The Cairo bulletin. [volume] (Cairo, Ill.) 1872-1878, 1873-04-12
Communicated.l
CAPITAL PUNISHMENT

| i VI 4. ~ l..
Seeing in your issue Of tho 9th a con
municaiion Isvoring the abolition Of can
D "i punishment, / am DESTROYS of offerip
: sfew suggestions on the other side. Lar
not Prejudiced and am open to con victor
out at present sm very much In favor c
capital punishment. Reason says 4, 1,
very unwsrrantable Assumption TO sur
pose that men understood the Bible a
well Two or four thousand years ago a
now. From the amount Of discus.io,
the Bible is now causing we think it res
sonaole to suppose IL better understoo,
then than at present. We differ in on
opinion concerning the passage "He tina
sheddeth mans blood by mar
'hali his blood be she'd Also
reason shinks this passage implies re.
venge, and says render murder for muir.
d'r. But does capital punish men. render
murder for MURDER No one imagine.
that the punishment 10 merely for revenge.
1t Is to check some what the pss.ions 81
Others. lie says the world has tried Mo.
ses law In ages past and found /, 4 In.
menisble failure. Has II proven q Ia
mentsble failure' Last year New York
lawyers were clearing almost every mu,.
dsrsr by some fimsy pretext or other, and
an execution was . rarity. The press and
people cried against the growing evil, and
things are different. To k,u
man now 10 not the pastirne J.,
was last year, and anyone who read. the
criminal bulletins knows that murder /,
not as frequent now a. il was one year
ago Blu: capital punishment was no,
abolished last year; only slsckensd. II,
tnen, little ioosensss has 90 evil An Of.
fse', what would not total abolisbm men, &C.
compiish' As to the frequency Of muir.
der In the nineteenth century, his remark.
apply rs we'll TO any other crime a, the
one in question. From the fac, that ,tsal.
ing WAS as prevalent when the penalty
WAS death IS it 10 now, he concludes tbs,
the morals are not improved by the sever.
ny Of the penalty, and probably advances
'ha an argument for
ABOLITION. But IL this applies 10 muir.
Der and capital punishment, it applies
equally we'll to other crimes, and penal.
te', and we would according to this falIs.
eiod' reasoning abolish every peo>l,y;
and, without penalties VIVA. do laws
amount to- and without laws what il .
country?
He asks IL God has forgiven q murderer
what rigth has man to hang him ? and
before that gives it as hi, opinion that
1t +" mans province to pro.ec. himself
We think that Reason has taken an an.
sreiy wrong view OF the matter, TO- men
90 not hang murderer to revenge them.
selves, but asa warning 70 others, and in
10 doing they are doing - Reason hold,
10 their province TO do-protect them.
elves
de asks 'if God can and does forgive vi.
iations OF his infallibls laws, should not
10 in imitation forgive the violation OF
ur fsllibls laws7" And l answer MOI
or God never forgivos except ye truly
spent, and He has oil power to discover
e'ween true repentance and hypocrisy I
lille we have not, and are % liable TO
link blsck-hearted hypocrits repentant /
I'd worthy Of confidence as be who /, =,
uly 50. In his next statement be sp-
'ars to take the ground that God does b
twill not-forgive, Then what Is the
icscy Of prayer : And for what purpose =,
me Jesus into the world, but to "csll
iners to repentance ?" r
IF, says Reason, "Gol could or would
give the fendish murderer, he, can by 70
means take short line to heaven
10 does not seem to me, to have q very r.,
so connection to the question, and seems n.
DO aimed more At religious faith than
he point for which it 10 Intended. In II;
ons-third OF hi' article appears to Ia
more directly on religion than the a
s'ion OF capital punish ment. He saws W.
when Lincoln was assassins,ed. the
,ehers told us II was the will Of God -
this good man should DO removed thus. M
'nform US Of what denomi q alton we're
preachers who affirmed II was Gods
Our friend must have been li.tsn.
to some hsrd'shsll Baptist, who be.
10 prsdestins.ion. Does the Chris. ~.
world hold that murderer 10 merely w"
u OF our God, and used for the mms
'o's and In the sams manner a. the
l'po1 or the "anal como and q. us7"
nave never heard such doctrine from W,
pulpit and are csr.ian that It 10 not and |
a' oy the Bible. He says 1t would low Insy
more consistent 10 make . murderer Mint
'eninsnt pillar Of The church psac