The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1874-09-25
DEATH PENALTY.

AAOICOhEEs yG bUu&l TAKE UO SdlA6ldCbAOu
for the life of a murderer which is guilty
of death; but he shall be surely put to
death
Whose sheddeth mans blood, by man
shall his blood be shed
BIBLE TOld Testament
If any person of sound memory and
discretion unlawfully kill any reasonable
creature in being and under the peace of
the State, with malice aforethought,
either express or implied, such person
shall be guilty Of murder.
Every person convicted of the crime of
murder in the first degree or accessory
before the fact to such crime, shall suffer
death by hanging Code of Tennessee,
Sections 1897 and 1901.
The late and frequent recurrence of
acts of violence, throughout the country,
has materially eugendered a feeling of
distrust of the stability aud the certain
administration of the law Murderers
have escaped the condign punishment,
which their crimes deserved; arson,
burglary, rape,-to say nothing of lesser
offences-stalk openly through the land,
crying often in vain for retributive JUS
tice The difficulty, and even danger, in
reaching offenders, and prosecuting them
by the ordinary and slow process of the
law have driven individuals and even
communities to desperate measures for
the redress of private wrongs and public
grievances. The first ebullitiOn of this
feeling was the formation Of secret or
CARNATIONS, and under masks instead of
faces, men committed errors, if not
crimes, which destroyed the moral force
and effect of the punishment of their vic
tins. Often it was premature, often un~
just, often cruel; always illegal, un>
righteous and impolitic. 1t is useless now
to discuss the proprieties or imprOprie-
ties of these movements. Suffice 1t, that
they lived their day; they were suppress
sed, or melted away before the genial sun
of law and order, which it was hoped had
risen to shine forever upon our war
stricken AMI benighted land. taking
the law into their own hands," by mobs
and secret clubs was abandoned, and
once more we welcomed the coming i'm
migrant, and dreamed of capital bringing
plenty and peace in its train of cultivated
fields, smiling and blooming in diversi>
fed crops and labor, of the busy sounds
of the axe and the hammer, of the mill,
the loom and the spindle But this hope
is unrealized; this dream is for the time
dispelled. A full and complete return to
socical order, an acknowledgment and
enforcement of the law, and a patient
and trustful belief and an earnest effort
of all classes towards its fulfillment, is the
only guerdon of SUGGESTIVE only sure,
ty for the future. The supremacy Of the
lalo, once had u meaning, and however,
it may be for the time borne down and
over power, d, it will assert its majesty,
and lead a return from the worship of
false gods, and false leaders, to the sim,
pie faith in the Decalogue
We are lead to these and like refec-
tons by the consideration of tn, solemn
event, which is to transpire in our midst
tomorrow. A man to be hanged Bob
| Baskin, the murderer, to atone by his
life and on the gallows for the wanton,
and willful Staying of fellow being,
Not by unlawful violence; not by the
hands of disguised midnight assassins;
not victim to rude popular clamor; not
done to death on account of his color
or condition, but because he as
an offender against the outraged
| lalg he committed a crime, runs
ishable by death IN the eyes of God
and man. He has had a fair and inn
partial trial, before jury composed of
the best, most considerate, and consci.
entious men of Hardeman county. He
has had time and opportunity for re-
pentance. He is "put to death by the
mouth of witnesses" and by the sentence
of an upright judge. All the forms of
law were complied with-able counsel
worked nobly and earnestly in his de-
fence, and now justice demands his life,
society its lesson and example, and hui
mainly the awful retribution It is a
solemn occasion-not one for the exhi>
bition of jest or smiles or laughter; not
lightly to be regarded; but in all earnest
ness, to be taken to heart, as an evidence
of the certainty of retributive justice, and
an assertion of the fact that in Tennessee
the law is paramount, and will prevail.
We sincerely hope, that all who propose
to witness the scene, VIII be impressed
with its solemnity, and regard it not as a
holiday show, but for what it really
is, the death penalty upon a criminal
and the final vindicution for the crime.
Upon white and black, we urge sObriety
good order and obedience to the cOnsti-
tuted authority whose painful duty it is
to enforce this final and irreVocable sen.
tence. We do not see we'll how any enc
could come away better from such +;
sight, but wiser, they certainly can, anC
We hope will. We trust that it maj
soften and not harden the hearts of thu
spectators, and that the result be greatly
contributive to the welfare, order anC
law abiding spirit of our State aud county
May it be many day before Ole Har'
deman shall End it necessary to presen
such another picture to the world.
Senator Brownlow to Governor
Brown.