Spirit of the age. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1849-1865, 1860-10-31
The Spirit of Lawlessness.

Perhaps one of the most discouraging and
damaging signs of the times, to every true pa v
triot and lover of his country, is the prevalent I
spirit of lawlessness abroad in the land {
Grim was never more common. The press G
of the country teens with the recital OF the
most brutal and horrifying outrages upon per- i
sons and community. Scarcely a day passes, !
that we do not hear of murders committed in
cold blood, of rapes, seductions, burglaries,
thefts, incendiarism, hand to hand fights, at
trays with sticks and clubs, with pistols,
b~owie-knives and other deadly weapons. Ten,
twenty and thirty years ago, many Of these
crimes were so rare, that their occurrence ex
cited general interest and concern. Now
these follow in such quick succession, they
are looked upon as ordinary exhibitions of
bad passion, soon to be forgotten.
In former days, all crimes against the law,
excited general disgust, and a universal dis
position to detect the guilty and bring them
to justice. Now every man, except the Off
GERS of the law, feels he is exempt from all
obligation to aid in the suppression of crime
dHo bihSLHS OllcllOcIS W JuSIlCcs l1hiIiS IT.
fuge at once under the otherwise almost neg
lected proverb, THAT every one should mind
his own business" Officers of justice have
become timid and laggard, more no doubt
from the backwardneB of society to sustain
them in the discharge of their duty, than from
any feeling of cowardice. The Courts have
become, instead of Halls of Justice, theatres
for the display Of eloquence and forensic abil-
ity, in the defence of crime and the violation
of law; administering justice so timidly as to
make law-breakers anxious for the notoriety
of the criminals seat, and reckless of the pun.
ishment awarded crime. The bigger the ras-
!, cal, the more heinous the offence, the better
!, the man, if he has money to bear him out in
his crime. And thus it is the law is cvaded
> community outraged, and justice fees from
l the temples of the law.
v That this spirit Of lawlessncss is pro
# duced by the laxity with which the law is en-
n forced, is, perhaps, u~nfounded, but that i
o promotes and encourages crime, no one cal
e doubt. The cause lies still deeper and abacl
" of this, and may be traced to various sources
- Perhaps it has its beginning in the genera
neglect of family discipline and government
n aggravated by the natural corruption and d.
a. pravity of the races.
u Many politicians, looking more upon tt
to surface of things, are wont to attribute it
We the defects of our political system. Its den
~ %ocratic basis and tendencies, they think, a
Il -.1-l IL L =. o.lI, IL -,
h, ing sad proof of the incapacity of the Peep
IN for selfgovernment. Hence we have been
to late, but little startled at the suggestions
re men of all political parties, who profess to b
b. lieve that the only remedy for the spirit
JUS lawlessness which prevails, would be found
If a stronger government.
zen We are no politician, and more than tn
en- we are no ~partizan. But We feel bound
ds. dissent entirely from the sentiment. Y
doubt if the world ever produced a better s.
tenn of government than ours. Executed a
administered according to its intent a
luh meaning, and carried out in all its ramifi
'" tons according to the wise ~counsels of its f
mers, it is restrictive enough and strC
81 enough for all the ends and purposes desi
ed to be secured by it. If in its practi
workings, it has betrayed any weakness
defect, the remedy has been at hand to MI
it; but these, we are inclined to believe,
not the result of any radical defect of the
tenn, but they are abuses in its administrat
which patriotism would easily remedy,
III" which partyism never will
But we did not design to discuss the p
!" ical aspects of this question. Its moral
lures belong more properly to our PROVING
~ The facts are patent to every one, that CT
is rampant in the land, and that it rece
less check from the due and proper adm
tration of law, than at any other period Of
"ao history. What will most effectually chez
is an all-important question.
long u,un =, now s;mn,o sobor all :
uoo- Gus habits the proper administration of
lily discipline, both among children AM
rror, mestics the suppression of spirituous OF
-orld. bolic drinks as a common beverase III,
%tivation Of truth, honesty and the avoit
of profanity the promotion of christian
ne"ls moral education the suppression of ext
some ohuduo
-" youth, and the prompt and ready supp
all our citizenship in the proper cxecuti
-. the law, would soon Danish from our la
+bose r,,;no,S tendonc;cs Of our srstom
oaiiie every patriot must deplore.