"
on tie osrbarous nation OF the Jews
Therefore" &c.
We all. not repeat me blaspheuous conclusion. Its
enorty heightened by the consideration thai tits was
20 DC temporary law fer the Jews hu' fancdme"at
and abiding statute 70 his shall be for statute q Hdg
,nent unto you THROUGHOUT all YOUR GENER-
ATOMS in all the places Of your taha6ning Numbers
81, 90
This was the argument which these gentlemen
were cautioned beforehand not TO muti!ate They
NAV engage in the idle and foolish business OF lay
ing this side by side with some syllogism OF their
own constructing, having only jinging resem-
blance in words, but every Intelligent reader must
see that the parts before suppressed and especially
what is placed in italics, expose at once the pa!try
trick 10 which they have resorled, and present that
distinction which, when viewed in connection with
their favore position, completely separates the
punishment from all others inflicted by the jewish
law.
There is no inconsistency, il any man holds that
sodomy, adultery, &c in consequence OF the peculiar
prevalence of sins of uDcleanness among the Jews,
iif such can be shown 10 be The fact were justly
punished with death-this strong preventing remedy
| being the only etfecual restraint, and becoming
therefore necessary on principle aside from ret
ribu,on there is no Inconsistency In this, and at
the same time maintaining, that the same punish
! ment nor, being unnecessary, might produce
sense of injustice. There is neither contradiction in
i. nor rreverence toward the divine law. Ii Is no
| bu teyrOy altOoether
out Of circumstances. Ii necessary then, it would
| not be unjust and would produce feeling OF IN
Justice. If unnecessary nOw it would naturally pro
duce that sentiment. If among the Jews the crimes
Of adultery, sc. could only be restrained by the
punishment OF death, they were not minor offences
| then If among US tine punishment would be un
necessary or too severe, they are minor offences
nor.
II Genesis tx. g. and the special reasons assigned
in the Bible for retributlon In the case OF taking lie
were all ont of the way andif moreover, facts would
permit the argument 10 stand, there might be sim
| liar view, las far consistency is concerned In res
! pect to this crime OF murder-namey, as once re-
curing strong restraining penalty, which, IN con-
sequence OF the great dminution of cases might now
! be relaxed. From this. however,-which IS the
only course of argument which they can be saved
from The charge OF infdelity,-that peculiar class OF
opponents with whom we now contend, are utterly
esopped by the strange position their own blindness
| and madness has induced them to take. They say
that the natural tendency OF the law, CT course lis
tendency at all times, Is not TO restrain, but 10 1Hcc
to murder and the spirit of murder. at gives men
| q taste of blood and makes them snuff revenge
| In another respect too, the cases are direct anti
podes. \ sense of injustice, beside that II would
not exist where punishment was necessary and
therefore just would be greater IL civilized ma
tion where the nice distinctions between right and
wrong just and unjust, are more clearly perceived
whereas ON the other hand whatever directly
tends to rouse the ferocious spirit OF murder would
| have a greater pow5r on savage and, to use Mr.
Godwins term, " an untu!ored" people
There was moreover, placed c9nspSaously in
| the argument which =" Bigot * Co" have mnlllated,
the declaration of pe1petusty specially affixed TO
t.s statute II was 10 remain as long as the Jews
had national existence, and this was 10 be as long
as they loved and observed the statutes OF the Lord
this one among the rest. Consequently they
were condemned TO hopeless barbarsm by the very
statutes The Almighty bad imposed tor the very
| purpose as be himself declares, that IL might De
ueltpih them (See Deut xix, 10y. If any thing can
be stranger than this. it is that Christ himself has
declared the very and essence OF this barbarous
law OF barbarous people, to be supreme love TO
God and our neighbor."
The charge of severity might be an impeachment
of the Divine Goodness, but the position OF our OPP
ponents attributes TO the Supreme Being degree
! of folly and wickedness, that would disgrace any
human legislator. Whether the Jewish statute was
TO be perpetual or not, the princi pie on which they
|
| through all time, and actually attaches 10 the law,
when given 10 the Jews in high her degree than al
any subsequent period If the world has grown
better in spite OF IT, as we advance, the law certain
y has been 1corSe and morse the farther we so back
| If il was useful as q restraining power then, when,
as we are told men were barbarous, and Of course,
revengefnl reckless of life and with little Je1, Of
| deatk,-if il had stsong restraining power IN the
midst of these powerful antagonist principles, much
more will it restrain nor, when men are civilized,
| of course less reveneetul, and when the light OF
religion and knowledge, as we are told, has given
ius.er views both of lie and death; and so one very
| common argument OF our opponents goes ny the
board. IT. on the other hand, The punishment OF
| death has natural tendency 10 make men nor re
vengefll,' if il n0ac forms them Tor murder and
ncites 10 its commission, much more must 1t have
had all these bad effects, when men were already
| barbarous. revengefu, more reckless OF life, and
| more fearless OF death To sum up, then-accord-
ing 10 all the known principles OF human nature, It's
restraining power oU must be greater and lis evil
instgating tendency less. When il was imposed
upon the Jews its restraining power must have been
| less and its instisating, murder-producing power
must have been greater From The prongs OF this
dilemma, Mr. Editor Bigot & Co. may wrigge of
| In the best way they can.
| This popularity of their position strongly
set forth in the syllogsm they omitted because II
presents such broad line OF distinction between
this and all other offences punished by the jewish
law, and SO etlectually shuts out all bubbles and
arguments ad hominem which may be drawn from
them. 1t is this strange property by which, accord
ing TO opponents, the punishment Of death for
murder ever reproduces murder itself 1fone should
contend that in the of adultery, &c. certain
punishment, be il what it may, has natural ten
dency' 10 make men ascivious lcentious &c. 10
. form them for adultery and "inci,e them 10 the
crime, &c. &c. then the two cases would be precise
ly parallel, and there would be like and no worse
basphemy in mputing such law 10 the divine
Legislation Perhaps Bgot X Co. may try their hand
on such syl!ogsm. The punishment of death for
adultery can have 10 natural tendency TO repro
duce adultery even in circumstances where it might
be admitted 10 be TOO severe; but whatever punish
ment tends 10 "create revenge to give men a
sniff of blood, and " 10 form for murder" must
continually reproduce murder itself.
We do not think that those who thus talk actually
mean TO blaspheme but they only find shelter
from the charge in recantng, or in downright con-
fesson of nGdelity as far as the Old Testament is
concerned. No, no. the very though, is most pre-
posierous. They have no belief that E" These are
The statutes and judgments iohtch the Lord made
fer the Children Of Israel in Mount SINAI, By the
hand of has serrant Moses
If Bigot Il Co. should attempt any more syllo-
gistca parodies lie; them remember 10 use the mid