Delaware state journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1870-1883, 1881-02-10

arrangement Of the religion He taught. The
law does not punish any one who, fairly and
conscientiously promulgates the opinions with
whose truth he is impressed, for the benefit of
others malicious and misohievous intention
IL, i'll such a case, the broad boundry between
right and wrong but when it can be collected
from the Offensive leyity with which 30 SER
lOus subject ID treated or from other cir
cunlstances, that the act of the party was
malicious, then, since the law has no means
OF distinguishing between different degrees
OF evil tendency, il the matter published
contain amy such tendency, the publisbers
becomes amenable TO Justice This Language
OF Lord Mansfield was quoted with approval
ny TINS court, III the opinion referred to
Estate ys. Chandler Har 564) If men can
hnd III the assumed revealments of science.
or the potency of matter reason for re-
lecting the God of the Bible, they are at
llpefty TO do 10; aud they may print and
speak upon the subject, but they must take
care to avoid the crime of biaspemy in 30
doing. You may look to this court now. and
L think always hereafter to shield the morals
oil the people, and their religion, where the
law gives the power from all assaults upon
Them and We trust that no respectable per
son Will ever hereafter. while the religion of
the people of Delaware recognizes the God of
the Bible, produce in this city or elswhere in
TINS state, OF give countenance to such intro
ducton of any one who comes TO deny openly
HIS existence or reyile the religion Of the
Savior. Upon recent OCCASION such an one
came here ; and, in the face of the decision
OF this court, which | have spoken Of stood
mp IN your chief place for lectures, and vir-
tu0lly set IL ut defiance. Fortunately how
ever, for the morals of the people of this
city, one OF the newspapers circulated among
them, IN timely advance of his coming de
nounced ibis doctrines and made such an
appeal to the community with respect to its
duty, that the eloquence and ingenuity of
argument OF the lecturer were expended upon
q very small AuditOry-most of whom, we
could hope were drawn together simply from
curiosity to hear some ''new thing"
| pass from this to something else, which
Is also grossly insulting to the people of this
county. We are informed (not officially, but
as IT Ia matter of common
knowledge we may speak of it in
this address to the grand jury) that
ordered socety-sporting men, AZ they are
cGlled-came into this State from come other
place, and promoted a dog fight for their
amusement, and TO decide questions of bet
ting with respect to the result of it. The
reason why they came here was that they
found we had no special statute against such
practices. This Is to our credit, because no.
body had ever thought of dog fights as a
means of amusement to our own people, and the
Legislature had, great while ago, restrained
by penalties, the similar practice of cock
lighting, then common vice. Aside from
The cruelty of the so-called sport in the latter
case, there was the sentiment that our people
ought not to encourage nor fail to repress,
any cruelty, whatever form it might take. II
there be no enactment OF u specific nature to
prevent the vicious and au iacOuS from de-
liling and disgracing the State at their
pleasure with the practice of lighting animals
for amusement, one ought to be passed, or
we shall speedily descend to the level of those
who encouraged gla1atoriul sports in Rome
80 brutaizing and degrading that the dignity
and responsibility of the State finally dlsap-
peared and sho, with all her great power,
dcBenerated into IL condition of mere eifemi-
nancy, and lost forever her prestine vigor
But whether there be statutes or no, we have
the ancient common law our forefathurs
brought here, which has always proved itself
equal to any emergency OF protecting society,"
| call your attention, also to the defiant
breaches Of the law regulating the sale of ill
toNicutlng liquors, which are common in this
city The society for the protection of
ANIMALS against cruelty has potency here but
there does not seem to be much to bring to
Justice those who violate the liquor lava
class who do more harm to humanity in one
day and night, than cuck-ighters, or dog
lighters or any otlerof the class brutal, could
do in month"; III II community of such lu-
portunce as this, why il it that men, and
worst of all women, aro permitted to defy
the law against their illegal practlces2 There
can be but one answer to this, and that
touches the obligation of duty which every
one owes to the whole society OF which he Is
part, and which he ought not to shrink from
performing. 1t will not do for the best
among this people to turn their eyes awfy
from gross exhibitions of vice that lie before
them, and yet expect policemen to notice
them. If the highest appear to be Indifferent
en- la..r.a 4l,..A
his CndcaNOr to ropress them, runs the risk
Of personal danger aud incurs the certainty of
hostility, shall throw himself into the breach
in behalf of law aud order2 Policemen are
governed III their ideas of mere duty by the
example of leaders in the community about
them who. If they show no spirit of hostility
to crime. can hardly expect others not to
follow their example. When the people of
this city snail See to 1t, that every effort made
by its officers to suppress infractioms of law,
shall he duly sustained. and when they take
an active interest Ill the performance of
official duty, then will it be found that the
law Will be obeyed here, and not before.
