Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1865-11-30
The Knife and Repeater.

These weapons are used as mer'
cilessIy, and almost as frequently
fin the streets of Nashville, as sti-
llettos were in Havana before Gov
Iernor Tacon's crusade against the
common stabbers of that capital.
That energetic viceroy had a short
way Of dealing with assassins.-
His police were vigilant and toler-
ably faithful, for he was unpleas-
antly summary with them, too,
when he caught them mapping.
His justice in ''stabbing cases
was eminently dramatic. He new
er permitted murderers to "hold
over" their lives from month to
month, or from year to year. His
judicial tragedies consisted OF
three acts-detection, conviction,
the garrote. The sequence never
failed, and the "acts" followed
each other at intervals but little
longer than these which mark the
divisions Of a play. No "excep-
lions" were taken, or, if taken,
they were argued after the screws
had been put to the criminals
neck. All this was very cruel
and arbitrary, no doubt; but it
made the streets of Havana safer,
at all hours of the night and day,
than the streets of Nashville now
are at any hour after dusk. But,
then, Tacon's criminal policy was
not hampered by multiplicity of
courts, the bungling of prosecu-
ting officers, a honeyfugling sys-
tenn of selecting juries, the qualms
of jurymen, loosely constructed
laws. the active interference of
sympathizing citizens, and other
protective agencies which constl-
tute the acis of murder in this
humane and christian land. Had
O. Graft" shot valued citizen,
like Mr.. Heffernan, in Havana,
the case would have gone imlnedl-
ately to a "court above, beyond
the pale of temporal jurisdiction.
OF course Governor Tacons Ma
poleonic style of dealing with cap
ital offences would not suit the
"genius of our Institutions" bat
it is question for a debating So
cietv, whether it would not be
preferable to the laNity which char
acterizes what we call the admin
istration Of justice in good many
cases of murder. The Cuban
/ bravo, if taken in the act, WAS
garroted "rigllt away" With US,
the knifer or pistoller, if his case is
ably .jockeyed by his counsel, and
he happens to have influential
friends or wealthy hackers, or both
/ has a very hopeful prospect OF beint
restored 10 the bosom of society
to put another six inches of stec
or half-ounce of lead into it. Ill
is quite sure Of being permitted t.
live until his crime has faded, II
a great measure, from the public
memory, and Of dying, if by accl
dent it should come to that a
last, more like martyr than I
felon. The probabilities, howev
; Ier, are immensely in favor of hi
, escape from the halter, either b.
an acquittal, the disagreement O
a jury or two, or his consignment
to the penitentiary, with livel..
!. prospect of a pardon, in the cours
: Of few years, from some tender
hearted Governor. The Tacon
an idea was, that a murdere
caught "red-handed," as tn
J. Scotch say, must be guilty; and "
) on this notion he acted with
4 promptitude that struck terror il
e to the killers of Havana, an
9 rendered homicide too dangerol
t a luxury to be freely INDUCED ]
1 by the Havancse thugs. We, 9
q the other hand, improve upon Il
II T