Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1883-06-21

Some Historical and Phil0sophical Re-
marks Upon u Timely Topic.

From the Philadelphia Times.
1t is said by some yeracious authorities. whose
names have forgotten because I never knew
them, that on the ancient council books of Gal
way, Ireland 1t is duly recorded that in the year
of our Lord 1893 James Lynch, mayor Of Gal
way. hanged his own son out Of the window Tor
defrauding and killing strangers. without mar
tial or common law, to show good example to
posterity."
There is what the gentleman from moth
kyarlina" would call right peart sprinkle" or
fright smart chance OF Lynch law In that
minute, and looking at it In cold blooded, de-
liberate rigdly legal light and analysis, one is
at first disposed to doubt that the son who was
hanged did ''show good example to posterity"
when he 'defrauded and killed strangers with
out martial or common law" But going di-
rectly and In mObbish fashion, without due
and formal process of law, right at the apparent
common sense OF the record, we understand at
once that the father hanged his son without
martial or common law, to show q good exam
pie and teach posterity short cut to justice,
when the windings and mazes of common law
were inexplicably and hopelessly entac CLING and
misleading. It seems, By the chronicle, that
young Lynch had been sent to Spain by his
father, the mayor to purchase q cargo Of the
wine that biteth like lOgwood and stingeth like
q madden when 1t giveth its dye color Alright in
stance In riotOus living, and Jared sumptuously
three times day and four or five times night
and spent all his money at the bar and In the
faro room before he bought his cargo. How
ever, his rating was good, and he loaded his
ship on short credit, thirty, sixty and ninety
days, fifteen of, and sailed joyeusly for home,
intending to beat the slate and say nothing to
MS father about the paper. But the credit man
OF the concern, who didn't exactly like the looks
OF things, sent his nephew along to collect the
IN in Col %hok r.
presence would probably cause GOODNESS in the
family circle as soon as he presented his state
ment, young Lynch ''expedited'' matters by
tossing the Spaniard into the loud sounding sea
and then sailed joyously on In an ever widening
moral horizon, and under an intellectual sky
that was infinitely cloudless.
But one of the sailors some time afterward lay
down to die, and when he was positively assured
that he could not positively live long enough to
be hanged for his share in the transaction. told
Mayor Lynch how his son had killed the Span
lard. Tried before his own father, the young
merchant was convicted and sentenced to be
hanged. The family and friends violently pre-
vented the execution, whereupon the mayor
took his son up stairs, fastened staple to the
wall, with his own hands adjusted the moose
about the young mans neck, pushed him out of
window overlooking the public street and
there hanged him in manner and for reasons set
forth In the record. Whenever you talk about
Lynch law. think of John FitZstephens Lynch,
mayor Of Galway, who filed the first caveat for
an invention generally supposed to be Ameri-
can.
The mayors patent, however, did not cover
the entire ground OF Lynch court, as the pris-
Oner had been legally and formally tried, con-
vieted and sentenced. Many years afterward
Virginia farmer named Lynch got out an i'm
proyement. He captured thief and knowing
that II he turned him over to the authorities
he Would himself be more savagely abused
as witness by the prisoners counsel than any
felon in the dock, and knowing that it would be
tOSs-up whether the average petit Jury would
punish the prisoner or the prosecuting witness,
the captOr organized little court of his own.
He tried the case while he was tying the pris-
oner to tree; he pronounced sentence while he
trimmed and twisted the hickories, and then he
executed the sentence himself by whipping the
thief until the court was tired.
This was genuine Lynch law, and 1t seems to
vigorously in lands that have the most law. A
Lynch court is always lawless. But then it is
often necessary and usually Just. There Is much
that is good law which Is very poor Justice
And .here are some things lawless that are right
and eXpedient.
A few days ago a mob at Waverly Iowa.
hanged two brethren by the name of Barber.
These brethren had shot sheriff and other
wise cOndu ted themselves in an offensive and
dangerous manner. The hanging did not cost
the state OF Iowa one cent. The mob even took
their prisoners out Of town a little ways and
hanged them In the woods. They tboughtlessly
hanged them In grove devoted to picnics but
this was an error of judgment for which the
mob should apologize to the teachers of public
and Sabbath-schoOls, who will now be compelled
to seek other and less historic spots where their
little ones may fall out Of swings and eat the
awful cake and hOrrOr-laden pie Of the picnic.
Doubtless the hanging of the Barber brothers
was lawiess act, and doubtless, also, it was an
act OF justice. Had these brethren lived in Mis-
souri, they might have lived many years. killing
and pundering the innocent, the law-abiding,
the respectable people until some brute Of their
own kind could be hired by the state to slay
them But in Iowa their career was cut short
by dose OF their own medicine. The murder
ers were murdered, and no man in Iowa has now
any fear of being shot by the Barber brothers.
In the abstract Lynch law is disgraceful and
wicked. But if somebody must be killed, BY all
means let US kill the fellows who are fond of
killing. There are things far worse and more
disgraceful than Lynch courts. party Of
gentlemen who ''black up" and escort some
wretched cut-throat out to moonlight neck
tie party are honorable and respectable gentle
men when compared with the jury that vindi-
Gated the late and very unlamented Dukes and
declared him an innocent man. Had Lawyer
Dukes committed his crimes in Iowa. I think he
would have had the same difficulty in keeping
ms feet upon the ground that was experienced
by the recent Messrs. Barber. Possibly some of
the jury that declared Lawyer Dukes worthy of
the protection and respect of the community he
had disgraeed and outraged would also have
danced upon the thin, impalpable air to the
mortiferous pleasing OF a rope. The people of
Iowa appear to have habit of killing off the
right men, Hence the superior attractions of
that state as place of abode for honest. law
abiding men. because it is out Of debt, very
temperate, with a leaning toward total absti-
nence, has no train-robbers, nor any regularly
organized bandtti, and a legislature that only
meets once in two years.
OF course. all lawyers condemn Lynch law.
They have. in the first place. profound respect