The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1880-11-04
Judge Kershaw on the "Codc."
In bis recent charge to the Grand Jur

In bis recent charge to the Grand Jury
of Spartanburg County, Judge Kershaw
spoke in reprobation of the practice of
duelling in this State, and suggested as q
measure for the protection of society the
enactment of the following law by the
Legislature at its next session:
"That, in addition to the oath of Office
now required, each officer, before he en-
ters upon the duties of his Office, shall
take and subscribe an oath, that since
the ratification of this Act he had not
done any act which would disquali-
fy him from holding Office, under the
provisions of Article l, Section 81. of the
Constitution of this State, and that he
will enforce the laws against duelling,
to-. the best of his ability, in every in
stance of their violation which may come
to his knowledge, and employ all legal
measures in his power to prevent such
ofRenses."
The Judge goes on to say "Ifthe duel
is to be tolerated at all, it is due 10 our
people that is should be openly legalized
and regulated under the law, and the
Code of Honor, so called, in some form
spread upon the statute book. i
If the duel were thus sanctioned by the
law, and this form of homicide legalized,
we would at least comprehend the necessi-
ty of training our sons from infancy to the
skilful use Of the pistol, reverse our eth
ical system, and omit from the Lords
prayer so much as doth teach US to do the
deeds of mercy" This is q capital re-
ductio ad absurdum. The force of Judge
Kershaw's words, however, is weakened
:, if not. destroyed, by the following sen.
tences in his charge:
$50 far: as concerns past offenses Of
this nature, while courts and juries must
perform their full duty and yindicate
the violated majesty of the law, offenders
may we'll plead at the bar Of Executive
and Judicial clemency that they were
tempted to the wrong by the criminal
blindness of the officers of the law, and
the silence of the voice Of the people"
The trouble is that Judge Kershaw,
like a great many other good people, while
honestly anxious to put stop to duel
ling, is unwilling to make beginningin
euIUeSG. LILO ldWo VIC oheaoy Anf0 oio
quite sufficient to stamp out .duelling if
"tbe courts and juries and the officers Of
the law were not criminally blind"
to their sworn duty. Much as we esteem
Judge Kershaw, we fear that he cannot
inspire confidence as the leader Of the
crusade against the duello. The public
have not yet forgotten the brief career of
.."The Anti-Duelling Society of Camden"
of which, Judge Kershaw was President,
and in which he was the moving spirit.
They have not forgotten the excuses made
for the Society when it failed at the first
to carry out its solemn pub
lie pledges, nor the fact that the Judge
(for good reasons, it may be, J resigned the
Presidency when there was real work to
be done. The recollection ofthese things
is not calculated to add force to Judge
Kershaw's charge in Spartanburg. Ifthe
crime ofduelling is ever to be suppressed
in the South, it must be resolutely tracked
and sternly punished just like any other
vulgar crime. One duellist in striped
suit will do more to check this species of
murder than all the fine phrases ofjudges
and moralists.--N and Courier.