Maryland free press., 1863-02-13
Bobberies Of war.

Common robberies are induced by want:
but war commits them by choice, and often
robs only to ravage. A man who rushes to
the highway to rob, maddcncd by thesight of O
famished family, may plead powerful temptal
tion., But armies rob, burn and destroy in the
coolest malice. e Seea file of men, well fed and
well clothed by a great and powerful nation,
proceed on a. foraging party. They enter a
retired vale, where peaceful old man by
hard-handed toll, supports his humble family.
Tho officer Soolly points with his sword to the
fe~ stacks6f hny and grain, laid up for winter.
Remonstrances are vain-tcsrs are vain. They
Bear of his only supply; take his COW, bis pet
lamb; add insult to oppression, and leave the
ruined family to an almshouse Or starvation.
Aye but the poor old man Was an enemy, as
the war phrase is and the naughty soldicry
claim merit for iforbearance, because they did
not conclude with burning down his houseir
The seizure or destruction ofpublic stores is
not less robbery, A nation has no more right
to steal, from Eation than an individual has
to steal from an individual. In principle, tie
act is the same; in magnitude, the sin is grca-
ter All the private robbcries in thousand
years arc not tithc of the robbcries of one
war. Next to killing, it is very object of each
party to burn and destroy by sea, and ravage
and lay waste on land, Iii lnalign and
ineacusable barbarity, and constitutes stu
pendous mass Of theft. ..r.. .....
In one Of; the Punic wars, Carthage, with
100000 houses, was burnt and DESTROYED SO
that not a house remained, The piunder
crried away by the Romans, in precious met
ais and Jewels alone, is reported to have been
equal to fire millions Of pounds of sRrer.-
Who. can compute the number of similaf
events, from the destruction of Jerusalem to
that of Moscow? Arson, that is the setting
fire to an inhabited dwelling is, in most coun-
tries, punishable by death. But more of this
has been done in some single wars, than has
been committed privately, snce the world be-
gan. Wlien some william sets fire to house
and consumes it, what public indignation-
what zeal to bring tojust ce! If, for success :,
on Of nights, buildings are fred, what gcaeral
pa lic! Yet how small the dist ;ess, compared
tsshat r,:l,inls & .liss t.sirv
city. In one case, the houseless still find shell
ter, the laboror obtains work, the children
have food. But oh, the horrors of gener
ruin! 1 Earthquake is no worse. 81 'i.
1t should not be overlooked that great
part Of the private robberies in Christendom,
may be traced to the deterioration of morals,
caused by war. Thousands of pirates received
their infamous education in national ships
Thousands Of thieves were disbandcd soldiers.
War taught these men to disregard the rights
of property, to trample upon Justice and re-
fuse mercy. Even if disposed to honest labor,
which military life always tends to render
unpalatablc, the disbandod soldier often finds
himself unable to find employment. The in
dustry Of his country has been paralyzcd by
the war and the demand for labor slowly res
curs. The discharged veteran therefore is Of
zen compelled to steal or starve. ......
Thus war, by its own operations, involves
continual and stupcndous thefts, and by its un-
avoidable tendencies, multplies offenders who
in time Of peace prey upon community.--Dr,
Mdlcom ..,'