New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1857-03-26

49,, We rss Nsw.YosK rsiBvsE thoroughly vvrscd
and eiense Of vne a.d. E: se;o- nc a.
,~,m,ned not 70 b. o1tdone BY either TIE Nsttnai Police
Gosns ,! I ~ -. % ~,
csrnips cur eishbor but 10 absolutely forced upon
US pa, fors os.n, 1s s' E ~
dsS parent feels n.tnctivey that and
The asht and contemplation Of coarse eepIa', as moi
b.. .'p. .ds y,. ~ WEES sh1 Bui. .ht
yns In. IL. !Si s af H.. sv
N its so.sness loses all its evil ard becomes
don md gfs IN the Exhibition Of
nothirs toward making them public oenesc.o 1e c.o
en bs ob,e.nes and most disgusting Public shows Of
vice IN ia most oshsOms aspects have not yet been
in ths Christian land sen,s o. 'oc r,, lam 70 hod these
tbins until that good time CONES nen
.oee, .ho.e Opi, aim .hs be qualification Of the passions
when suttony hall be virtue sndeveiy one ,ss ony sIn
,@s SIsn ss % S1s 81 sf Ss
g.0:.ie md IL have the III. Of p.sU h ind foil
sction Bat get somewhat nearer than We are now
to u. ' .ng Of the S.
10 worth preserving, and that there nothing NOR
ou mon i, Of vice In its most modest spects Families
porpbaanxea Jet and TIVE TRIsuSE must endure tn tu
longer"
Comments By The Trtxse.
So far as the above may seem to bear the
character ofpersonslty and disparsgement, we can
afford to let it pass without remark. Whether
the power and influence Of The TRIBUNE have
been exerted on the side Of Vice or Virtue,
Lewdness or Purity, the public will judge.
When this paper was established, Adultery and
Seduction were not accounted crimes by our
S ate's laws, nor can we remember that The
Courier and Enquirer had ever sought to have them
~. Tha ~ NJ ep and
we did our best in favor of the change, which we
still heartily approve. Whether L" the grati6ca-
" ton of the passions" has been more EN- 2hsticay
the aim of the conductors of this journal or
those of our censor opens range OF inquiry
which we do not court, but which we certainly
do not shrink from. We do not doubt the sincerity
of eur critic, for we recollect that when the Mag
dalen Society issued its startling expose Of the
social corruptions of our city The Courier and Es-
quirer was foremost in acknowledgement the whole
sale depravity thus unveiled, but the temerity and
want of decency evnced by those who revealed it.
We differed thep as we differ now, aud probably
.hall continue to differ. For that Venetian delicacy
whose effort is not to leave undone, but keep I'M
knowp," we never had any respect And our
Judgment to-day is that scores are lured to moral
ruin through absolute ignorance OF the arts of the
llbertne where one is corrupted through the pub
hcity which they sometimes obtain. Aud we be-
lieve the great mass of those who either indulge
lewd desires of their swn or make gain from those
of others concur entirely with The Courier in the
position that such matters too gross and indie
cent for public exposure and discussion.
The propriety of publishing the details Of fragrant
crimes as educed in the culprits' trials, is by no
means free from difficulty. We have given it much
consideration and are not inclined to dOgmstize
concerning il. 1t is our decided conviction how
ever that Cain would not have killed his brother
Abel day sooner If he had read q Crimisal Ga
zeas every week of bis life. 1t is not ignorance but
knowledge that guards men against the mastery of
evil passions and fortifes them against the prompt
pgs Of unhaowed desire. Not in the cases where
lechery subjects it's slave to exposure, shame and
punishment, but in those which yield him only graf
fcaiion and sensual delight, is found the impulse
which prompts others to sin.
If the application of POpes trite qustrain BY
The Courier be correct, it cannot be restricted to
one class of vices alone, but journals should sup
press the details, and even the occurrence, Of all
crime whatever. If familiarity with the existence
Of vice or crime leads men 10 " first endure, then
"pity, then embrace surely, it was wrong. to
publish any account Of the Huntington fOrgeres
the recent garrotngs, or the Burdell murder. Nay:
the most authentic accounts Of the Border Ruffian
outrsges in Kansas should be suppressed, lest they
should impel our staid New. York and New England
citizens 10 burn their neighbors houses, slaughter
their cattle, and massacre the victims Of such ruth
less spoliaton. If the fundamental view taken BY
our censor is sound, then newspapers in general
must be the greatest curse ever let loose on the
human race.
But the condemnation does not stop here. The
Courier finds POpes idea with its application sus-
tanned by sacred" well as "proiane" authority.
This impels US to state the notorious fact that, il
the doctrines of our censor sound then the Bible
must be one of the most pernicious and depra0ing
books ever printed; for it is studded all over with
such details and variations as The Courier 80
sweepiDgly condemns. No other book deals more
boldly and freely with crimes against sexual purity
no other places them more exactly level in all re-
spects with other fsgrant misdeeds. If il be wrong
and demoralizDg to speak unreservedly of this class
of crimes, then the two Testaments ousht to be
revived and expurgated. Why should not our Men
tor undertake that task and let THE TRIBUNE
slOpel
Let US say in conclusion that, while the animus
of our detractOr is clearly betrayed by his con-
GLIDING paragraph above quoted, we are yet as
anxious as he can be that vice should only be ex;
bibited in our columns Ia such manner az 70 cause