Mexico weekly ledger., 1883-10-18
THE BLUE LAWS.

luNcntiOu VI Ouc hCf. D.. CtClo.
Peters may have written such a book
as has been ascribed to him, but the
quotations made from it do not con-
tain what is commonly known as the
Blue Laws. The worst Of these re-
lated to legislation concerning witches
and Quakers, to whom there is no
allusion in the cited extracts.
1t will take something more than
Puritanical assertion and quota
tons from unknown sources to
upset belief of traditional legends,
descended from father to son and in
terwoven with records and histories
IN this country concerning New Eng
lands Blue Laws. There is a good
deal of vivaclty, but scarcely enough
inspiration in a~fter-dinner orations
to destroy remembrance of the Rev.
Sam Paris of Salem notoriety, and
of Rev. Cotton Mather, the best of
whose acts was his admission that he
had gone too far in his teaching and
shedding of blood. Some of Mather's
essays have been commended; but
christianity and civilization shudder
when mention is made of his deeds.
Still he was merely the product Of
fanaticism. Persecution of witches
itself was only the outcome Of belief
in magic under clerical guidance.
According to the clergy of that day,
the Arch-iend exercised the same I'M
limited sway after the death of Christ
as previously. This extended not
only 0ver a vast number Of natural
elements, but over the bodies and
dispositions of unbaptized and faith
less men and ONE Even the
faithful themselves were not wholly
free from annoyance, and the logical
consequences of such teachings were
what is known as the Blue Laws and
q persecution, the devils supposed
aids, that ragged with unparalleled
fury.
Christ announced that the power
of Satan had been curtailed, and if
there was victory in His resurrection,
it was His triumph oyer the Arch
fiend. Belief in witehcraft was, there
fore, a practical denial of the chiefest
glory of the Cross. And yet a divine
in our midst justiies the re-enact-
ment by Come cticut 100 years after
Christ of a system of laws in which
the following stands out prominently:
"a man or woman that hath a IA
miliar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall
surely be put to death."-Lev. chap.
81, verse 3.
Christ taught also that some of the
Mosaic enactments were permitted
on account of the hardness of heart
of the generation they were intended
to goyern-Mat. ch. 10, yer. 8. Con-
corning a law that read ''Breach for
breach, eye for eye, tooth for tooth,
as he hes caused a blemish in man,
so shall it be done unto him AGAIN.
Lev. CHI. "a, yer. 20. Christ said in
his sermon on the mount, rye have
heard that iG has been said, IAN eye
for an eye, and a tooth for n tooth /;
but l say unto you that We resist moi
evil'-Matt. ch. 5 YER. SO and 80.
Again, under Moses, neglect of the
Sabbath and work on that day was
punishable with death.-Ex. ch. 81,
yer. IA. But Christ declared that HI
was Lord of the Sabbath, and assert.
ed that the Sabbath was made fol-
man, and not mar for the Sabbath.
Among other Mosaic provisions were
the following: "Thou shalt not veal
q garment of diverse sorts, as Of
WOODEN Oh linen together. "-Deut.
chap. p, yer. IL. ''They shall moi
shave the corners of their beard
Lev. ch. p, yer. 5. "Swine flesh is
not to be eaten." GAN of the ses
that have not fins are an abomination,
(Oysters and clans, for instance. =,
Even the swan is an abomination. -
Lev. chap. IL, ver. 48, II, IS. But
Christ taught that it vas not what s
man ate that defiled him, Mar. Oh. Z,
yer. Is, 10; and, indeed, left little
of the civil law of Moses undenounce6
as unfit for His day. The demented
and possessed He restored, and, in.
stead of new statutes to take the place
of those He disapproved of, impaired
noble social principles that are moi
susceptible Of being improperly ap'
piled. and will serve as the basis Of
legislation forever.
But Mr.. Wayman. even in the
nineteenth century finds delight in the
fact that the State of Connecticut re
instated the Mosaic enactments, ani
parades it through the Intelligence
over his own signature to prove
that commonwealth had no "Blut
Laws" Such an act is scarce less ex'
traordinary than his assertion in the
same paper that the best elements o.
our American constitutions we're sug.
gested in such legislation.
Bancroft, the historian, quoted
speaking Of blind idolatry of the
Bible on the part Of New Englanders
says, however, ''the statute book il
obedience to this alteration of the
letter had asserted the existence Of
witchcraft by establishing death q.
its penalty, sustaining both the super
stition and its punishment by refer
ence to the Jewish records"
This early emIorants IN C~ounaot}cu