New-York tribune., 1870-10-17
LYNCHERS AND THE LYNCHED.


There are crimes of so dark complexion
that human laws, however severe, seem SIN
gularly inadequate to avcnge them; ana OF
these none puts our philosopher to seyerer
test than violence to the female perS0n-partly
because il is the crime of o beast, partly be-
couse il is the crime of a coward, and wholly
because it is such q cruel and irreparable out
RAGE. in comparison with which, in some minds,
murder sinks into peccadilio. To this must
be added the consideratOn-fOr the reason
that the victim herself is almost always tho
sole witness of its perpetration-that 1t Is CRIME
not seldom followed by murder. for the sake OF
silence and concealment. Two such violations
were reported not long agO-the one In Evans
vile. Ind, and the other in Flemings-
burg. Ky. In the first case the young lady ls
dead from the injuries which she received; In
the other, the citizens have taken justice into
their own hands, and have hung the offender,
wrestling him for that purpose from his legal
custodans. Lest we shonld be accused of un-
worthy concealments, we, think it proper to
state that in both these cases the offender was
n negro. There are those who may attach to
this circumstance certain degree OF import
ance, while we think it rather accidental, since
we read, likewise, every day OF rapes COM
mitted by whito men. This, however, is
phase of the question which We do not at
present purpose to discuss.
In one of the cases above mem toned we
have seen that the offender was put to
violent and illegal death in the other he has
barely escaped it, Now, fully admitting the
enormity Of the oflense and the pccularity OF
the aggravation, see no reason to change
the opinion which we long ago arrived at.
We believe that wherever there is q sembanco
of law, wherever there is authority OF any
kind-the authority of q constable or OF o
justice of the peace - extra-judicial oXecu-
tons can never be so absolutely necessary as
to Justify resort to them. Experience has
shown that in their nature and effects they
are thoroughly demoralzing, and that they
work in q blind, bap-hazard way, even
when the motives which lead to them
are not altogether unworthy During the
long controversy which resulted in the abOli-
tion of Slavery in most, if not in all OF the
slaveholding States, there was half-mad, un-
reasoning, coarse, and cruel power, defiant OF
law because feeling stronger than the law
itself-a self-constituted and irresponsible IN
quistion, which arrested travellers and stran-
gers, searched their baggage for evidence of
incendiary intentions, tried the suspected in
bar-rooms before drunken jurors and still moro
drunken judges and gavo their victims into
the hands Of volunteer executiOners, who hung
| them in private halters upon private scaffolds.
At any time of unusual excitement, any traveller
| from the North was in danger of death like
this. Nor was such savage Jurisprudence re-
served for strangers, for neighbors were con-
stantly hanging neghbors and negroes. mostly
in0flensve and helpless as they were, were
perpetually in danger of being stamped out of
all life, as if they were insects contemplate,
if not venomOus. Nor were these methods of
maintaining law and order confined to the
slaveholding States, for they were to be OBJ
served in many parts OF the West, which were
at least nominally free. 1t would give us great
pleasure to believe that since the war the evil
has been abated; we are sorry to say that in our
opinion it is otherwise and that, especially in
certain parts of the West, it is upon the in
crease.
We suppose that even the advocates of
Hanging will join us in deprecating such an
execution as that which recently took place
in Flemingsburg, Ky. 1t is averred that
black had committed an outrage upon "a
"lady of respectabilty." The indignant
citizens, finding that the person charged is in
Jail, break down the doors Of that stronghold,
having previously disguised themselves, take
out the prisoner, and hang him, so far as we
can learn, without even tho semblance of a
trial. The report adds: "The summary
"cOurse of punishment meets with general ap-
"prova." Does it, indeedf Why, then, was
it necessary for these extraordinary cham
pions of the law to disguise" themselves
Why should they not have gone about their
business in the light of day and with uncov-
cred faces, glorying in its goodness and scOrn-
ing concealmentf Fifty, one hundred, per-
haps one hundred and fifty, all banded against
one poor wretch, who, however great his
crime, must have felt pang in dying, even
as worms and beetles do Why, surely, there
was no need of muflled cOuntenances, with SO
many, the flower of the neighbOrhood, to give to
each other measureless moral support. Again,
of what stuff are Kentucky iuries composed
Why should there be such rampant virtue
in the population and so little of it in the
panel7 This wretch, it is stated "confessed."
What difficulty, then, would there have
been IN convicting him regularly and accord
ing to legal forms Y-in having him indicted,
tred, found guilty, sentenced and strangled
with due respect for the laws of Kentucky,
and after the proper interviews with the chap
lainT Yet instead OF patiently abiding the
issue, because one man is said to have COM
mtted rape, here are great many more
men who go deliberately to work to commit
murder. For murder it is, albeit nobody is to
be hung for it-mnrder with malice prepense,
and under circumstances which remove all ex-
tenuating considerations from the felony.
What sort of State is Kentucky, if ravishers