The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1852-11-18
THE sOUTHsIDE DEMOCRAT AND THE VIRGINIA
FREE DEMOCRACY.

The SouthSide Democrat, of Petersburg, Va,
feels outraged that any citizen of the "Old Do
minionn should dream Of voting for Hale and
Julian. 1t published, before the election, a
brief abstract of the proceedings of the Free
Democratic Convention held at Woodstock, and
amiably recommended a resort to Lynch Law.
Nov, we are no advocates in general" it
says, of Judge Lynch but we do most earnest
ly hope that, if single scoundrel dares to cast
his vote for this ticket in this State the citizens
of the community will coat him with tar and
/ feathers, and ride him on a rail Things have
come truly to pretty pass in Virginia, that
we are to have an infamous set of knaves in
our midst, preaching doctrine such as this"
! The Southside Democrat is edited by pro-
apostolic maxims was that Terror Of opinion
may be safely tolerated. so long as reason is left
free to combat it," The disciple has turned his
back on his master, and embraced the Prin-
ciple Of the old Alien and Sedition Laws, which
is, that reason being unequal to the contest
with error the appropriate weapon against the
latter is Force Worse, however, than the old
Federalists, he would dispense with the decent
forms of Law, deliberately passed, and appeal
to unregulated, brute Force
Now, we submit to our contemporary whether
it would not be better to resort to legal enact
ment against this set of knaves' He can
easily find pattern in the laws of Virginia and
Maryland, in l662, passed against the Quakers,
who, contrary to the law, do daily gather to-
gether with their unlawful assemblies and con-
gregations of people, teaching and publishing
lies miracles false visions, prophecies and doc
trine, condemning and thereby attempting to
destroy religious laws, communities, and all
bonds of civil society," The Quakers were the
"knayes" of those days, or "a cursed sect of
heretcs," as they were styled by the Massa-
chusetts General Court. Perhaps the enact
ments of the old Puritans would suit better our
well-disposed contemporary. They enacted that
the Quaker should be arrested, be delivered to
the constable, be stripped naked, from the
middle upward, and tied to a carts tail and
whipped through the town, and thence be i'm
medately conveyed to the constable of the next
town towards the borders of our jurisdiction,
and SO from constable to constable to any the
outermost town, and so be whipped over the
border" This course Of treatment was to be
repeated whenever he returned, until the fourth
time, when he was to be hung!
In view of these humane examples of what
may be done by law, we hope our contemporary
will recall his suggestion about Lynch Law.
Let everything be done decently and in order,
after the old Federal or Blue Light " pat
tern. If you are going to tie citizen of Vir
ginia to a carts tail, and whip him over the
border, and finally hang him, for exercising his
rights as a freeman, for decency's sake do it
according to Law
As to the effects Of the intolerance manifest
ed by the SOahslde Democrat let the Past in
struct us. "a new law of Massachusetts, SAYS
Hildreth, imposing fines on all who attended
Quaker meetings, or spoke at them, did but
Increase the disposition to speak and hear In
spite of whppings brandings and cropping of
ears, the banished Quakers persisted in return
ing They focked indeed to Massachusetts,
and especially to Boston, as to places possessed
with the spirit of intolerance, and therefore the
more IN need OF their presence and preaching"