The western Democrat. [volume] (Charlotte, N.C.) 1852-1870, 1857-10-20
"The SacredneSS of Human Life,
And AMERICAN Indifference to Its

ment of Wake Forest College, by William
Hooper. l.. L. D., for copy of which we
are indebted to Mr.. F. III. Ivey.
The speaker alludes to four different
ways of shedding blood the public high
ways, sudden rencounters, the duel, and
the bar and the jury box. On the latter he
is particularly severe.
He speaks as follows of the blood shed
BY the public highways (Railroads):
Europe, hardened as she is by perpetu-
al wars, and crimsoned with battle-heids'
looks with wonder and horror upon our Law
ish slaughter of our citizens in time OF
peace. Such is the atrocious waste of hu-
man life among US, that it would really
seem as if our legislatures, our courts OF
Justice. our steamboats,, our railroads, and
our citizens generally, had embraced the
Malthusian system of population THAT
the increase of the species is greatly too
rapid for the production of food-and hence
wars, pestilences, and other modes of thin
ming out the redundant population, are alb
solutely necessary for the god of the world;
and thus, what we commonly call calaml-
ties, are no more calamities than farner's
thinning out his corn, or a vine dre6Ser's
cutting away the hurtful luxurianceot his
vineyard" And if Malthus's theory be
sound one, it must be acknowledged that
the steamboats, and railroads nave done
good service to their country in this res
pect; and as long as they 90 on at their
present commemorate speed, we need not
90 to war to rid ourselves IF Lodfers and to
save our LoarcS. l seriously recommend to
the legislature to amendthe law relating to
the qualifications ofjuyors, in capital trials,
and to make the presidents and other func
tionaries of railroad companies Ineligible to
sit on iuries, as wegas butchers, because of
their familiarity with blood. And as the
butchers trade IS very useful one, / re-
commend that III railroad company shall
he liable to prosecution for injuries to life
I will not say to life or limb" because
they should BE punished unless they do
their work efhctually, and put the wounded
out of their misery. Ii would be no favor
to the community TO turn out from the shat
tered cars mass of helpless cripples for
the public to feed and nurse. j recon-
mend, further, to tho grand jury, that tho
Raleigh and Glston Railroad Company be
presented for mt having rid their country
of more than five or six lives during the
whole time of their existence; and thereby
having been guilty Of raising the price of
provisions to tho present alarming rate
BE it understood, however, that said COM
pany shall not be subject to prosecution
for failing in their butchers work, during
those years when the cars had the rheuma-
tism, it being unreasonable to expect of
them much effective ocr~ieo in thor then
disabled condition.
But if it he a matter of national policy,
in these times of short crops, to increase
the quantity of food and diminish the num-
Der uf cCDsumcrS, there is plan which we
may adopt, as last resort, in case the
should fall off in the due amount
of killed. 1t is plan once recommended
" AhO DSdA C"Ill, Ou OCCdSlOH
of great scarcity in Ireland. He propos-
ed that all the fat. well looking children
should be prepared for the table. This, he
said, would have the double advantage of
increasing tho supply of food, and diminish
ing the demand. Now, should the crops of
the present year fall short, Us they did dur
ing the last, and great scarcity ensue, the
Governor of the State has only to make Sc
cret arrangements with Barnum to get I'D
n "Laby show" ill Raleigh, advertising pre-
miums for the latest and rosiest children,
(none so old as to be tough) At the same
time His Excellency should send out pri-
vnte instructions to all the starving paupers
of the land, to be ready at the metropolis,
on the appointed day; and when the mar
ket-house is full of babies, to give the signal
for general onslaught, when the famisht d
wretches should ''hie on and carry off as
many prizes as they could manage. But
this is matter we should be little secret
about, lest the mothers should get hold of it.
But rather think the railroads will save
80 Ai"hA tHo HeCeSSlLy OF so extreme O
measure as this. l recOllect, a year or two
since, some hundreds of children got on
board the cars at Philadelphia, to spend q
holiday, and have a merry making in the
country. When they got the poor little
things safely in the trap. down came anoth-
er car upon them, like q great dead fall,
and crushed the little sparrows all in
mass! Some hoped and futtered while,
but soon died. Now, what better provider
of fresh meat can we have than a railroad
which does its business in this style. In
this fast age people must travel thirty or
forty miles per hour, and while this is the
case, there is little danger of failure of
supply from these winged shambles.
This is fine work to go on in christian
land, and in the most civilized country in
the world! And what was done to the He
rods who were guilty of this massacre of
the innocents Why, nothing; and the
souls of these slaughtered innocents are
crying to God from under the altar, saying
"How long, Lord, holy and true, dost