The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1866-01-25
Communicated !
To the Citizens of POcahOnIas County.

II
Inancient times the heathens of Greece
and Rome erected statues and affairs and
temples Ito the Goddess of Peace. The
Pagan throng worshipped at the shrine
and the rich and the wise deposited their
most valuable properties within the pre-
cincts of the temple, and under safe
guard of its sacred name. We, too, in a
better age and with higher purpose,
have reared temples of peace, consecrat-
ed in thousands and devoted exclusively
to His service. If four years ago, when
we only knew war in ITS poetry and TO
nance, we failed to enter with the Chris
tianiworshipper, the fame wherein Is
taught peace on earth and good Will TO
man" it is strange that after seeing 1t
for four long years in its Tavages and ITS
results in the green mound which marks
the battle-held-in the shattered forests
in the razed and desolate village-in
the widows and orphans it has made,
that there should at this late day be a
man found in Pocahontas whose voice
is still for war" Yet it is so; and at an
hour when Justice and Mercy and Peace
meet in the Executive Mansion and en-
brace and and kiss each other; here
among the high thrones of omnipotent
nature-the ballot box and the temple
of Justice itself-are called into requisl-
tion to keep fostering the wounds OF the
| cartridge and the bayenet, and as con-
| consequence, we have thirty indictments
for murder, thirty,four for larceny, twen-
ty-three for robbery, and Others for
minor offenses, and all growing out OF
- hr-
| der orders pedR"nte bello.
These cases come before us, not as
Union men" but as Magistrates, to be
tried, not by passion, hatred and lll-vlll,
but By the laws of the land. The crimes
of murder, larceny and robbery were
we'll and we'll defined long before
the war. Ill killing is not murder. On
the contrary, homicide in legal sense,
signifies the killing of a man by man,
and this killing may not be felonious-
Hawk. c. 26 Murder is the killing of
any person with malice prepense, or fore
thought, either expressed or implied by
law. Malice is the chief characteristic
by which murder is TO be distinguished
from any other species of homicide. lst
East P. c. 254; Russ POI. Foster 262
Hale p c. 472; 3 Inst 81: 3 GreenI- 10,
and Wharton on homicide.
1t is unlawfm killing that is murder.
War is intended, and does most nntortu-
nately under the claw of nations, make
killing lawful When Bellona, with her
purple scourge, seats herself upon her
thrOne,-when the bloody mandate Is
sues and the Furies become the minis
ters of her power; reason, religion, hu-
manty and municipal law, become 81
lent,-aud LIFE, wherever 1t breathes-
on the uuruffied ocean, or on the rugged
shore, perish under the bloody cutlass;
and proUerty wherever secured-the gold
in the rich mans Golfers and the savings
of the poor mans industry-become the
prize Of the bloody vulture 1t matters
not that Napoleon exclaimed, Warts the
trade of barbarians;' that Byron has
struck his Tyre in condemnation OF
Those blood.hounds from whose Wild
Instinct OF gore and glory, earth has known
Those sutferings Dante saw in He'll alone
or that Burke has spoken "of those mas
sacres which have devoured whOle.cities
and nations-those wasting pestilences,
those consuming famneS, and all those
furies which follow in the train of war
or that he charges the whole of those eff
fects on political society or that
"thou shalt not kill, and thou shalt
not steal, stands law, without eXcep'
tion, in the statute.bOOk of Heaven, for
as soon as the declaration Of war is made
the trade" becomes honorable" and
the killing and taking OF property by
the belligerents lawful, since lnle the
second, (Nattel's Law of Nations, Book
III, Chapter XII page 3s2 1917 is IN
haze rerbd, whatever ls permitted to the
one in virtue of a state of war, Is also
permitted to the other belligerent. u
And we must not forget that rule the
first is (ibid y 1870, that regular war, as to
its effects, is to be considered just on both
sides" and as a consequence, inasmuch
as the Fedorals having killed, burned
and taken the properly of rebel cItI-
zens" Of Pocahontas, it became lawful tor
rebels to do the same, since sauce Tor the
goose i sauce for the gander' in state
of war, and the KILLING (Eattel, Book Ill,
Chapter XIII. page 3l7, 1897 and the
taking ibid, page 5-I, y 1881 became
lawful And when an enemy has sur
rendered, if guilty of breach OF the law
of Nations, and particularly when he
has violated the lava of war, 1t ~ law
ful to kill him. (ibid, page 345, l4l }
If killing is murder, why does It hap
pen that no indictments are fonnd
against Young and Allen, and their par
ties, for the killing OF Gay, Burgess, and
othersl the shooting Of other citizens,
and taking of horses and cattle, robbery
If houses, ctc2 The law is no respecter
of persons or parties. 1t cOuches alike
BIZ the cradle of the infant and protects
its slumbers from violence, without in
curing whether its father Is a Union
man or a secessionist; stands by woman
in her loveliness, without dreaming that
it was possible for a being, true 10 his
manhood and the divinity within him,
to inquire the politics Of her husband,
father or brother; has for its throne the
bosom of jehovah, and for Its voice the
harmony of the spheres. And with our
oaths registered in heaven, to admins
fer the laws of the land, it is idle for
radicals TO waste their time IN abuse
of ms and our decisions. OF 10 question
our LOYALTY and devotion to the Union;
for we are determined to be loyal to the
laws Of the country, aud true 70 our
oatbs of Office. in spite Of malice or
ravino crowd. If we, therefore, incur
your displeasure, citizens Of Pocahontas,
il shall be for remaining faithful to the
laws and true 70 the fundamental prin-
ciples of the EConstitution. Every man
shall have a fair and impartial trial;
shall have the right TO be confronted
with his accusers; 10 call for witnesses