Columbia Democrat and Bloomsburg general advertiser. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1850-1866, 1860-09-22
HUMANITY IN NEW ENGLAND.

! are more ready to crltlclsc and to censurc
the faults, ncgligencics and improprieties
of those of other parts of the Union, than
are the citizens of the Eastern States
They claim greater progress in civiliza-
ton, a more refined humanity, and higher
appreciation Of right and justice, than they
are willing to accord to the residents of
other sections of the country. Their as.
sumptions of superiority render them prop
er subjects for criticism, and as they have
shown disposition to judge the people of
other States by their institutions, customs
and notions eff humanity and Christianity,
they should be the last to complain if
their own shortcomings be exhibited to
their own eyes.
From cotcmporary We cut the follow
ing item:
| Justice WITH A VENGEASCE.-There
is n person in the Massachusetts State
Prison under a sentence of fourteen years
Imprisonment for petty larceny, and anoth-
cr for ten years for the same offence
| These fearful sentences were inflicted by
courts to appeasc local excitement! In
the same prison is man sentenced for
eighteen months for bigamy, in successfully
marrying and dcscrting four respectable
young women, under no extenuating cir
cumstances. They seem experimenting in
Massachusetts in strange way.'
And from the accounts of the recent
swful calamity at Lawrence, we take this
incident. Describing the condition of some
of the persons taken from the ruins of the
! fallen mill, the report says:
Margaret Hamilton, aged fourteen
years. This was her first days work in
Pemberton Mills. She commenced work
in the spooing room. A devoted mother
attended her, and when asked what inju-
ries her daughter had received, 'hcr arm
is broken and her head is broken, and oh,
my God (and here the poor woman burst
into flood of tears,) my poor darling is
all broken. The unfor innate girl died to-
day. The name of her mother is Mrs.
Mary Ann Hamilton. The daughter was
the main support of the mother and four
younger children. Mrs. Hamilton has
lived in Lawrence since August last"
From this it appears that a girl fourteen
years of age, just at the time of life when
she should have been receiving an educa-
ton which would have fitted her to be use
full and agreeable in society-this young
creature was, by the neglect of the people
of Massachusetts,, compelled to furnish the
main support of a family of five persons,
besides herself Of course, mother, who
would take proper care of four younger
children, could earn but little for their
subsistence and the scant earnings of this
poor factory girl had to be taxed for the
iood, clothing, and comforts of her little
sisters.
Could anything moro forcibly illustrate
the hollowness ofthat canting philanthropy
which shuts its eyes to the condition of
poor families and helpless children strug-
Cling for subsistence, and yet looks abroad
to find cruelty and inhumaDity to rcbukc
and which raises its voice in pious horror
at the iniquity of the people of other States,
and refuses affiliation with them because
they do not hesitate to usc the stimulus of
the lash to compel the labor of indolcnt
negro slaves!
Should those who arc such uncompro-
missing advocates of true principles, who
are ready 10 enter into desperate strife
for rights and universal freedom, forget
the teachings of humanity and Christianity
Can anything more strongly show the cold
hearted calousness of community than
such neglect of persons willing to be useful
as is exhibited in the case of Margaret
Hamilton The sudden catastrophe which
has crushed out the life Of this poor but
devoted girl, has but revealed one of many
sad cases which do not get into the news
papers, and consequently are unnoticcd.
The laws of all our States acknowledge
that it is the duty of a Commonwealth to
provide for paupers and criminals but
these very States which have accumulated
most wealth from the industry Of the poo
Pile, and whose leading citizens are most
loud in praise of their refinement, intelli-
gence and philanthropy, utterly refuse to
acknowledge that they are in duty bound
to do anything for the industrious and use
full. While vice, crime, and degradation
are regarded as proper recipients of public
charity or generosity, uuobtrusive virtue
is left to struggle with heartlcss avarice,
and the cold Indifference of the prosperous
and wealthy, for the most meagrc subsis-
tance.
How applicable to such inhuman disre.
gard of the condition of the destitute and
unfortunate, on the part of those who make
an ostentatious display of their own libcr-