The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1880-11-12
SINS wHIoH TIE Law oAsNor REACH.

u
There are various kinds of sins committed
every day, and by almost everybody, in this
sinful world of ours, some which the law
cannot reach, and some which it will not.
In many cases, in this duy Of personal cring.
ing aud party favuritisu, il is the sinner
and not the sin that we are striking at
There are some crimes that are so difficult
| to analyze and define that it is aln,ast im-
possible to bring them within the inter.
dicted calendar. and under the law of the
statutes. The facilities for q man to con.
ceal his shortcomings and cover up his
tracks are ample and easy of access 70 all
Hhssmey assire 60 avail llumsslves D ne
shadow OF great name OF the @gis of off,
cial position. 1t makes vast difference
in the treatment of the case, Ms to whose OK
| is gored or whose bull did it, Justice is
represented as being blind and holding the
we'll balanced scales with equal and steady
hand, but this beautiful allegory has passed
into faded fiction Of law, or wild freak
of the Imagination.
1t is true the world moves and we move
with it, but not always in the right direc.
tion. There is retrogrado movement,
even in revolutions, although it is said they
never go backwards. Every new idea or
sentiment is not an improvement on the
pact, and some things. besides wine, are
the better fur being old. Stealing is a
crime punishable by law, and yet you can
steal mans good manic, which is above
the price of rubics, and go unwhipt of jus.
tice, not that you are not culpable aud dc.
serve to be dealt with as maefactor, but
that your sini of that nature which the
law of tho land does not usually take cog.
nizance Of You may bs Oh the popular
side aud have friends enough in official posi-.
tions to thwart the purposes of the law aud
prevent it from reaching your case. The
Spartans had Law which took the penalty
from the commission of crime and placed it
upon the act of being detected. We have
adopted, this mode of legal procedure to
some extent, and have even gone further,
for we do not always punish the criminal,
even when detected. The law of society
and custom often abrogatcs and supercedes
the regularly constituted law of the land
A great dc Il Of the contempt for law and
order which now prevails to such fearful
extent all over the land, may be largely
attributed to the lax administration of jus
tice in failing &o punish those who openly
defy its sacred bencss.s and live in daily
violation of the laws Of both the moral and
civil codes. How can We expect 10 sup.
press crimo, have our laws respected and
prosper rs q people, so long ns. We fail to-
society and government; together.2 we
have any mimbersof laws upen our statute,
books which are never enforced, because
they are not popular, aud fail to be sustained
by public opinion. The law against duel
ling is not enforced, and never will be, uD.
til change in the popular feeling is effected.
These things have a bad effected. These
things have bad effect, inasmuch us they
bring tho law into disrepute and accustom
the people to ignore ats binding obligations,
and treat its sacred bchests with contempt.
IF one law can be violated with impunity,
they cannot see why another should not,
and thus its restraining influence is weak
ened, ard crime is encouraged
Many persons are prompted, often from
the best of motives, to protect their friends
and screen them from the penalties of
violated law but it is bad precedent, and
works evil in tho end All bad and inef-
fcient laws should be at once abolished,
and those of the better and more necessary
class that remain should be rigidIy enforced
against all offenders, without any respect of
persons, places or positions. A law that
cannot reach q crime which it forbids and
was intended to punish, is positive evil,
and works mischief to the body polite and
society ut large, and should be promptly
abolished. The law against carrying con.
cealed weapons may be enforced in the
towns and cities where special ordinances
are passed to protect society within their
corporate limits, but the State laws on this
subject are not worth the paper they are
written on, from the fact that they will
never be enforced. Nobody will act :a.,o
part of an informer, and the consequence
is, nobody will eve: be tried for tho offence
Thus we see there are many crimes which
the law either cannot or will not reach.
CHARLESTON GIRLS IN 1733.-A pcti-
ton was addressed, in 1873, to the Govern.
or Of South Carolina by sixteen maidens of
Charleston, which ran thus THE humble
petition Of all the maids whose names are
under.writtcn Whereas we, tn humble
petitioners, are at present in a very melan.
choly disposition of mind, considering how
all the bachelors are blindly captivated by
widows, and our own youthful charms
thereby neglected in consequence of this,
our request is that your Excellcncy will for
the future order that no widow presume to
marry any young man until the maids are
provided for or else to pay each of them a
fine for satisfaction for invading our liber-
ties and likewise fine to be levied on all