Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1884-08-16
~ oAsNisALIsm waoNu
A Correspondent Nen,ilates uis Opinion
Oonoerning ths arctic Mau-rating.

A Correspondent Nen,ilates uis Opinion
Ooncerning tho arctic Mau-rating.
For the ISTELLIoESCRR.
Eating human flesh Is not necessarily
caunibalism, any moro than killing n
human being is murder. Both may DO
acts Of self preservation; and, as "self-
preservation is the first law Of nature no
orimiuality may attach to either. Neither
can it DO truly said, that, IL an individual
would rather starve to death than pre-
serve his life by eating human flesh, no In
therefore u suicide.
Much will depend upon his previous
education, and his conscientious cDnvio.
tons. His previous conduct will also
qualify the case II through Indifference,
willful neglect, Incidence or apathy, he
has thrown away golden opportunities,
by reason Of which ho is subsequ quently
overtaken by adversities, he would hold a
different relation to man, eating than II
he felt himself compelled To resort tn such
q means Of preservation, after every other
honest and energetic measure had been
exhausted Tor tho sake of wife, children
aud country. la such case no man can
exactly "judgo righteous Judgment, for
the heart of mau Ia known to God alone. !"
Primarily, or on the face OF the unfor.
tuuate. or horrible event, the survivors Of
tho late Arctic expedition may not be
responsible for anything that has transpir.
cd in relation to its bideous denoucmept ;
but they have made ut least ono very great
mistake. 1t would have redouudod to their
credit for all time to come, IL they could
have had the moral courage to follow the
spirit Of Gov. Cleveland's instructions to
his iuterlocutors, to "T6u the Truth 1"
That would have boen tho shortest and
best way, even II thorC had been no public
reception which was not absolutely
necessary, and, uuJernll the circumstances,
| now seems to have been nal dprOpOs. Mil.
| lions ejoiced ut tho rescue Oi Lieut.. Greely
and his comrades, and sympathized with
them IN their sutlerings, but comparatively
only a handful participated in tho public
| demonstration to their honor and 1t may
yet be made manifest that among them
were those who were responsible for these
melancholy disasters.
The question involved in the preServa
tion of physical life is a very complicated
| one, aud ono upon which there should be
q very cautious, If not q total suspension
OF Judgment. People may bo very wise
as 10 what ought 10 be done in order 10
sustain physical life-a matter oi but
| Temporary duration at b0st-aud get they
may be rs obtuse in relation to the
|
caunibals themselves, Notwithstanding It's
tenure is eternal.
Two men may be thrown from \ wrecked
vessel, and simultaneously sieze piece o
floating timber that is barely sufficient to
sustain tho weight, aud hence the life oi
one Of them aud although there may
| be uumberlesS instances in which one mar
| has sacrificed his own life, II
order 10 says the life of another
whom no deemed of more use &c
the world than hc yet, IL this sacrifice
be not voluntarily made, what is to deter
mine who shall possess the stick OF tt0at-
ing timber? Perhaps eight out of tel
would answer, might" But II that wa:
permitted to prevail, as the least evil, Il
could not determine the question per 81
that 1t was abstraotly right.
II those poor frozen out gardeners
did the best they could under all the cir
cumstaGces, thero is nc outsider that IL
competent to exercise an intelligent judg
ment adverse 10 them and, had they LET
their iato comrades rcs. ~ their frig giC
sepulture Of the north, their integrity
might mover have been questioned, and i
may be unquestionablc now. But tn,
buudeTiug manner 10 which the who'll
thing has been conducted aud the adyers
facts thai have been developed, have 81
: the suspicion teeth " of the people oI
edge and their ears on the keen guI UlUs
} IL il were ever necessary to resurTec
} their material bodies, what remained i
the icy regions, could as easily be found a
that which catered the stcmachs, th
muscles, aud the various tissues of thei
surviving companions. As the matte
now tands, :" wet blanket has bee
thrown over the whole affair.
NI.nrI-A-