The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1865-04-21

-confided 60 largely in the people that he
went without arms or guard, and the mo
ment he was entirely helpless, was taken
as the occasion to murder him. What
could have been more dastardly than the
attack ON the Secretary OF State! He
had Just been ut the point of death, and
was lying on his bed with an arm and q
Jaw broken. Yet the assassin could find
it in his heart to approach him while i'm
that condition, under pretense OF bearing
a prescription, and attempt to cut his
throat, and yet he fled before his fieDdishf
work was done.
Perhaps it should be aided that the crime.
,cas as foolish as 1t ,cas horrible. Murders
like any other sin, is always blind, and
| in the end falls upon the head of it's au-,
thor. But in this instance it was more
than usually unwise. The previous sem
timents of Booth, who has been identified
as one of the assassins, and the language.
| used by him when escaping from the the
atre, show that he intended the work in,
some way to be in the interest of the
South If all the heads of the govern,
ment had been stricken down at the same
time, we cannot say what results might
have followed. But there was little like
lihood that the plan could be so success
fully executed as to embrace SO many
persons in the blow AS the case now
stands, q severer misfortune could not
have befallen the South. Just at the hOnr
when they we're helpless, our chief mag
| istrate, who was VIGOROUSLY the best
friend whom they had in the administra-
ton, is removed, and his highest cabinet
minister, who fully sympathized with
| his views, is disabled Another man now
holds the reins of authority who, judg-
| ing by his past conduct and language,
| will be far less disposed to leniency. The
bullet which killed the President proba-
bly might almost as well have been aimed
| at some of his most violent adversaries
| cannot help noticing here some of
the causes which prepared the way for
| this crime One Of these doubtless WdS the
profession ,chich the principal murderer fol-
lomed He was tragedian, as was his
| father before him. He, with all the fam
| ily from which he comes, was educated
| in the atmosphere of the theatre Some
| persons would have us think that TRACE
dy rs exhibited on the stage, by the pow
erfnl emotions which II eXcites, has a no
| BILE influence upon the soul. If so, it is
strange that so many actors are guilty
of great crimes No my friends, on the
contrary it fGmiliarizes those who en-
gage in it or who witness it with plots of
| adultery and murder until they are
blinded by false ideas Of the enOrmity Of
such offences Booth doubtless had come
| 10 regard scenes of blood in snch light
| He is reported to have been an admirer
of characters like Brutus and Charlotte
| Corday, and to have remarked that
| the name of the man who would
| kill Mr.. Lincoln would be more i'm
mortal than that of Washington. 1t is
likely that he looked upon the death of
| the President very much Us tragedy
with which he was hereafter to be linked
May the magnitude of his offence warn
us all of the danger incurred by foster
ing such ideas. May it keep people not
only from the stage. but also from enconi-
aging the drama by their presence.
| 4noih0 cause Thich operated wds The
morbid ricW entertained by many persons, Of
the eril Of such an act. My charity IS wide
enough to induce me to believe, until en-
| idence is obtained to the contrary, that
the late sO-called government of the
Southern Confederacy had no knowledge
| of the intended assassination. am sure
that thousands of peopl at the South
| will condemn the deed. Still many 9th
ers have prepared the way for the crime
| by making light of the idea of Mr.. Lin
coins assassination. Ispeak what l do
| know from actual residence and CONVEX
satiOn there, that there was disposition
to laugh at the idea of such a murder as
| rather commendable deed. Advertise
ments have been permitted to appear in
newspapers offering to see that work of
| this kind was done for a certain sum of
| money. So false notion was encour-
aged as to the sinfulness of the act And
at last men were fonnd who seemed to
glory in the murder, of which they were
the instruments. refer to this subject
not with the design of inccnsing the
North against the South. God knows
that the bitterness is now extreme
enough. But speak of it that we all
may take care never, from any motives,
to trifle with the great principles of
morality.
Ind yet another cause still more general
IN its mature, is tie amful paSSions which cir
IL rar engcnders History has told us that
such war is worst of all We had al
ready learned the truth of history from
sad experience. We had seen cities and
villages depopulated and burning
Brother had fallen by the hand of broth
erin battle. But it remains for the aw
FIJI evil to eliminate in the fendish
murder of tae foremost man of the ma
ton. God grant that the war is now
ended, and that our people may never
again be so mad as to plunge into the
abyss of Woe. 50 ..-n- 4,
The second thing which we may con
slider is THE CHARACTER OF HIM FOR
WHOM WE MOURN TO-DAY. The time has
not yet come when the exact position
which Abraham Lincoln is enti-
tied to hold in history can GER
tainly be determined. When our Jres-
ent national troubles are completely end
ed, and this generation with all It's party
feuds has been buried, and when the in
tluences which under the present admin.
istratiOn of our government have been
started, bear their ripened fruits, then an
impartial testimony can be given with
reference to him. Still there are MANY.
things which even now with a reasona-
BILE certainty can he affirmed with refer
ence to him; and to them ow that he is
dead, almost every man will Respond
There is popular motto which, while it
may be well to adopt it in many instan-
ces, ought by no means always to he fol-
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