The national Republican., 1866-12-17
THE SPIRIT OF THE, AGE Nd
VERSE To- RUNlnH NRNT ROR
POLITlCAL oFEENCE0. n =

THE SPIRIT OF THE AGE AD
VERSE TO- RUNInH NRNT RON
POLITICAL oFEENCES. z
Ever since u days Of RockrSonAx ant
EpxuSD BURKE tAe sentiment Of the civiliset
world has been growing more and more ad
verse to the inAiction Of punishment for inert
political offences. Imbued with lofty ant
expanded ideas respecting the privileges o.
the people who form the body polite Of Q
State, they found the way TO make them
known to the Court of GEORGE THE THIRD
Considering the times in which they lived
the atmosphere in which they moved, and
the prejudices they had to encounter, It is o
marvel that they were enabled TO accomplish
so much toward overcoming the notions oI
governmental severity which Heretofore pre-
vailed. For their efforts in behalf Of strug
Cling humanity their names, as everybody
knows, have gone into history resplendent
with political glory. Would that some ol
our American statesmen, who are SO impls-
cable in their feelings toward the late rebels,
might learn something from those illustrioui
examples. o.. .sa.l.n. .. Hr.....
BURKE saw the end from the beginning Of
the American Revolutionary war, and coun-
selled moderation in the treatment Of the
rebels throughout that protracted struggle.
He was one Of Americas most effective and
distinguished friends on that side Of the At
lantic. 1t was. Of him that the elder ADAMS
wrote: "Such virtues as his are the salt oi
the earth, without which no healthy popular
constitution can exist" They not only
greatly assisted the American cause by un.
folding and vindicating the rights Of man,
but all historians admit that they contributed
greatly to the exaltation of the British No.
ton itself. He supported RockxoHAx
throughout all that great statesman's Official
life, with fidelity not plentifully found any.
where in our own remarkable country, even
in this enlightened age.
BURKE fully understood in his time that
which the radicals find it 80 difficult to com.
prehend, namely: First, that there exists NO
way for furnishing large organised commu.
mites Of people for any offence whatever,
much less for those which are political; and
secondly, that efforts to punish individuals
for political offences where the whole com.
munity in which they dwell are implicated
is to be partial in the administration Of just.
ice. II his ideas were sound, as the world
admits they were, why are they not applica.
BILE to the people Of the Southf Everybody
Of sense knows that there is no way to pun
ish the whole people Of the ten unrepresented
States, and that 1t is exceedingly difficult to
designate individuals who ore more guilty
than the rest r.. .- .....
If We were to attempt to designate indi.
viduals we should name those who were edu.
Gated at our military and naval schools at
the public expense, and all officers who had
heretofore sworn TO support the Constitu-
ton Of the United States, including Sens-
tors and Representatives in Congress. But
others would disagree with us upon this
point and We should have no unanimity Of
opinion upon the subject. We have been
satisfied from the first that no exactly proper
criterion for discriminating among them can
be invented or found
Coupling this idea with the probable fact
that no jury can be found in the lately rebel
States to convict any of them OF treason, it
seems to us that amnesty for the past has be-
come public necessity. 1t may crafty the
popular prejudice in the North to have them
left unforgiven while longer, but we are
morally certain that the postponement Of
amnesty will effect no public good. We in
stinctively fall back, therefore, upon those
humane considerations which imbue the
spirit Of the age and reafirm the propriety
Of acting upon the principles advanced by
RocKIsoHAM and BURKE one hundred year,
ago,