The true Democrat., 1857-04-28
Crime and Retribution.

The interest in the FRAZER murder near Lexington, Ky, two years ago, has been re- vived by the recent outrage committed on GRIGa, the supposed murderer The Louis- vile Courier gives the following history of the facts:-
 Frazer returned home, after an absence of some months, on the 3Oth of September. 1854. Mir. Casteman, his business parn T, conveyed him from the depot a. Lexington, to Mir. C.'s farm, and after having supped there, Mir Gas. teman took Frazer to his own farm. Castle- man returned home, received intelligence of Frazer's death and was back at Frazer's house within forty minutes of the time he had left him. Frazer was shot through the wrist and stomach and liver. The story told by Griqg. the overseer, Frazer's wife and daughter was that Frazer immediately after getting home asked for his gun for the purpose of killing rats in the yard! He had child asleep up stairs, who was the idol of his heart and he did not even take time 10 go to see her alter his long separation from her. There was no evil demce to show that he had ever had this remar- kable propensity for shooting rats. prior to this tatal night. The ncul pated parties said, that as he walked through the passage he stun bled and fell, and that the gun went off at that tlme and Killed hlm. An attempt was made to show that the cock of the gun met soma obstruction that started it, but as that expls- nation Is based upon the idea that that could be done in pushing gun it is preposterous.- Frazer was fine sportsman. and the story of his stumble and accidental shot involves the idea that he had caus ht the gun near the mug zle with his light hand and had the muzzle pointing toward his left side, with his left hand pressed to his side. more improbable story never was invented.
 variety Of circumstances fastened a sus. picion that Grigg, the overseer, with the con- nlvance of the wife of Frazer, had murdered Frazer. The coroners jury found verdict against them, the examining court held them over to answer a charge of murder and the first petit jury failed to find a verdict The second jury, selected from another county, ac- quilted them, because the only direct testimony was that given by the daughter of Frazer, a child eleven years of age. She told the same story that had been told by the overseer and her mother. The community of Lexington and of Fayette county were deeply excited and a conviction of the guilt of the parties impli- cated prevailed. We know of Predictions made at the time of the trial that the child whose testimony saved the parties would be put out of the way, ln order to guard against the possibility of an awakened conscience. and but short time since the announcement was made that her clothes had caught fire. and burned her so dreadfuly as to cause her death.
 After the burning of the child and the sale of the farm, Mrs. Frazer left her friends and country, met the simple, unsophisticated country lad," Grigg, at safe distance from Lexington, married him and settled in Marion county. The public sentiment was shocked with this remarkable recklessness which seem- ed to amply confirm the suspicious that were SO common in 1854. But, as the law could not punish these supposed offenders, they should have been unmolested by violence. Ia an evil hour some misguided persons entered the pre-. mises of MT. and Mrs. Grgg. and inflicted upon him that penalty which Origen, the great Chris tan writer, inflicted upon himself through a mistaken reading of Matthew xix: 12. We deeply regret that any one conceived himself the avengcr of that for the punishment of which the law felt itself poweress, through lack of proof.
 la the presence of the alarming progress of crime, we think it the bounden duty of all who love the Christian religion to apply it's correc. tlves to the maades of the times Neither the laws of the land, courts, juries, nor execu. tive funchonaries can exert tythe of the good influence that can be made to flow from 6 faithful exhibition on the part of each Chris- tan, of the regenerating and transforming powers of that institution which is dvnely warranted to cure the wickedEess of the earth II that institution Is made active iu all its powers, a new era will dawn upon the human race The experiences of the first, second, and thrd centuries of our era amply vindicate the power of Christianity to perform all we have indicated. The earth has no substitute for it.