, 1873-05-01

Nero TO MUEDEREKs.--The Christian
.Adrocate mentions the remarkable coin
cidence that on Good friday. the anni-
versary of the death of the '' Prince of
Peace" the :" national Peace Restor-
er, the great and good Abraham Lin.
coin, met his death at tue hands of q
cruel and revengefnl as ssassin," and
that the treacherous murder of the
peace Commissioners, by the cruel
Modocs, occurred on the same sacred
anniversary. and yet the same Adeocate
sets up ple, for the peace policy in
our treatment of the murderous Indians.
For more than. eighteen hundred years
all the people of tie nation and race of
those who were instrumental in COM
passing the death of the first, have. in
all Christian lands, been subjected TO
Every indignity, persecution and out
rage short of determination. The mur-
der of Mr.. Lincoln, in a public theatre.
on a day held sacred by large majority
of the Christian world. was the inlivid-
ual act of an obscure fanatic, with few
if an, confederates. without the counte
nance of any party outside of three or
four boon companions who were possi-
bly, privy to the act. The assassin was
hunted down like wild beast by all the
power at the command of the Govern
ment; an aged Christian mother. of ex-
emplary character, was publicly and ig
ANONYMOUSLY executed by hanging, upon
the bare suspicion of being on friendly
terms with the assassin, unsupported
by shadow of testimony to implicate
her in his crime; and innocent persons
all over the country were subjected to
violence and outage solely on the
ground that they had not supported the
election of Mr.. Lincoln, and hence were
in sympathy with his murderer. Not a
voice was raised in pulpit of the land,
not a word in a religious paper, in pro-
test againt these outrages, or in defence
of the innocent victims of an insensate
revenge, while in hundreds of instances,
the voice of Christian ministers mingled
with the hot breath of the rabble in the
Barabbas cry, away with him! Cruel
fly him. cruelty him. -.,
But how changed is all this in the
case of the Indian assassins! With the
the blood of score of our own people
uppn their i,cada,. .Jio5d Of innocent,
unofending and defenceless men. wo-
men and children, shed in the mere
wantonness of cruelty and hatred of our
race, the divine attribute of mercy is
invoked in behalf of the treacherous
mnrderers and their race; they are soli-
cited to treat for peace by offers of amnes-
and rewards, treated with more Difference
and tender consideration than the men
who had volunteered to defend the
people of their own race against their
rapacity, until in the Providence of
God they treacherously slew the men
who came to save them from the conse-
quences of their crimes. Now these
canting advocates of the peace policy
Reluctantly yield to the popular demand
for the punishment of the murtlelers Of
General in the army and distin-
guished clergymen, but pray for amnes-
ty to those who have Only robbed, tor;
tured and murdered common people; as
if they measured crime by the quality of
Its victims and the distinctions of race.
According to all legal and equitable
rules, under which the vicious can alone
be held amenable to the laws, the assas-
sin of Lin soln was no more criminal
than the assassin of Candy, and the
latter committed no greater crime when
he slew General than he had been
guilty of many times before III murder
ing unoffending settlers; crimes which
the peace advocates were anxious to
pardon and the Government was willing
10 condone. The maudlin sentimental
ity represented by tae peace policy, is
downright wrong to the Indians, in en-
couraging them to the exercise of their
mnr 'erous propensities with impuaity,
md a cruelty to the whites, having re-
suited in the sacrifice of many lives
without single corresponding benefit
10 either race. Prompt and certain
punishment for crime is the only way
III which the ignorant of any race can
ne inspired with tear CT respsct for the
avs.