Cincinnati daily press. [volume] (Cincinnati [Ohio]) 1860-1862, 1861-02-11


this is apparent on the face Of the Sunday
statute ITSELF which, since il ig 10 be further
criticised, shall quote: The ffst section Of
the act DEGREES, "that if any peSson Of the
age of fourteen years and upward, shall be
found on the first day Of the week. com
monty called Sunday, sporting, riotiDs,
guarreling, hunting, fishing, or at common
labor works Of necessity and charity only
excepted) be or she shall be fined in a sum
not exceeding $5 nor less than 81: Pro
yided that nothing herein contained shall be
| so construed as to extend to those who con-
scientiously do observe the seventh day Of
the week as the Sabbath; nor to prevent
families emigrating from travelling; water
men from landing their passengers; superin-
inteDdents or keepers of toll-bridges from
attending and experimenting the same, or
ferrymen from conveying travellers over the
waters. or persons removing their families on
| such days"
Observe, that the circular speaks of the
sabbath as q civil institution )" but the
statute calls il uniformly by the old Pagan
name; Sunday-Day of the Sun; Dies Soils,
as the Romans called it. The sun was wor-
SHIPPED on that day. The law does not even
call it by religious name. In the case of
| Bloom Vs. Richards, the effort being to inval-
idate contract because it was made on Sun
day. Judge Thurman, in the Supreme Court
| of Ohio decided that ahe contract was valid,
In giving this opinion, the Judge said:
We are then to regard the statute under
| consideration as q mere municipal or police
| regulation, whose validity is neither strength
ened or weakened by the fact that the day
of rest it enjoins is the Sabbath-day. Wisdom
requires that men should refrain from labor
at least one day in seven, and the advantages
of having the day of rest fixed, and so fixed
as to happen at regularly recurring intervals,
are too ovious to be overlooked. 1t was
within the constitutional competency of the
General Assembly to require this cessation
of labor, and to name the day of rest. 1t did
so by the act referred to, and in accordance
with the feelings of majority of the people,
the Christian Sabbath was very properly Sc
lected. But, regarded merely as an exertion
of legislative authority, the act would have
had neither more nor less validity had any
other day been adopted"
The conclusion of this opinion of our Su-
preme Court, in which the Judges were
unanimous, is so forcible that l must quote
it: 1.-THE law in question is penal statute,
and is, therefore TO be construed strictly
Such statutes are not to be extended by con-
struction." But to allow men to make bar
gains on the Sabbath is to let them desecrate
that holy day, and it should not be granted that
the Legislature would suffer that" This is
the language of the modern English cases,
and perhaps it is consistently used in q coun-
try where Christianity is part of the law,
and in which there is an established Church
and an omnipotent Parliament. But the
| General Assembly of Ohio is not, as we have
shown, q guardian of the sanctity of any
day. If it may protect the first day of
the week from desecration, it may, in like
manner protect the sixth day, because it is
the holy day of the Mahommedan, and the
seventh day because it is the Sabbath of the
Jews and the seventh-day Baptist. Nay,
mn TnQU fbo
days, which, by some of the churches, are
| considered scarcely less sacred than the Sab
| bath-day. But were the power conceded to
| the Legislature it has not attempted to exer-
else it, 1t would, in the opinion of most
Christians, be far greater desecration of
Sunday to go to an infdel lecture on that
day, than to buy tract of land; and yet, the
former is certainly not unlawful. The
statute leaves man to study atheism or the
Bible on the Lords day, as ne may see fit; ;
although, in the judgment of most men, the
former occupation is as vicious as the latter
is laudable. "In a word, we repeat that, le-
gally considered, Sunday is merely day Of
rest"
Thus, with admirable cearness, are we
given right understanding of the law un-
der which we live. And who is there that
does not approve of that law? We might ap
peal to the better judgment even of those
who sometimes violate it, and they would
! say that it wasj just and wise. In the Persian
code it is written, "Immemorial custom is
transcendent law" In other words, insti-
tutions which come with the credentials of
many ages and lands have transcendent
hold on the confidence of men; so long, so
wisely have they been tried, so genuinely
have they survived the wrecks of the chang
ing world, that they must be in alliance
with the profoundest principles of the uni
verse;. Men will always know that where
there is highway there was reason for a
highway, aud is still, unless some better
way has been made. And nothing is more
authentic with mankind, than the DEGREES of
nature, which have given to all climes and
ages, their day of rest. The nature of man
is the perpetual Sinai from which the eter-
nal law forever thunders and as sacred as
is the law of labor, is that of rest. The day
with its toll is alvin to the night with its
repose. Sleeplessness is disease. "Mind
your stopsW cries our wisest teacher, ma
ture; there can be no sympathy without
casual rests-no well-written page without
punctuation; the hour must have its comma,
the day its colon, the week its full period.
These will be to your life what rhythm and
music are to fair thoughts. And this YER
dict has been confirmed even so far in the
detail as the seventh day rest, by singular
unanimity of nations, widely different in
origin, habits and religion--an agreement
which can only be accounted for by suppos-
ing that the average need existed in nature,
and grew out of experience. The French
tried to substitute for this division, the rest
on one day in ten; but the order was re-
voked, the Psychologists having agreed that
sanitary laws required one of rest in
seven, at least. AT any rate, whatever the
grounds on which il stands, the law
stands upon the Statue-book, q sanitary
ordinance it stands there by the
will of the people, an institution made for
man, and not for his oppression. Why, then,
this organization outside of the regular ad-
ministration of the laws, this selfconsti-
tuted police force, to create a sensation about
this particular statute? believe this to be
the reason: This Society wishes to enforce
something not in the law. That is the why
the New Sanhedrim Police is formed. Our
law is too free and latitudinarian for them
it does not enforce Puritanical pietism ii
is not dyspeptic enough. In this Judgment
we are confirmed by the perverted state
ment of the laws contained in the Commit
tees Circular, where they state their object
to be ITO suppress HetVS- crying, liquor selling
theatrical and other dmusements, and what
ever else is violation of the laws prohibit
ing common labor and amusement upon the
Sabbath" Now the only true intimation in
this paragraph is that common labor and
liquor-selIing on that day were against the
law. 1t is not only against the law to retail
liquor on Sundays but on week. days, with
certain exceptions. Now let US see whether
this COMMITTEES will bravely come forth and
concentrate their powers against this real
evil. Let us see whether, out of the one or
two thousands of genuine dollars contrib
uted, we shall find genuine good returning
Let us see how brave and honest these men