The Van Buren press., 1870-02-01
GOOD POLICY.

NfS!oAary 70 nei!eFe we eouiu never haNe
trouble in community, however peac-
Mblc that e6miaunity may, generally, be
SO long as man is the slave Of passion,
desires and prejudice. just so long must
We EXPECT occasional collisions between
individuals, as we'll as evil results in gov
ernmcnt, betharising from a mismanagc-
mcnt or want of foresight and circum-
spection. Circumspection F" is the word
for we, are ever prone to look too much
to the past or the future, neither of which
are ours, and fail to look around upon
the faults that surround the present, which
alone Is ours. The best general rule, OF
conduct is to follow strictly the letter
and spirit of existing laws. True, many
Legislative enactments are born of preju.
dice, are to often characterized by want
of wisdom, yet laws are generally made
by law makers who are uniniluenced by
any immediate excitement Unreasona-
bic laws are more apt to be the offspring
of ignorance than passion-reason and
intelligence will soon paralize such or
oblitcratc them entirely from the statute
book.
We may safely assert, then, tina. com
munities, as well as individuals, are more
likely to move on smoothly if they obey
all the laws, even though some of those
laws may be unwise ones We arc led
to these reflections by the excitement OF
the past week, which excitement we hum
bly, conceive, was heightened by the
course pursued by some who honestly
and sincerely thought they were doing
much to quell it. Wcbelievc the erroni-
Gus Impressions made upon the minds OF
tho friends of the unfortunate man, whose
untimely death was the cause Of all, have
been removed and sound and correct
public opinion have succeeded in produc-
ing quiet in the country.
A meeting was called on Saturday last,
composed of citizens Of all political par
ties, and addresses were delivered by the
chairman, DIR. L. c. WHITE, ii. +. THoMA-
son, and others, all expressing firm de-
termination to aid the ofliccss of the city
and county in preserving peace and en-
forcing the laws. We have intimated
that "crroneous impressions" were the
cause of the excitement, we do not desire
to be understood as believing these to be
Just or sufficient causes The excitement
was equally uncalled for, whether the i'm
pressions were founded in truth or error.
No community should permit itselfto be
so far carried away by passion, as to
even attempt, to avenge any wrong done
to society by an iufraction Of the laws.
The laws carry in their own bosoms the
means of vindication. The same laws
prescribe the penalty for its violation,
and the mode in which that penalty shall
be inflicted When public offence is
committed, it is an offence not only
against particular indivdual but against
society, and every member Of society is
equally interested in seeing that the pen
atty attached to the perpetration Of the
offence is duly and legally inflicted. In
order to avoid the evils resulting from
that excitement which crowds will gener-
ate, as we'll as for convenience, our poo-
pie have vested the execution of their
laws in few of our own number, whom
we call Sherifs, Constables, Marshals,
DC. These are otherwise called peace
officers" 1t is their duty to carry out the
wishes of the people expressed by lcgis-
lativc enactments. 1t is the duty of eve
ry member of society, however, to aid
these officers in the proper discharge of
their duties, and every one who fully ap-
preciates his duty, will promptly do so.
These officers arc not above the laws and
if in the discharge of any duty, they ex-
ceed their legitimate authority, the law
holds them to strict account therefore.
Our only real danger lies in lax admin.
istration Of the law The laws are good
enough, and the only evil lies in the fact
that we are too apt to allow a violation
for policy sake. Unfortunately, it often
happens, that the weakness Of human ma
ture requires a closing Of our eyes to less
or evils, lest we bring about greater
This is to be regretted, but it is difficult
to learn how to avoid it. The method
Of ascertaining the guilt or innocence of
any one charged with violation Of law
il plainly set forth, and should be faith
fully adhered to. The only way to make
the law thoroughly respected, and ter
ror to. evil doers, is by an unwavering
and rigid administration of it. However,
obvious the guilt Of n person may be,
the law provides for The manner of his
punishment, and the community as q
body, has no right to assume the guilt or
inaict the penalty.
~ Through the cinterposition Of Hon.
A. ~