Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1870-12-06

'.Whoso sheddeth mans blood, by man shall his
blood be she'd"
/ say taken in an unlimited sense, it will
apply to all cases of self-defence, to all cases
Of war. do hot contend, gentlemen, that it
is so intended. believe it means whose she'd
| deth blood, in the sense that have given you
the definition of the law whoever of sound
mind and memory unlawfully takes the life of
anothe-. 1t cannot mean cases of killing in
| ,eif-defence, and in the defence of mother, de-
fence of wife, OF children, of parents But,
gentlemen, there is no such explanation tor
the other command; there is no chance to
| limit the command that Thou shalt not COM
NIT adultery There is no chance for excep-
ton. Why, gentlemen, it is recorded in Gen.
esis, 20th chap, Sd to 7th verses, as you re-
member, that when abraham and his wife
Sarah were journeying, for fear of danger,
Abraham called his wife his sister, and she
! called him her brother. and Abimelech was
looking upon her to take her unto himself" |
will not read the whole of this account to you.
In the 81 verse God came to Abimelech in
dream by night, and said to him, 'sBehold
thou art but dead man, for the woman which
| thou hast taken; for she is a mans wife"
But Abimelech had not come near her, and he
said, Lord, wilt thou Stay also a righteous
nation? Said he not unto me, she is my sis
ter? and she, even she herself, said he is my
brother. In the integrity CT my heart and in
nocency of my hands, have done this. And
God said unto him in dream, Yea know
that thou ddst tnis in the integrity OF thy
heart; for l also withheld thee from SHINING
against me; therefore suffered | thee not to
touch her. Now, therefore restore the man
his wife, for he is prophet and he shall pray
! for thee and thou shalt live; and if thou re-
store her not, know thou that thou shalt sure
ly die, thou and all that are thine"
Thus you perceive that the a1ulterer CON-
mltting the deed unknowingly, was thus con-
demned to death. thus threatened as penalty.
Deuteronomy, 22d chap, 22d verse: ''If
man be found lying with woman married TO
an husband, then they shall both of them die,
both the man that lay with the woman, and
the woman; so shalt thou put away evil from
| Israel"
Levticus, 18th chap, Goth and 10Th verses
| Moreover thou shalt not lie carnally with
thy neighbours wife, to defile myself with h'r.
For whatsoever shall commit any of these
denominations, even the souls that CONT it
them shall be cut off from among their peo-
ple''
Ezekiel, 10th chap, 3Sth verse: "And /
will judge thee as women that break wedlock,
and shed blood, are judged, and 1 will give
thee blood in fury and jealousy"
Ezekiel, 23d chap, 44th To 10th verses -
| yet they went in unto her, as they go in I'M
|
they in unto Aholah and unto Aholibah, Il
ewd women. And the righteous men, they
shall judge them after he manner of adulteI-
esses, and after the manner of women that
shed blood b, cause they are adulteresses and
blood is in their hands. For thus saith the
Lord God, l will bring up a company upon
them, and will give them TO be removed and
spoiled. And the company shall stone them
with stones, and dispatch them with their
swords; they shall Stay their sons and their
daughters, and burn up their houses with fire.
| Thus will | cause lewdness to cease out of the
Ia nd, that all women may be taught not to do
after your lewdness. And they shall recon-
pense your lewdness upon you, and ye shall
Dear the sins of your idols, and ye shall know
that am the Lord God"
| In the case recited, in the 18th and l4th
chapter of the 81 of Samuel, you recollect the
| history. Amnon ravish, d lamar, the sister
of Absalom. You recollect the fepning of
sickness aud asking that the sister might come
and minister to his wants; that he seized her
and rayished her Two years afterwards her
brother Absalom caught Amnon with the 9TH
er brothers away from the king, at the sheep
shearng, and he there slew Amnon. Two
years after the committal of this act, and
when he returned, the king kissed him.
Another case is given in Genesis, 81 chap
| " i'll not read all of that. You will remem-
Der it undoubtedly. Gentlemen, when Dinah
the daughter of Leah went out into the coun-
try, Shechem the son of Hamor, the Elivte,
prince of the country, took her and lay with
her and defied her, and Jacobs sons pursued
and slew, not only Shechem but all the males
of the city, and when Jacob was alarmed and
| expressed his fears, they said unto him, Shall
| he deal with our sister as with a harlot?
| next call your attention to the 32d. 33d
and 34th verses Of the 9th chapter of Proverbs.
! But whose commltteth adultery with
woman lacketh understanding; he that doeth
| it destroye.h his own soul. A wound and
dshonor shall he get and his reproach shall
not be wiped away. For jealousy is the rage
of man; therefore he will not spare in the
day of vengeance. He will not regard any
ransom. neither will he rest content, though
thou givest many gifts"
Thus, you perceive. that the crime of adul-
terry is not only denounced in the Scriptures
| in the strongest possible terms, but death was
the penalty imposed and the result OF death by
the avenging hand of the husband, father and
brother when detected, is every where recog-
nized as the natural result to follow.
1t may be said in reply that Christ suffered
the aduteress to go unrunished: the case
may be cited where he said Let him who is
without sin cast the first stone" Well, gem
tlemen, the example there set applies not only
to adultery but TO any Otner CRIME. IL the
government sees fit to plant this upon that
doctrine you remember that Christ not only
said this, but he said 81 have heard that it hath
been said an eye for an eye, tooth for
tooth; but say unto you resist not evil" l
am willing that the example should be applied
in this case; let him who is without sin cast
the first stone at this prisoner. But, gentle
men, the world is not yet up to that state of
purity, to that condition OF things, that wll
warrant the administration of the law upon
] the example there set. l have cited these
doctrines from the Bible, showing that from
the earliest dawn of civilization, of Christian
ity, adultery has been regarded as one of the
greatest wrongs that can be perpetrated upon
man, and death from the avenging hand of
the outraged party is natural result.
Now, having cited these authorities to show
these facts from the Bible, next pass to the
early history of jurisprudence, to show you
the light in which it has been regarded by the
law-givers of the world since civilization
began.
i Gentlemen, the laws of Scion, the great
Grecian aw-giver, whose wisdom will ever
be recognized through the coming ages as one
~, .l.,,,