Daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1865, 1859-11-30
WedResday morning, nov. sd, 1853.
THE Supreme Court Of Penn1sYiYania. in

Wednesday Morning, Nov. 50, 1869,
THE Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, in
the case of NesBit, Os the osssl6stb SatfK;
have reversed the. Judgment of Mayor i
Weaver, of Pittsburgh, conyietipg Nesbit
of breach of the Sunday law, in sper-
forming worldly employment by driving d {
carriage, in which were sundFy persons,
not travellers" and fning him therefor, the
sum of twenty-five dollars. As the ques-
ton of the observance of the Sabbath is
one inswhich u Q, in common with albhe-=
LEVERS in Christianity, take a deepiintsr-
est, we deem the decision the proper sub.
ject Of editorial remark ~
IN IsTersing1 the Mayors judgment of
conYicttop it must notsbe understood that
the Court decide the perfo FINANCE Of
worldly employment" not to be.af punish
able offencea Iheadecision,. which was a.
unanimous one, went entirely on the
grounds Of technical defects in the record
of convictions Tho record did not show
with sufficient certainty, that q specific
offence had been committed. So far from
attfh 5hg asiasfogate anything from fhess
Lords day,, Of nom ON ssiackening the rules of
its observance, the Court in their opinion,
delivered by Chief Justice Lowrie, Offer
the following beautiful tribute to Religion
and the Sabbath: l va .lis s1i,'
ttEvery Christian man is sure that it is
hisFeligion that has suppressed the Pagan
customs just alluded to, and that to it is
due the large advance in Justice, yenera-.
ton, truth andipurity that belong to mod
ern civilization; that it has purified and
elevated to family relation;. that it has so
elevated the moral standards Of society
that the indecencies and cruelties and
cheats of Paganism are now condemned
by custom and by law, as crimes. And
he is very sure that the Sabbath and its
institutions were the prominent means of
its progress, and are essential to its main
tsnahce and continuance"
There is, however, Que expression by the
learned Chief Justice, which, we think, is
liable to objection. Shy our Sunday
laws,% he says, I" and other laws against
vice and immortality, we do not mean 70
enforce religion we admit that to be impos-.
si6!s. S1tsislthe boast of England and is !
boast that has frequently been reiterated
from the bench, in this country, that
Christianity lisa part of the Common Law
1t is not meant by this that the Common
Law adopts tho, tenets of any particular
sect, but that it engrafts into itself, as part
of ITSELF the broad, essential principles of
tho Christian religion. These, in so far as
it is within the copability of human laws.
it maintains and :sentorccs" Certain
breaches of the Christian law, it is true,
are beyond the power of the civil magis- 4
tracy.to correct, because they are beyond
its power to discover; but, does this re-
1ieye it from the duty to punish such often
ces against Christianityas are plainly pro-
yable. through the. ordinary channels of
testimony Does this relieve it from the.
duty of enforcing such obligations of reli-
gion as clearly are susceptible of enforce
ment, through the ordinary process of tho
law3 Christianity is a part of our laws,
and, as much as any other part, must be
enforced Possi5Ee. This is the qpali6ca-
tionwhiGh the Chief Justice should have
placed in his opinions for, simply to say
that such a thing is. never. meantlto be en-
forced by the. law is to say that it is not,
law, at all .,..sE.. - -5i...-4 80
But s0hy is it not meant by the Sunday
laws, and other laws against vice, and inn
morality to enforce .religion?a Because, 1t
is answered, to do that would be impossible.
Not altogether impossible, We say. Some
of the duties which Christianity enjoin are
beyond the enforcement of human laws,
but some are not. OF course no obligation
rests on our judicial tribunals to do what
they cannot do, but so far as they can com
pei respect to the Christian religion
[WhfcE~ispart of the law of the land, y they
are bound to do so. twill not do for our
Judges to say that they do not intend.to
to enforce religion, and excuse themselves
by declaring such a thing impossible To
a very great extent it is possible, las much
80, as to enforce the positive duties of the J!
statute law, and that far Judges and courts
are bound to see that no precept be trans
crossed.
EVERY one knows what q nuisance the
omniprescnce Of newspaper reporters has has
become: The .inquisitorial spies of oiden
time, the nOstchards of Paris, arc entirelyai
surpassed by them. "A man can hardly .
kiss his wife in New York without reading
q report oft the next morning in,the jour-
nails Some spiritualist has,aIso discover
ed that tie next world is to furnish no
escape from these news CATERERS, but