St. Landry democrat., 1879-07-26
a CTe<ssRIOEss Age.

+ We are living i'll creGuIous age.
There have been so many wonderful
discoveries within the last century,
inventions opposed to any then known
force OF nature, that We dare not say OF
any strange thing" it cannot be true"
On the contrary we deal with absurdi~
ties very giugclly, and examine them
on every side, not knowing at what
monaent they may start into vital truths.
We treat crimes very mach iE ,he same
manner. Physiology and psychology
raise such a din about cur ears that the
vilest of criminals meets with the ten
derest sympathy, because his evil ten
dencies may have been inherited from.
| criminal ancestors OF some subtle taInt
of insanity crept into his blood at the
moment the crime was committed. In
short we are refining away the doctrine
of personal responsibility to a point
as narrow as that OF Mahomet's needle,
and if this can't continues mach longer
we cannot see how any man viii! contanuc
to feel that lie can be made responsible
! for evil acts, either to his fellow man or
to his God.
The murderer Chastine Cox, stolid
! unfeeiing negro il the recipient OF more
bouuuets, scented notes and little deli
cacies from sympatnizing ladies, than
if he was the hero or the victim of some
grand lost cause. The papers are full
of psychological uiscusstons upon the
| phenomenon Of a man whose religious
nature was fully developed, yet strange
deficient in any moral sense-We really
didn't know before that religion and
morality conld be thus divorced. They
tell us with wonder that Cox was fond
of church and atteded it regularly, and
in fact was singing hymns Justify when
arrested. Evidently highly religious.
but not moral "-they say and teach
people that religion alone is the poorest
safeguard against the vilest crimes.
Two other atrocious criminals Jennie
Smith and Covert Bennett, now under
sentence of death in New York, a couple
whose revolving crimes were conclusive
ly proved, are also the recipients OF the
most tender courtesy from very worthy
men and women, who seem to think
their crimes grew out OF some lrreslst-
| BILE controlling influence. They don't
tell us what the influence was that in
voked these bad passions, and unless
they come back to the old belief in
demoniac possession, we really don't
see what they mean. As for the present
Governor Of New York, the Hon. Lucius
Robinson, he seems quite willing to play
into the hands of the sentimental phil
antllropists. He throws open the prison
door for one Berry, wretch convicted
of grave offences against decency and
public morality. Amongst his reasons
for doing so was that Berry lost $4,000
in the costs incurred by his unsuccessful
appeals to the Courts, and that his
mother would die of a broken heart il
he was not released.
| Upon the same principle this Governor
vetoes the tramp act, and does a good
many things repellant to the moral
sense Of the community as well as its
security, all under the head of compass
sion and a broad love of humanity.
We repeat again it is the credulity OF
what is called the religion of humanity.
that is condoning crimes, turning the
worst criminals loose upon society Oh
changing their cells into flower decora.
ted reception rooms for their tide OF
visitors.
| Crime is no longer viewed with the
shrinking horror it used to produce
because scientific men are appealing tx
"unknovn laws Of being y" irreslsti
BILE propensities through hereditary con
J, ditions.v Yet men and women arr
robbed and murderedevery day. Drunk
ards and gamblers make desolate thei
homes, the innocent are betrayed, ant
the laws of the country defed on ever,