Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1841-1853, 1846-10-01
Capital Punishment.
To-the Editors Of the Sentinel:
"S."-No. w.

GENTLEMEN The courts in our ciTcnit commenced
Three weeks since which time much
engaged with my business them have
vote 10 my correspondence with you. have however de-
voted what time could husband" the pennng OF
find | have not only the GaadaRating Ell WIZ at
tend TO- but Mr. {" f." is to be my regular respondent
while Mr. " will " adj few lines OCCASIONALLY In
addition TO this, suppose heretofore you will continue
TO insert in your paper las you have perfect right do
squib from other aper aiding their side Of The discussion
and opposing mine. do complain Of this; only
TO II to show the feaiful odds have to against
" solitary and alonen
You and my friend F." think should discuss this SUBJ
Ject methndcally and you express hope that will ag,ee
to the proposition Of Mr. f." to DO So will infoim YOU
both, that intend to try do If do not il will be
because cannot not because do design it.
shall pursue this argument hOdicay, the principles
oil induction The question shall try, these principles
to MD correct is, Should the municipal iac pre-
scribe and fict the punishment Of murderer
Not Should the municipal law prescribe and ufct death on
an innocent man accused Of murder,
countereter, OF any thing else Not whether the gal
lows Is beautiful ugly, whether il be the proper
shument OF death not il il be found that the murderer
should die All these matters foreign investiga-
ton propose to make Our opponents talk much about
them for Buncombe "; but il l. all CANNON and have
time TO waste in dealing in the article. The
allotted 10 here precious be thus TITLED away
Mr =" F." has chosen the place Of respondent to
have objection Let him. them meihodically reply
the facts adduce, and the deductions make from them.
have commenced with the origin Of expect TO
pursue its history, far Is connected with this ques
ton, down TO the close Of the inspired volume That book
Of paramount authority with me, aud shall disregard
every mat IS taught learned out OF
and shall implicitly yield aud aceede TO what il is found
to teach of discovery, 10 ascertain,
the principles Of induction what teaches do with the
murderer Any one who Is willing TO ascertain the truth
the question, will object either my Of in
vestgaIion. the I look But
who is sef-wied and prefers his whmS-the vagaries
Of his magnaon-to Truth, will perhaps raise OBJ
lection 10 the the oiher both For myself
Tess myself 10 be mmeasursby Ignorant compared with
that book and its Author In forty years that have lived
in this world, have picked up few items of knowledge.
but had all the little knowledge have I had
10 do it by patient investigation, and carefully study
what the teachers who had mastered The par ocular subject
matter under investigation taught IT, have yet to
eaIn the The subject under consideration
that belongs exclusively aud Supesiyely 10 The Great
of family and the Author Of creation
To him, then, apply one capable of teaching the
subject, knowing that this, on all other subjects
would be wise must leaIn have acquired know
ledge in other than by learning tt OK
pect TO.
The appellaions Of anquaied customs and notions -
and lingering relics Of savage and babaous system -
entirely misapped in this For though many OF
the and sciences many valuable improvements max
ing and have been for centuries yet in the gea system Of
Gods government Of such be faade That
which perfect " nearly eighteen centuries ag'j and
say that mankind breaking away from (s)
mels T" not showing that they advancing the
stage oil eIviiizauon out the reverse Gods system IS
susceptible Of REFORM, at least by human hand,
though the efoImers may have exalted notions OF their wis
dom benevoenoe, and humanity aud humbly conceive
myself not TO be IepehenSble JUSTLY though make
almost unyieldng opposition to attempted reform
in the system, by such hands.
will now proceed from the point at which | left my
argument where the curtain dropped The fist grand and
awful infictiOnof Capital Punhment-the Almighty him-
self being the eXcoutioner.
