The Cleveland leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1865-1865, 1865-06-06
thooId JEFF. Davis be mug :

70 pOsberlty- IL CONTAINS y germ -Wh1cn
viii produce either sweet or bitter fruit in
abundance Hence the responsibility which
rests upon the government is of q chArsc-
ter tee most solemn and ~far-resehing in It's
efscss. Its course should be directed by
the dictates OF pure and impartial justice
It's deibers tions should not be fuliied BY
the spirit of revenge, nor he final Judgment
Influenced by sentimental mercy. !,
Though the present generation are so
familiar with the awful consequences of
rebellion that an example may not be
necessary 10 deter them from q repetition
offs horrors, yet = time must come, in the
distant future, when the events of which
we have been the witnesses Will be known
only through the medium of history
Many of the acts of cruelty and barbarian
words" will either pass into oblivion, or
become neutralizsd by conflicting histori
ans-some giving credence to Northern,
q others TO Southern accOUnk-ss TO
leave the minds of many readers in q state
of unce rtainty as to whether they ever
occurred st oil. A halo Of romance, too,
will have gathered around the brave
deeds of both lOyslist and rebel. Then, if
it shall become the duty of history to por-
tray the remaining years OF JEFF. Davis
lie, as an exile in fJrtign land, surround
ed by every en- ort and luxury, and court
ed By troops of friends and admirers, the
enormity Of his crime will naturally be
miLigsted In the opinion Of thousands by
the perfect responsibility and decOrum OF
his private life Well meaning people viii.
think that 20 exemplary q character in al
the relations OF private lite, may have been
unfortunste OF deceived, but that he con
scisntiousIy believed in the business of his
cause, thsthis motives were pure and pa
triotie, and thaG he seriously supposed the
rights of the South endangered by the
cleo ion of Abraham Lincoln. La this way
Eympathy for the man will begst clemency
for the crime. Men of INSCRIPTIONS am
bition, TO whom an immortality of iLfamy
is preferable to that undistinguished obliv.
ion which is the lot of the generality o.
manSind, viii see noting in snch a career
10 deter them from e~ndeaVoring to initiate
his example. The existence of jefferson
Davis, but for his treason, they will say,
would be known only to the occasional
searcher Of musty CoEgressionalrecords as
q Senator from the State of Mississippi, OF
respectable abilities and questionable NOR
atty in matters Of finance.
We think it q mistake TO
suppose that the GnnihilatiOn Of
slavery has removed every pretext upon
which to found another rebellion. Self-in-
terest one of ths mos powerful passions, is
common to all men, and to all periods
Questions of banking, tariff, taxes, manu-
fsctures and agriculture will be used by
unprincipled sgitstors FOR their own, eleva-
ton to power, ss well SIS to creste %jeslOusy
and differences Of opinion between the diff
terent sections of the Union, and also with
the general government 81
L. il. well understood thst the mass Of
mankind in this as well IS every other
CIVILIZED country, have neither the time,
patience nor inc instion 10 investigate for
Themselves every important question that
arises snd that they take their opinions
especially in politics, from certain organs,
or msn who from their known ability are
generally recogu'z,d as leaders. The
statements wni n they endorse are in nine
cases out of ten taken by the people upon
credit. In q word, they are the mOulderp
OF public opinion, the educators OF
the people. 1t cannot be expected that
ali parts of the Union will be
equally prosperous under the most wise
and ~bene6cent system of policy that it il
in th, power of man to devise. Those
parts which languish will be more or less
~discontsRfed and anxious for change, aud
.con.equently 10 ~scondition to be Influenced
by u~nprinGipled demsgOgues.
r. on the other hand, j # Davis shall,
after a fair and impartial trial, be convict
ed of treason, and suffer the ignominious
death due to 8 traitor, his very name will
be regarded by posterity with adherence
The most willy and ambitious plottes will
recoil with horror at the idea of following
such an example and meeting such an end.
Would the memory Of the traitor Arnold
be SO universally detested by the people of
tbs country, if he had been captured,
tried, convicted of treason and then ban
ished by Washington ? They would con-
clude that there we're e~xtenuating circum
stances known only to that great and good
man which, in his opinion, lessened the
traitors guilt. rear ere
Such a sentence in the case of def Ds
Wis, would, indeed, merely consdmms.e
under the auspices of the Goyerpmens the
object he had in view when interrupted-by
the unreasonable visit Of Col Pritchsrd
Posterity will SAY, that the death penalty
would not have been RENTED in his case
but tor reasons which dstifedsuc q course
The moral irfIencs Of death upon the
scaff5ld, IS q common criminal would be
much more. potent and enduring in its
eff ,o;s than death ia the course of nsiure
as the exiied President of the Confederate
States of America, and surrounded by all
the p~asesntry of woe. ,l.-rlg
Had JEFF Davis succeeded in making his
escape from the country, before the muir
der of Mr.. Lincoln, the people generally,
we think, would approve Of leaving him
&c. his own Conscience, and the Judgment of
mankind. But now, since Providence has
placed him in the power ofthe Government,
bsnishment would be considered a virtual
confession, on our part, that his crimes
were not of s. ficient magnitude TO war
rant the extreme penaltylof the lAY.poIt
would be an indirect acknowledgment that
the danger of punishment is diminished
by the greatness of the crime. sBgJ .7r }
In a word, we hopsIhis generation viii
Mace upon record the valuable dOctnnsEO of
Lord Bacon, that high treason . not
written in ice, that whenthe body ~relSnteth
tbe impression should 20 away
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