The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1880-11-12
SINS WHICH THE LAW CANNOT REACH.

! SINS WHICH THE LAW CANNOT REACH.
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 day Of personal cring
ing aud party favoritism, 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 almost i'm
possible to bring them within tho inter.
dicted calendar. and under the law of the
statutes. The facilities for a man to con.
zeal his shortcomings and cover up his
tracks are ample aud, easy of access to all
who may assire to avsji themselves 81 the
shadow OF a great name or the egis of Off
clal position. 1t makes vast difference.
in the treatment of tho case, rs to whose OK
is gored or whose bull did it. Justice is
represented as being blind and holding the
well balanced scales with equal and steady
hand, but this beautiful allegory has passed
into faded fiction of law, or a wild freak
of the imagination.
1t Is true the world moves and we move
with it, but not always in the right direc.
ton. There is retrogradc movement,
even in revolutions, although it is said they
never go backwards. Every new idea or
sentiment is not an improvement on the
past, and some things. besides wine, are
the better for being old Stealing is
crime punishable by law, and yet you can
| steal mans good nanio, which is above
the price of rubics, and so unwhipt of jus.
tice, not that you are not culpable and dc.
serve to be dealt with as malefactor, but
that your sin is of that nature which the
law Of the land does not usually take cog
nizance of. You may be on the popular
side and have friends enough in official posi-.
tions to thwart the purposes of the law and
prevent it from reaching your case. The
| Spartans had a 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 supcrcedes
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
tice in failing t2 punish those who openly
defy its sacred bencst.s and live in daily
violation of the laws Of both ,Ira moral and
civil codes. How can We expect t.o .s.ap
press crime, have our laws respected and
prosper us people, SO long as We fail to
Fcnforce the laws and regulations that bind
society and government together? We
have any number'of laws upon our statute
books which are never enforced, because
they arc 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 bad effected. These
things have bad effect, inasmuch as they
bring the law into disrepute and accustom
the people to ignore its binding obligations
and treat its sacred bchosts 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 a
violated law; but it is bad precedent, and
works evil in tho end. All bad and inef.
ficient laws should be at once abolished,
and those Of tho better and more necessary
class that remain should be rigidly enforced
against all offenders, without any respect of
persons, places or positions. A law that
cannot r.2ch crime which it forbids and
was intended 70 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 arc
written on, from the fact that they will
never be enforced. Nobody will act the
part of an informer, and the consequence
is, nobody will eve: be tried for tho offence
Thus we sec there are many crimes which
the law either cannot or will not reach
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CHARLESTON GIRLS IN 1733.-A pcti
ton was addressed, in 1888, 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
undcr.writtcn: Whereas we, tn humble
petitioners, arc at present in u very melan.
choly disposition of mind, considering how
all the bachelors arc blindly captivated by
widows, and our own youthful charms
thereby neglected ; in consequence of this,
our request is that your Excelcncy will for
the future order that no widow presume to
marry any young man until the maids arc
provided for /; or else to pay each of them
fine for satisfaction for invading our libor-
ties and likewise fine to be levied on all
such bachelors as shall be married to wild.
ows. The great disadvantage it is to as