The weekly Arizona miner., 1873-09-20
Mob Law.

The MINER last week noted, In the news column, the hanging of one Kcssler, horse theft, in Missouri. At especial term of court called at Fulton, Mo, August 27, Judge Burckbardt delivered very forcible charge to the grand jury in which he called theis st- tention to the action of the mob which hung Kessler, and in taking him from the officers of the law killed the sheriff and wounded two other men. The Judge declared the killing of Sheriff Law to be murder as much as the hanging of Kessler, though the former act was accidental, and the person who fired the shot might not have intended to kill, but he showed that Kessler was under the protec- ton of the law, that the sheriff, an innocent man, was in the discharge of his duty when he was killed. The Judge said that all must admit that e strict observance and faithful enforcement of law constitutes the only safe ty of any people, and the only protection for
 individuals or their property, and though in twelve months past over thirty horses and mules had been stolen in that county, and in no case had the thieves been punished tor their crimes, at the hands of tho law, yet, the hanging of hundred horse-thieves, by a mob, could not compensate for the death os fore, he urged the jury to indict the ring leaders of the mob and bring them to punish ment.. . -.
 T Every one who understands the argument of Judge Burckhardt, every well disposed citizen in any community, will assent to the correctness of bis statements, yet, once in @ while, in different sections of the country, uprsings of the people take place, and what they believe at the time to be justice Is sum- marily administered. These ebullitions oc-
 cur as we'll in the older States as in the Ter
 ritories, in Illinois and Missouri, as in Cali
 fornia or Arizona. There is no doubt that
 the effect of such public disregard of law re- acts banefully upon the people or community , that practices 1t. It is an example which smaller numbers and finally individuals profit , by, or shield themselves behind, to avepge themselves for real or fancied injuries until,
 finally, lawlessness reigns supreme. When once the people rise and trample the law un- der their feet, it is hard for them to again
 cheerfully acknowledge and submit to the , supremacy of the law. Yet, there must be good apparent cause why community breaks f open jaiis aud takes out criminals, or over powers officers and takes their prisoners and hangs them. That cause is generally found , in the fac, that the law, in that section, has not been enforced; that offenders have not been punished that assassins and murder [ CTS have, when arrested, not been brought to
 trial, or, when tried, have by chicanery or technicalities of the law escaped conviction, that criminals of every description have ar rived st the conclusion that it 1. easy to evade the penalties of the law, and, consequently, crime has at last become bold, and . patient, long-suffering community finally, on the com-
 mission of some horrible crime like murder ing men in their sleep, shooting citizen in
 the back or committing rape on child, enrsged at the deed allows the desire for re-
 venge to overcome the dictates of prudence and becomes . mob, and commits public mur- der. Such scene produced by such causes
 was enacted in Tucson, the capital of Arizo- na, on the Sth of August, when four murder . CTS were hung in the plaza. Similar germs bid fair to produce like fruit in other portions , of Arizona. Many men have been killed, brutally murdered, in this Territory since its organization; often the murderers have been [ arrested, and as often have crawled through the meshes of the law, until it had become
 generally understood that tbere could be nc
 conviction for murder in Arizona ,ta.
 We regret and deplore the recent perform
 ance in Tucson, bet hope that it may prove ( , warning to our people, our law-abiding citi zens who sit on our grand and trial juries, ts
 be careful in doing their duty under che law
 to our judges that they be not remiss in theil f construction of law, or in their charges tc
 juries who are to try supposed criminals, lest
 we have the court of Judge Lynch ss one o
 our permanent institutions.