The Daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1845-1850, 1850-08-29


been washed in the a-aoning blood of their Savior,
and fitted for their company; but you not fit to
live longer with your sinful fellow-men upon earth
Your feet will leave no stain upon the pure pave
ment of the New Jerusalem, but they would leave
the pouting prints Of blood upon the ground which
mortals tread. God may forgive, but man cannot,
the act for which you must die His broken laws
may be restored by the contrition of the guilty; but
those made by man cannot bend to mercy, or listen
TO repentance, heed its tears. Brother, take of
this bread and of this cup with me, before
you celebrate in heaven the love it commentaries
And now--come, Lord Jesus come quickly and
put upon thy servant thy crown of glory whilst fit
my noosed halter to his neck. Lord Jesus receive
his spirit Take him home with thee, to the man.
sions thou hast prepared for thy redeemed ones
Take his ransomed soul to thy bosom, and to the
bliss of thy everlasting joy; for he not fit to live
longer upon the earth with sinful men.''
Now, is there human conscience, ever visited
by the light of divine revelation, that could conem-
plate such case of private, deliberate homicide,
without thrill of horror' We have thrown around
this case all the mitigating circumstances which any
government could plead in behalf of taking human
life upon the gallows. We have concentrated
community and government into one man, with all
their duties, functions, laws and relations In the
person, authority, and power of community, he has
executed murderer under the circumstances we
have contemplated. Could a community have suffer-
cd 4ban bo Ix,t L,o &c ~
nal Could it have had better evidence of his guilt
than he Could it have executed judgment more
dispassonatey than he did? Did he not fill the re-
lation and maintain the character of any Christian
government that takes life for life, toward his fell
low-being Did the slightest sentiment of personal
revenge or malice mingle with the motives which
prompted the execution On the other hand, could
any Christian government have taken life more lem
ently, or have deported itself with more clemency
mercy, and humanity, towards the unfortunate be-
ing, than he did Why, then, should the case of
private, deliberate homicide we have supposed, be
deemed more inconsistent with the spirit and pre-
ceps ofChrisanity, and with the dictates of reason
and humanity, than any case of capital punishment
inflicted by Government?
But we have taken the mildest case of homicide
that it was possible to conceive If it seemed such
monstrous inconsistency in that christian execution
to put to DEATH in the avowed exercise of chris
tan charity one whom he believed fitted for heaven
and the fellowship of anges-one whom God had
pardoned and accepted-how must we regard the
act of deliberately sending unprepared soul to the
bar of God all reeking with its unwashed guilt-of
driving shipwrecked soul from the narrow plank of
mans probation to sink into the black abyss of a
sunless eternity, with its tremendous and hopeless
Immortality about its neck, like burning mountain
of the Almighty wrath, pressing it deeper and deep
er into unfathomabe night? If this earth be the
only praying ground for fallen man in the universe
if it be but narrow raft floating on the shoreess
ocean of eternity, from which alone souls shpwreck
ed by sin may be taken into Heavens haven of SAL
walton, o, let leave to the gultiest of our kind
place and breath to pray, as long as God will hear
Let Him, who alone can kill and make alive, deter
mine the hour when time shall be no more to the
sinner to ask for mercy. r.