Vicksburg weekly herald. (Vicksburg, Miss.) 1868-1883, 1870-02-12

eide. There certainly can be no
palliatlng circumstances TO excuse
this horrible crime, nOtWithstand-
ing a maWkish kind Of senlmOn-
tality came to the relief Of the
English woman, Hester Vaughn,
in Philadelphia, WheH convicted
OF this crime which secured her
release, and raised & suficiency Of
money to send her back to her
relations and friends, If such 9
creature can have friends, in En-
gland. Notwithstanding the
North makes pretensions to all
the purity of the land, and essays
to look down upon the South in
her barbaric practices, yet infant
eide the most inexcusable and
most disgusting, as well as most
horrible of oil crimes, is of com
mon occurrence there, while with
us it is almost unknown, and
when known is confined almost
exclusively to the negroes. While
upon this subject, we do not think
we can give a better idea Of the
extent Of this practice at the
North than in the language of the
New York Express, which says 1t
has "often called the attention of
its readers to the increased infant
cides in the land, to the numerous
houses of abortion in New York
city, and TO the startling fact that
even in Massachusetts,, on Mas
sachusetts' showing-Dr. Sto-
ry and others, for example
the families OF children Of Ameri
can born parents are decreasing
about two thirds or three-fourth'
what they were, for each family
in the early history Of the STATE
= and country. In this age Of boast
r cd Christianity, and ciyilizaf ion
: the facts of history show that w
) are but barely an improvement o
= the worst reigns, from Constan
tine to Charlemagne. Parent
may not destroy childred be
. cause they are girls, nor put o.
q their destruction to the age G
It three years, in the hope that a
Is lection would prove higher th'
Il hatred and murder but there va
10 little or no infanticide until til
d most corrupting days of the En-
pire, and there was little or nor
Is in the United States until II
d more recent periods Of nationt
X vice and vanity. The ancient
- indeed, often merely expose
~ chilren, where, In this enlightene
in country, they are murdered gu
or right by direct infanticidc or abo
u. ton. Sometimes the RomaI
sold their offspring, and amor
US quite as great a crime is col
e mon in the temptations thrown
Ia. their way. Constantine, to pr
vent both the ancient crimes
re- infanticide and exposure, deere
ir- that children which could not
cir supported by their parents shou
he be fed and clothed by the Sta
Ill and we commend this old exaI
. pie to those who hold Il
ut private citizens and Christi
sects should be the sole 81
porters of the poor. Indeed, ma
nd of the DEGREES Of fifteen hundr
6. years since were quite as hum
nd, as those Of our own time, as,
eqample, the law that foundlir
os should be placed absolutely un'
ow the control Of their saviOrs, t
de. children sold could be reclaim
by their parents or their freed
ow secured, the law Of Constant
.ro- for Africa, making the sacri6
IN of children to Saturn, murd
,m- the law Of 574 making infantiC
u a capital offence. Even in the
century, a Spanish law pSnis
use intanticide with death or blindn
Int, Thanks to Pope Innocent III,
Igh- later, TO St. Vincent De Paul,
II vision was authoritatively n,
WI for the protection Of poor child
A' and as well those born out Of y
lock rs in. Indeed, but for
tan. theological respect for human
,;i. and souls-and as much in the
the of an infant as in that of an q