New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1859-04-27
TPJAL OF DANIEL E. SlCKLES,
.. CHARGED WITH THE
mRDER OF PHILIP BARTON KEY.
,,xF-TEENTH DAYS PROCEEDINGS.
,,sTRIcT-ATToRNEY GUILDS SPEECH.
Itontmnc1.I

be,, upon which all questions Of this kind rest,
nj from which they al. spring, namely; the sacred
saa Lnusn life The family relations, coqueutly
r..ad nv gentlemen the other side spring out Of
Hnu!s, l;fe. they IRE such relations social in
iss; character affecting not man individually, but
lg;ng out Of the relations OF society Human life is
Tsfaf eround which all such poetrcs this
tW e.LA ~ is the grand trunk which supports the
vI-o;pg glories Of the family relations. There has
o~. Lsen n civilized nation, never code OF laws,
-, or divine, where the sacredncsS Oi human life
haha . ers and foremost receive all the sanctions
GU ~ iosn society Itself could gather around it, The
sde human life it, first care, and all concur that
ss human and divine law unite TO give such
p.;on. To- life viii best secure It's preservation.
az trnly and well said by the learned gentlemen
~ ~ p,bcr side that adultery drives wife from her
t,LL.,d's side, and sewers those whom God
800 fogeiher. II is true that such iniquity
ba pder desolate the hearth-stOne, but Is II not
ns! nv irne tha, by taking away human life house
ss4@ ;s,sy be wrecked! is one e. be cured by the
IT, II has been contended by the counsel on the
.b., side that adultery Is sin laofan IN Sc, but he
ODD had seen no book, no treatise relating to mod
sc;esy where il j. 80 registered. III So then the
cln s ~ 9nrishnent not only belongs 10 the injured
1,,sshsnd himself but 10 any person no matter how
.nnch stranger to the husband, who might become
;,ness 10 the adultery. 1t has been contended, ON
s,h.y hand that there is mitigation by the pro-
ane az the New Tcstament-but is tins so! In
40 beautiful illustration Of Christianity, which has
-, read in the hearing OF the Court, taken from
d. ,.ccrd OF the loved disciple, the principle,
A.
.an o ns well g. its peculiar phraseOOgy.
nm ~ there spoken Of by Divine Master; and
,Lc aduheress could receive His forgiveness, II could
IN the same principle be extended to the adulterer
~ evidence has been suggested that previously the
J,,a,ey himself had been seized by enraged null
.,rde on by the husband aud slain. There Is no sug
,eson in Divine record thst any such thing occurred
IN, say the learned gentlemen, the Roman law pre-
.asd tbere Does that alter the case ? The Savior
80 ,bere spaakng OF the nature of the sin, and not
;rssrnretipg a particular law. Besides, the Roman
and Jewish law far as the parties were caught nthe
net were one and Identical In both cases the SIN was
listed with the penalty of death, judically admins
red that this was so must be apparent from the New
and Ola Testament. In proof OF this he referred To
deuteronomy where the very method OF trial, through
each successive STEP was expressly written down IRON
tbe mouth Of God and in this case extending to some
-,y,ept Ia the principles Of our very law. As to HIM
,ccused of adultery which was SO henOUs Ia the He
brews il required the testimony OF two witnesses to
convict him. and the testimony was to be given before
judicial officer. In Illustration OF me same Fact he
o1oted from the 3st chapter of job lh verse where,
In peaking Of the Oense o. adultery, the following Ian
guage i nsed;
Fo tli. henous crime yea It is uiqui.y 20 be pun
ished by the Judges
He next quoted from the 18th chapter Of Ezekiel,
10th verse to show that not only the aduterer aud the
murderer but any man who begat a rObber, or a
sbedder Of human blood, idolater, or Insurer,
should receive the same punishment at the hands OF
fhe law adulterer. Not only Is there command
party who went out and gathered sticks ON the Sab
bath was stoned to death. Ii has been considered by
vrers on both divine and civil law, that this peculiar
judicial system was confined to the Hebrews gwen by
God himself and that this judicial system has not such
a divine sanction az is expressly commanded to
be observed by men in all future time.