There is no reason, outside of that common
to all humanity, why 80 much vice should
prevail in this city. Although the congrcga-
ton of large masses 8t the people has, nm
questionably, II tendency to wee. and vice
generally results from 1t yet il society were
but true to itself. and more concerned for Its
moral and religious, than for its mere
worldly, welfare there would be. relatively,
noincIease of vice. When any additional strain
is to he made upon our individual resources,
1t would he reproachiul for us not make
some effort to meet it. So, in u place like
this, with an element OF morality in ii which
shapes, i'll one way or another, most of its
ends, may | not say it Is rcpruuchful to the
citizens that 20 much vice should exist III II.
and such immunity Tor commission of 1t be
T. ~.
other than n SENSE Of public duty were the
governing influence. Societies for moral
reform. i'll their various manifestations, may
exist unywere without being of much benefit .
It Is only where the members of them practice
the duty of this membership that wretched
humanity and the community at large are
much benefited Somebody. inspired by
desire tn rescue fellow beings from vice, in
| like degree as men and womel are. who
| iaunch into Il raging SEA to save the ship
wrecked, must undertake the work or I'LL
| the powers and penalties which this Court
| hus or can exercise, will be eXcrtcd in vain.
| We. sitting here, are ministers of the public
| to inllIct the penalties OF the law upon the
! workers OF evil hut II is the part of that
| public, by the practice of the duties of
| humanity and society resting upon them, to
| keep the vicinusly inclined away from our
| Judgment which We must dcnOuncc against
every class, high or low. We cannot escape
| our duty, and we trust that, AZ grand jurors
| you will not shrink from such as may dcvolve
| upon you. Obcying the Mosaic law,we shall
| not respect persons i'll judgment, but shall
| hear the small AZ we'll as the great y we
| "Shall not be afraid of the face of man"
| And We shall sustain every man who takes
| upon himself, from the sense of public duty.
| tlIe task OF protecting society from the vices
which are continually multiplying within it.
| And now let us indulge in some "reminiscences
and congratulations.
Tins spot is, historically. an interesting
place. The title to il is older, 10y ten years,
thGn that of Penn to Pennsylvania, and. by
eleven years, his to what il now Our state.
In the year 1911, on the I'D day of May, now
almost two hundred and ten wears ago, our
excellent chronicler Ferris, tells lis that the
part of tho city which contains this Court
liulIst, was granted by due conveyance, by
| Sir Francis LOyelace, the encouragement
CAS- he styled himsclf) under the Duke of Nuri,
and Albany. afterwards James ll,OG England,
to Tymen Stidham. This conveyance was
made ut what was then Fort Julnes, formerly
Fort Amsterdam, and now the city of New
lurk-which place Was the seat OF power OF
the Duke of Works authority in Americans il
had been OF the Dutch from the discovery OF
the Hudson river, 80 years before in l6O0 by
lIendriClS Hudson. Down to 1864, the terri
tory of our river was alternately under the
dominion of the Dutch and Swedes but
years before that time, the Dutch suhdued
the latter, and were the masters of it. II
was then, however, conquered by the English
from them, and remained the property Of the
conuuerOrR except for short interval be-
tween that date aud IVA, when the Outer
relOssessed themselves of II and heldit) unit
the war of the revolution. This place thel
had an owner, more than huudred years he
4. 10. a