Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1879-09-11
Assassination

most degrading state of sooiul feeling. 10 meet
an enemy and shoot him down openly REQUIRES
both nerve and courage, or To meet and fight on
equal terms with deadly weapons, but to sneak
on him in the night or waylay him by day aud
shoot him in the back, or when least expecting
danger, is the work Of oowardly knaves. It is
oritne which in our better days wns almost un-
known In America and especially In the South.
The blcods of the South used to resort to the
duelto to square their difficulties, while The great
mass Of the people met and knocked out their
quarrels, getting bloody noses and broken heads
MS the result. Assassination was confined to
degenerate Italy and occasionally to Spain and
Mexico. Wherever II existed II was regarded
as mark Of moral degeneracy and social
degradation. we are glad to say IL is siill un-
common in America. but 1t has existed OCCASION
ally among our people since tho war. being ono
l'of tho sonrs Of that great revolution and Of the
corrupt times IN our Stale. This great crime
now and then crceps out hero and there, ns Wit
messed By the case which occurred few years
ago in our sister county and in other counties
md by the recent killing Of Alexander Bryce,
Jr. Every good citizen is Interested in putting
q stop TO this enormous crime, as we'll as oil
other crimes, by bringing to punishment thoso
who are guilty of them. II is On abstract duty
proceeding from our obligation to tothcFgoveynment
in the preservation of law and order to ferret
out the perpetrators of such crime. 1t is
equally duty owe ourselves and families to
do this. as every crime Of this character, which
goes unwhipped Of justice, lessons the security
of life and property among us. In this effort no
consideration of tho social or moral standing OF
| tho deceased or Of his slaycrs should be weighed.
We know tho law has been violated and the law
should be vindcated, that it may no. fall into
| disrenutc, and each man become the judge and
cxccuioner of his own wrongs. We know that
the highest typo Of murder has been commit ed
and the highest sanction of the law should be
inflicted. The law does not sop TO inquire whe-
Their good or bad man has fallen, for all nre
under its protection equally, as much as G Cd
sends rain and sunshine on The inst anu the
unjust. Whether the best man that ever lived
has been slain or The worst mnn who ever
brcathcd the breath Of life has fallen, is never
question under the law, but whether the sacred
majesty Of the law has been broken. We admit
il is natural that when good man has been
| slain public feeling shonld be aroused and every
| effort be made to vindicatc the law and ayengo
his death. This is one of the rewards Of
we'll spent )ife and jnst one, but in all cascs
Of murder reasonable effort should be spared
to arrive at the guilty parties. How arc the
good Judged in this world? Abstractclly none
are good, but in n relative point of view, The
good nre Judged by the public opinion Of the
best men of the country formed upon their
character and conduct in life. If this same
public opinion should pronounce badly of the
deceased, still all will admit that no ono worthy
TO aid in forming this opinion would even tolerate
the idea Of playing the assassin, much less actr,-
ally do his work. Taking, then, this Wow of
the case no man would deny but the slaycrs of
Bryce arc bad men and worse enemies TO society
than he ever was. But VIC do not propose TO
speak Of his past faults for it is n maxim rs old
rs the best days Of the Roman Empire, to say
nothing of the dead unless IL be good (n1 dc
mouuis, aiSi bonum) 1t is an equally old cay
ing and true that 'thc good deeds of men arc
written in water, while their bad deeds arc
engraved on brass" IN carly life Bryce Ind he
elements of many virtues, which Mt times out
| cropped TO his death. If lie was opposed 10 you
in politics or in anything, he was open in such
opposition, though lie may havo used secret
to a man lie would stand by him 10 the extent of
his means, aud this trait Of character above all
else led to his financial ruin. for We doubt if
any man in the State has stood bail for more
men in the last ten years than Bryce. In the
Tcnllinson campaign he boltcd the regular ticket
and advocated the ticket supported by the
Democrats. For this he lost caste with his
party and never any more exercised much polti-
cal influence. But il is not Of Bryce We write,
his virtues if any be allowed him by the public
opinion, or his faults. whatever they may be
claimed TO be, but of the manner Of his death.
Slain in his own field, within few yards Of his
door, in The night and without moments warn.
ing, having not even time to utter the prayer Of
the poor publican, Qor We are told he could only
say, "I.ord have mcrcy,") The great crime thus
committed is to ordinary cases Of homicide like
mountain TO mole hill. 1t demands ihoroug gh
investigation. While nl our readers will agree
"!.h US in this, still all mnst remember tha, be-
cause great crime has been committed Is no
reason that nm innocent man should suffer
This would be greater crime still, for the Law
must be jUs and nrcrciful though man be un-
just and cruel. That an innocent man should
suffer under and by virtue Of the Law would
bring it into disrepu,c belle its purposes and
render 1t an instrument Of unjust vengeance
Instead CT protection. Therefore while all men
should appreciate the magnitude cf this crime
and the da'y o! fcrrcting out its perpetrators,
still no man should he convicted excep. on
convincing proof. Ia proportion 10 the rnogni-
tude of the crime and tic se7eri.y Of its pm
ishment should be the strictnezs Of the proof
required. If the State fails to be able 10
establish guilt on any PARTY. and failure in
such cases is natural then the law will have
done all in iis novcv md m opc con co,,