After the Abatement OF waters of the ,od the father
of the posdeuyian word, Noah, with his wife, his thee
and their wives descended from the ark upon the
earth emeTges from the waters-a geologic
commences stripes pogenor Of the human family
is brought the apsa system of theirani exist
ence esahShed-new privileges are granted, and new
SEs given to them. will lay part of the record
Of these matters before my readers, follows Genesis
tx: l-6
sand God blessed Noah and his sons and said unto Them
BE fruitful and multiply, and repcnish the earth Aud the
fear Of you and the dread Of you shall be upon every beast
of the eah and upon fowl of the air. upon all that
moveth upon The EARTH and upon all the hshes oil the sea
into your hand they delivered Every moving thing
that veh shall be meat for you even as the green herb
have given you all things: But sh with the life thefeof
which the blood thereof shall ye And surely
your blood Of your lives will require; the hand every
beast will require il, and at the hand Of The hand
of every mans brother will require the life of Whose
heddeh mans blood BY shall his blood be shed: for
in the image of God made he man."
This potion Of the divine record plain and be
understood any who is disposed understand with
cavil But persons who don't want understand it, in
its plain simple meaning, because that would thwar them
in their views aud demosh some Of their fine and highly
imaginative theories very industrious, add labor very
hard argue of sense and make be-
eve it means something entirely different from what il
says. 1t much to be regretted that such is the fact But
it is, and has been evef since created Some
1000 years, more before this spoken certain emf
lady was, in the way, fairly argued out oil her
sense, and made TO believe that thou shalt surely
die - when elevated into the mystic style and pro-
pery translated according 10 the spiritual as well as the
intellectual being Of its Interpreters meant we shall not
surely de,' We shall be gods knowing good and
ev From time Of that notable example down to this
time the same process kept up and il is frequently laudcd
pulled great learning, when uuy imPOHs nonsense
would be much appropriate appellation The gen.
teman who aTgsed the aforesaid lady out Of her senses
it is true, rery learned but witha he was very great
shall therefore spend time in establishing
the fact that God hen he spoke to Noah and has soRs
what he said, and not something else.
My friend F. that IN order that the above passage
be admitted argument, must that the English
version of il is a correct rendering Aud MI al. W. b.
says the translation Jamess Bible is ncorrect and
undertake to give the meaning Of the original Hebrew
as il is found in one Of The remarkable, one
of the deepest books upon the subject oil language that wa
ever published written by one " Fabre D'ofvet.''
do profess be a nguist-a critic in the ancient
languages; and therefore cannot II would, enter into
critical discussion the correctness ncoecness oil the
translation further, would IL could
because believe it 10 be unnecessary Persons who want
10 learn simply what the truth and TO yield 10 when
they fluid it out, and accordingly need none OF this
learned criticism in land like this, filled with English
Bibles of divers versions, loaded down with the comment:
and criticisms of host of learned and per-
opposite would not learn and be convinced
if you proved them, 10y criticism, that the common version
is correet have myself and examined different Eng
ish versions Of The ScIptuepehap half dozen different
versions Of the New Testament,-and though am willing
freely acknowledge that the common authorized version
is so correct in respects some Others, yet from
it any other the wort version there is extant, candid
enquirer after his duty learn his whole duty to his God
his family, himself, and the whole human family, u ne 10
good faith himself the work. But if he set down
with capiious disposition cavil and find FAULT and seek
excuses for what taught he gel
version enough for him to ean his Duty not oD
subject under but all other subjects
taught Bible II is any other science well az
in that Of morals. Take the mot ordinary school in the
country Show the boy in il who is capiIous, cayillng
and finding fault with what his teachers and his books say
and insisting that they are wrong, and III show you DO,
that makes progress in real know ledge. On the ohe
hand show boy who is inquiDs, duce, and tracaoc
and I'll show you boy that is progressing well IN h
studies and storing his mind with knowledge. Perhaps
will discoueous Of place here 10 say that a.
general rule il is those who in search OF some excuse
prctcxt for dsobey ing God and doing what he re-
ques Of them, that found complaining that the sciiP