Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1883-12-21
LETTERS FROM THE PEOPLE.
Great Crime and Its Remedy.

10 the Editors OF the Appoali
From beyond the azure mountain
Fran beyond the misty sea,
There is opened up fountain"
That brings new light to me.
The surest escape from the odious crime
of prostitution is marriage. Hitherto,
neither the laws against seduction and
lascivious attachments, nor the feeble and
half jocular anathcmas of the Church, nor
the terrpts OF the shotgun and the six
shooter, have availed to drive this hateful
and debaSing wrong from society.
Why not, then, move out of the old ruts,
and take new path? Let marriage take
the place Of seduction, and legitimacy take
the place of bastardy. Require the laws
to make all acts of illegal concupiscence
between persons of different sexes mar
riage In fact; and give the woman, as an
injured citizen, the utmost power OF the
nation for the vindication of her rights.
Give the female who is betrayed and so
foully wronged all the rights OF wife;
and the child, who without its fault is
brought into the world in disgrace, all the
rights of legitimacy.
This was, in part at least, the law of
Moses, the divine legislator of the Jews,
"If man." said that great authority,
'entice maid that is not betrothed and
lie with her, he shall surely endow her as
his wife," lex. Xxx, IL, l6.) st. Paul, the
most learned and eminent of the apostles
of the Master, plainly indicated the like
doctrine. "To avoid fofnication," he
urged, "let every man have his own wife,
and every woman have her own husband"
II Cor, vii, 2.) Most obviously, ii this line
of policy is pursued, this very great
and irreparable evil and injustice must
necessarily be brought to an end-a
righteous and proper end.
And again, to restrain such unchristian
and abominabe mishaps to the narrowest
limits, let il be ordained, that when the
male offender is married, his punishment
shall be such that he will not be left in 4
condition to repeat his impious crime
against womanhood, and against virtue.
Ii he will not be wise and just, and cease
to do evil and learn to do well, discrown
him of the divine gift he has so shame
fully abused! This may be done without
danger to his life or his capacity to labor
for his support. He may still be left a
man, but without the power or temptation
to practice his sin against womanhood and
against purity. And, beyond this, his
punishment will become warning to like
evil-doers, and himself living monument
of the baseness and folly of one who has
disgraced and disregarded his sacred duty
to virtue, and the woman whom he failed
or omitted TO protect from the conse-
and wrong of his own inhiction.
The law of Moses, which is often treated
as the divine law, punished such ofIenses
as crimes worthy of death. And in the
purer and more lofty Christian morals
such wrongs are classed with the blackest
offences of man. (Rev. xxi, 81 These
things admitted ii is but poor compli-
ment to the wisdom and justice of Chris
tian societies and human governments,
which grow out OF Christian society, to
confess that crime and injustice may not
be corrected or suppressed. Say that the
disease is desperate; what is the answer?
Such diseases require and justify the use
of the severest remediesl Ii thine eve
offend thee, pluck il out and throw it away
Ii thy hand offend thee, cut il off, is the
stern command of n pure aud elevated
morality? Are Christian people unable
to obey this necessary and divine law?
oh tell it not in Gath or publish il in the
streets of Askelon.
1t may be said, however, that this view
of the matter passes over the woman with
out punishment. This is proper for two
reasons:
Fyrsi.-Because il is the mans fault that
the woman is enticed and ruined. lie
assumes 10 be her protector, her law
maker, her Judge, her guide, her sover-
eign. n he betray her, or suffer her TO
be betrayed, he is recreant TO the highest
and most sacred OF human trusts. lie is
the sovereign committing treason against
the subject and the State itself. No higher
crime is known TO morals and to law.
Sec0nd.-The Great Teacher did not con-
denim the woman. Neither do condemn
thee. Go and sin no more (St. John, vii,
III. Makethe woman able to stand, and
she will never fall unenticed. Surround
her with the divine protection of noble
and virtuous manlrvod, and she will pass
through the flames OF the furnace without
the smell of fire upon her garments. In
this world is there a nobler and more
blessed work for men to do? F.N.P.