In the very same chapter of Leviticus where the
penalty of stonng TO death is expressly written the
lat verse in the chapter visits the same punish
ment without qualification parties possessed with
familiar spirits for being witch or wizard; ana
vet denunciaiOns launched against an ncOrTupt-
lbc Judge and Jury in England, because when he sat
the bench carrying out the DIVINE las" ne VISITED
the penalty of death certain witches and wizards
who were brought up for judgment. H. from the iact
of this Divine order among the Jews, 1t was to be
considered authority, far as adultery is concern,
ed and its spirit TO be observed III TINS age, ana
under our system of law the eminent luris; was not
only correct in his Judgment, but IN this day IT be-
comes your Honor Ia visit the same penalty on
witches aud wizards as wei as on uturcrS' No man
can take up the Old and the New Testaments, and
look into them with spirit of candor, without coming
10 the conclusion that there Is the greatest
and marked distinction between the Elm
of adultery and that OF murder An IL
lustration was given in the chapter quoted by MI
Graham, Of Simeon aud Levi, an authority CON
ferred by the Divine law for the punishment of the
oensc OF adultery they having killed the raViSher OF
their sister Dnah. II Il had occurred TO the learned
gentlemen to read further, he would have found that
when the aged father about to gather up his bed
that he might depart to his fathers, when he was III
spred by prophecy, and his lips touched, "a 1t were,
with A coal from Heavens altar he SAID 8" cursed he
their anger for il was fierce and their wrath, ior II
was cruel Where is the language for other offenses
ar crimes II is written all through the Good BOOK,
in such language that there is qualification attached
to it. lie referred to Exodus, chap IL verse l.; lie
that smiteh man SO that he die shan be surely put
10 DEATH" and Leyiticus, 9th chap, 18th verse:
" And he that killeth any man shall surely be put 10
death; and Numbers chap. -, verse 10, And II he
smte him with instrument of iron so that he die, hens
murderer the murderer shall surely be put 10 DEATH
Nav more the avenger Of blood himself might follow
him and put him to death sc. II reaches back carrier
than that Il was almost the first divine decree made
by the Creator with regard TO the offense Tie referred
20 the 9th chapter Of Genesis 9th verse, ana to tle
peculiar reason which was given by the mouth OF Je-
hoyah why the penalty should BE- inflicted the she'd
der of human blood, Nv hose sheddeth man blood,
by shall his blood be shed, for IN the image OF
God made lie man. " lie Is the temple oi the Holy
Ghost SAYS the New Testament, and he who pursueS
him for the purpose of aSsalliug him, commits a sacr
iege against God a. well otiense against man.
Tie says what he himself calls divine, and has made
his temple. With regard 20 the punishment inhcted
IN former ages on adultery he Mr. Ould) preferred 10
stand ON the great monuments of the law with the
sanctions and authorities which had been gwen To them
He did not read the ancient law as Ii was quoted 10y
the defense, aud read from the hrt book "i Black
stone a. follows: " Ii takes another IN the act
Of adultery with his Wife and kills him directly upon
the spot though this allowed the laws OF Scion,
and likewise by the Roman civil law II the adnherer
found in the husbands own house ana also among
the ancient Goths yet in England il Is not absolutely
ranked in the Of justablc homicide, as IN the
case of forcble rape" The distinction j. taken, as
in common law, making the distinction between the
party caught and found as the word Is used by
some authors but subsequently purSUeS and o'erakeS
the offender and executes summary vengeance. lie
challenged proof to show that any code hal received
The appreciation Of any civilized people wherein the
adueer was allowed 90 be pursued after the fact and
slain. II had not been shown to exist anywhere. In
tracing this down We come to the material point al
the inquiry and the question l., What Is the inter-