Evansville daily journal. (Evansville, Ind.) 1863-1866, 1865-05-18
MagnanImlty on the BraIn.

are RfieVously tormented Win magnaDi'
NIFTY on the brain. They have the dis
ease in It's most virulent form. There
is reason to believe that it will battle the
slall of the most resoiute and expert
eEced physicians, and il it does not kill,
will ruin, the victims Of its assaults for
all time. The approaches of the disease
are insidious---iis results disastrous.
Common sense, consistency, law, equity
and justice are destroyed by it in detail,
and the result of its ravages, upon the
future generations Of our country, are
fearful to calculate. One of the effects
Of this insidious disease is that treason
comes to be regarded as the most harm
less of crimes. Murder is deemed less
worthy Of punishment than petty larceny
The Wholesale starvation of 60, 700 pria-
oners--the flower of the Northern States
and the stay and support Of hundreds
Of Northern homes-prOvokes less indig-
nation than the stealing Of horse or
the robbing of barn.yard. We are a
nsagnanfmOus peoplel Justice is de-
throned and banished. Henceforward
the most terrible crimes are TO be regard
ed as chivalrous vagaries only calcu-
lated to bring into bolder relief the mag.
nanimity Of people truly great.
Messrs Bowles, Milligan and Horsey
we're tried before Military Commission
which sat with open doors They were
proven guilty, by the voluntary confess
ion of their own accomplices, of plotting
revolution in the State of Indiana. AS
sassination was TO be one Of the ele-
ments of that revolution. The streets
OF our cities were to be sprinkled with
blood, and anarchy and ruin were to de-
stroy our homes. The citizens of Evans
vile know the character of the conspira-
tors who were to have the management
OF the revolution in our part of the
State. Little mercy could have been ex-
pected at their hands. As here, so would
it have been all over the State. Riot
and bloodshed would have reigned su-
preme. This was the scheme matured
by those incendiaries, This was the
harvest of blood for which they so care
fully prepared the ground and sowed
the seed. Our people we're preserved
from the horrible catastrophe through
the mercy of kind, overruling Provi-
dence. For weeks they were upon the
verge of the fiery gulf without being
aware of their danger. They owe
their escape more to accident than
to foresight. Convicted Of these heinous
crimes, Bowles, Milligan and Horsey
were sentenced to death. Owing. how
ever, to Mr.. Lincoln's superabundant
kindness of heart, he could not sign
their death-warrant, and their execution
was postponed. But his kindness was
misplaced While he withheld his hand
from signing the death-warrant of sssas
sins he was stricken down by the hand
Of an assassin. Had Booth failed in
his aim, or his pistol missed FIRE, he
would have been no less an assassin and
deserving Of condign punishment. Nor
can we see that Bowles, Milligan and
Horsey are any the less deserving oI
the same punishment that ought to hay'
been awarded them had they success
fully carried out their devilish scheme
Of arson and murder.
But we must be magnanimous! W.
must not take vengeance into our owr
hands. We must show ourselves merci
full The conspirators failed, therefore
we can afford to be lenient But cal
we not also afford TO be consistent
Shall We punish petty crimes and par
don the most atrocious? Shall we con
denim the poor starving wretch who steal
loaf of bread, and forgive and smil'
upon and feast and applaud the scoun
drels who have starved our friends an
relatives by thousands, or who have heel
convicted of plotting arson and murde
in our midst3 What has become of tn
common sense of the people2 Wha
has gone with their consistency Ha
their sense Of justice been strangled b
the blood Of their murdered friendsP
It was to be expected that the new
papers of this State who were in syn
pathy with Bowles, Milligan 4 Co., woul
protest against their punishment
T fellowfeeling makes us wonderous kind.
n But that Union men, whose lives wei
to be taken in case the conspirators pV
their scheme of revolution into opers
ton, should either desire or petition Il
u mitigation of the punishment of Il
% criminals is passing strange. Is ther
no possible remedy for Magnanimit
: on the Brain" President Johnao
; realizes what would have been the effe,
2 of Bowles' plot, had it been successful
" carried out, both upon our own Sta
and the country. He regards the tr'
tors as deserving of death. But
weeks he has been beset with petitio
and petitioners praying a mitig
ton of their punishment, until,
- doubt, be is impressed with the id
~ that he alone regards them wort
Of death. Nobody viii petition h