Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1852-1859, 1856-10-07
Ttoa .hs 5. j. - Tlaes.
THE BLOODY CODE.

On Monday last the editor Of the Charleston
N5reugy, William r. TAber, Jr., was killed IN a
duel, on the third Ere, with Edward MagTath
ESQ. The telegraph Immediately conveyed the
painful intelligence to this city, and we waited
for the Charleston papers Of Tuesday, expecting
20 find in them full account Of the sad affair.
But they barely announce the fact in very brief
paragraph, without word of comment The
| lsTeuTI, indeed, contains the following brief
notice Of the event:
Is our duty TO announce the death OF Hil-
liam r Taber Jr.e one Of the Editors OF this pa
per, who fell yesterday afternoon, at the third
| fire, in a duel with Edward AIegrath, ESQ IN
consequence of the peremptory challenge OF the
latter for the publication of alleged offensive
matter in this paper, the Suthor of which Yves
not called for. The conmunicati tons complained
Of had reference 20 the candidacy for Congress
of Hon. A. g. MagTath. 1t is not now that we
are called upon 20 pursue the merits of the cues
ton involved. In thepresence ofdeath-she death
of one who has been intimately associated with
us for years, and who brezthed as true a heart
as ever beat on the soil Of Carolina we bow our
heads in sorrow and in suffering, and pass by all
considerations of party conflict in the sense that
we have lost friend, true and tried, and abToth-
er in the hard duties that make up our cOnnec-
ton with the public life. It viii not be easy to
will not be often that the community will be call
ed upon to mourn over the extinction OF more
brilliant and generous intellect
judge Magrath, the person who had been bit
tcrly assaiied by three communications in the
Mercury, signed "NulliRer,n debarrea, 1t
seems, by the bloody code, from challenging his
defaincr rs Judges are not permitted to fight du-
els in defence of their own honor. A brother of
Judge Magrath, therefore, took up the quarrel,
and sent Mr.. Taber. a PerenPtory challenge to
mortal combat. The meeting took place, the
editor fell but the accusation against the char
acter of the Judge do not appear to be in any
decree diminished by the bloody sacrifice which
the code of honor demanded. It has been repor-
ted, but we do not know upon what authority,
that the author Of the letters which caused the
duel was Hon Baenbwell RheitC, who, when q
member fthe United States Senate, had declin-
ed to accept challenge on the ground that it
would be inconsistent with his Christian profess
sion to fight duel.
! Mr.. Taber was nephew of Mr.. Rhett, so it
seems that the parties in the duel had no cause
of offence against each other, but fought because
the position of their relatives-who were the
principals in the quarrel-Eorbade them 10 do
So It is another curious illustration ofthe bloo-
/ DIV code to be added to the next edition of the
/ History of Duelling. The advocates of the duel
+; 10 offer, as one Of,the great arguments III favor
| of the bloody code, that it acts as a restraint
upon mems passions, and begets q. courtesy OF
| conduct unknown in communities where the
C0d5 Oh nOIlOT Is lDLTcCOSlllStus DuI tiS idt.'tS
| of this argument is sufficiently exposed b. the
/ frequency of duels where the code is in force
Bitter aud violent rs the journalists Of the North
often are, Ii is rarely that northern contains
such severe structures on personal character Us
those which provoked the fatal duel in question.
Mr. Taber was gentleman ofremarkable per-
sonal accomplishments, extremely agreeable in
Ibis manuers, tall, well Proportioned and gentle
manly looking He was about thirty years OF
iase, and leaves a widow and family of young
lchildren. He was born and educated in South
Carolina, but his father was native of Connec-
ticut. He had been spoken of as candidate of
Congress. to fill the vacancy caused by the resiS-
nation Of Mr.. Aiken. The Mercury, OF which
Mr.. Taber was the editor, represents the extreme
southern party, and he was himself what is call
ed fire-eater of the most outre kind; be vas, as
we underestimate, of the ultra secesionist school.
in favor Of seeding from the Union under any
circumstances; while Judge Magrath is, ike
Bully Brooks, only cooperative disunionist,'
in favor of seeding from the Union ONLY in case
ofthe cooperation of one or more states. TWAS
mainly owing to the differences of opinion on
these peculiarly southern doctrines that the at
tacks on Judge Magrath, in the XercrrY, were
made, which led TO the death Gifts editor
Though the southern press is so silent on this
shocking affair, at present, we shall hear more
about it by and by.