The Memphis appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1886-1890, 1888-12-02

TO accord to Annas some measure Of sacer-
dotal recognition. But, in Roman judi
cial and official document, under the hand
OF a Roman Piocurator and Judge, there
would be no reference whatever to the
"pontificate" of man whom Rome had
twenty years before Eremoyed from Office
for violation of duty.
4. The document blunders in the official
| designation of the Judge by whom il pro-
fesses to be pronounced 1t describes him
as the 'Intendant Of the province Of lower
Galilee." Now, the title "Intendant,"
whatever it may mean, is utterly unknown
| to the legal nomenclature of Rome, and
| there was no such province" as that OF
Clover Galiee, at all. The whole Of Judea
constituted one Imperial province, OF
which the real Governor at the time was
the Emperor Tiberius Caesar Pilates
actual position was that of representative
of the Emperor in the Province OF Judea,
and his correct official title was that OF
"Procurator Ciesaris," the Procurator,
Deputy or Attorney OF Cesar in the prov
ince. lie was Pr0curator cum potestate,
Governor with full civil, criminal and
military jurisdiction, and responsible di-
rectly TO his great master at Rome. 1t was
in this character, and in virtue OF these
powers that PLATE sat in judgment and
| pronounced sentence upon our Savior, and
he certainly would never stumble over his
own official designation in the sentence OF
| death.
g. The elaborate enumeration OF the six
oilcnses OF which Plate is said to have
| found our Savior guilty, reveals total
| ignorance OF Roman legal procedure, and
| complete misconceptiou Of the whole
proceedings ut the Prptonum on that
eventiul April day.
1t is TO be remembered that, upon the
| Immediately preceding night, the Jewish
Sanhedrn had gone through the form OF
trying and condemning our Savior for an
ofiense against Jewish law. In the early
morning they hurried with their victim
before Plate, evidently under the impress
sion that he would simply confirm their
sentence, and authorize IFS execution.
But, with that almost instructive sense OF
law and Justice which characterized the
Roman, and which even the worst and
weakest OF Roman governors never failed
| 10 exhibit, PLATE refused TO entertain any
question OF merely jewish law, and re-
quired them to formulate against the pris-
oner an accusation" OF specific ollense
against Roman law, which he, as a Roman
| magistrate, could recognize. Under this
UNEXPECTED demand the accusers Of our
Savior Immediately abandoned their
former ground aud preferred against Him
the three-fold accusations, rs given by st.
Luke, OF % peryerting the people, ~ for
bidding TO give tribute to Caesar, and (3)
claiming TO be king. In support OF the
iirst two OF these charges not title OF
evidence appears 10 have been given.
They were VIGOROUSLY at variance with
the invariable tenor OF our Savior's teach
ings and actions, and Plate was satisfied
that they were baseless. Besides, Roman
criminal law allowed an indictment against
a prisoner TO contain only one count Set
ting up a claim TO kingship within tie
Roman empire wasa violation OF the ''lec
Jutia Majestatis," which was passed in
the time Of Julius Caesar, the penalty for
which was death. Plate, therefore, sus-
tanned only the last chargc-the
claim 10 kingship-and Intercepted
our Savior upon II, obtaining
from his own lips the distinct confession
"Thou sayest Il, | am a King" accom-
panied by the explanation that ii is king
dom was not an earthly one. Plate was
| satisfied that this confession. Interpreted
by the accompanying explanation, in
volyed no oiiense, aud lac expressed his
personal conviction OF the prisoners limo
cence. Aiterward, however, yielding 20
"furious clamor without and cowardly
fear Within" he availed himself OF this
confession us the technical ground for con-
demning our Savior for an oilenBe OF
which he knew him to be innocent. Ac-
corlingly, ascending the 'judgmentseat,"
from which alone q final sentence could be
legally pronounced, and, doubtless In the
customary form, ''ibis nd crucem," he
sentenced our Saviour 30 he cruciiied.
The forms OF Roman criminal law required
that there should be placed over the
head OF a condemned criminal an extract
from his sentence, in order that all
might know who he was, and the precise
Ofcnso for which lac suffered, and accord.
ingly-not from any caprice. as is usually
supposed but In strict compliance with
legal rcQuircment-l'ilaic wrote with his
own hand the supcrscrip,ion Of his accu.
sation, Jesus Oi Nazareth, King OF the
JcWs'
The sole charge, therefore, against oul
Savior which Plate entertained, the sol,
charge which lac investigated. the sole
charge Of which no declared him guilty
and tho sole charge which he published
In the judicial extract Of the sentence
was that Of claiming 10 be a king. The
| tlAl0N tNuhiflluU tNAnVAltu III lNt 81
called transcript is therefore merely III,
4 clumsy creation OF an ill-iniormed and ILL.,
adjusted brain.
We have thus shown that In every os
. scnlial elcmcnt-in iis date, In the locus
In the pontihcatc. la the official designa
, lion Of the judge, and In tho character %
the oiIcnsc itself the document Is uitcrl,
: at fault There are some minor point
r which We cannot take space 30 mention
. but we cannot refrain from noticing IN,
. unconscious humor Of the statement thai
, "a brass plate with n copy OF the precious
, | transcript had been sent 10 each tribe,
, | when ten Of the tribes had irrctfiovabl,
l vanished from the page Of history owe
/ | 400 ycan bciorcl
The Trainer OF the paper has evidently
] ! secured the 'buus' intended for thl
, ! whole 0i the lost ton tribes.
, The whole document. and tho trumpct
, up story Of NJ discovery. show that ~ IA
, | from possessing any Historical value" !
, Il nothing else and nothing less than
b | clumsy fabrication, a TRANSPARENT forgery
, | concocicd bv some one who knew nbso
lnlely nothing Of Roman law aud lcga
: procedure, and only enough OF the Gospel
/ 10 misunderstood alike their letter an,
their spirit
b II h by no means improbable that Plat
: ala transmit 10 Rome some account OF thl
carccr aud Of the trial and death Of on
( savior We know that II was usual 70
9 imperial procuaion % send 10 thci
p master at Rome some record Of Oh,