Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1888-06-28

was paler than when ne had seen II
first. When the time came for his de-
tense he arose with a severe air anC
addressed the court with much hau.
teur.
1t is fortunate for me, gentlemen,
said he. that. being charged before
you as a. criminal, nothing is alleged
against my honesty. Why, then, am
a culprit? Because l have performed
functions which are said to be inia.
NOUS. ask yog. gentlemen. if there
are Infamous functions in the State?
'Infamy is the appanage of crime,
and where there is no crime there can
be no infamy. The discharge Of my
functions is not criminal, sirs; it is al
act of justice and the same principle
of equity which leads you TO pass a
sentence actuates me when ! inhict
the penalty upon the culprit. The
fact is that our functions are associa.
ted to such degree that mine cannot
be stigmatized without mortal impu.
tation on yours.
i am aware that ali public offices
are not equally honorable; they are
creditable in proportion to their use
tulness to society. According TO this
principle, sirs, mine stands first
What would the State DO if my office
were suppressed for single day?
The kingdom would be given up to
brigandage. 1mpunity would kill the
laws; virture would be despised; vice
would prevail. They would laugh at
your sentences, gentlemen. 1t is in
the shadow of my sword that inno-
cence breathes freely. tHet the police
are powerful and that public order
prevails.
My office is considered dishonora.
bic because l slay nen. Ask a SOL
dier what his profession is; he will
tell you that, like me, he is slayer
OF men. Yet his company is never
Stunned and no one thinks he is dis.
graced by eating in his company. If
there be any difference between Us,
surely it is in my favor For whom
does soldier siay Innocents, very
honorable men, whose only crime Is
that they DO their duty. l respect
innocence. l kill only culprlts. l
purge society OF the monsters who dis
turb its repose.
Soldiers repress only external raids;
they have to fight but rarely, lapses
of twenty years have passed without
the army being called into action. I
preserve peace at home; l continually
restrain the insolence OF bad citizens.
not a week passes in which DO not
punish crime and avenge the wrongs
OF the injured.
Then, too, each solitary soldier,
each officer, contributes in but small
degree to the tranquility Of the State.
the glory of preserving public tran
guilty is divided among so many
thousand men that each individual
has only a small share OF the priv.
lege. On the other hand, in my pro-
fession lies the advantage of alone en-
surfing public peace, and l can say
without exaggeration that ! alone in
my vast department secure quiet more
effectually on behalf of the State than
100000 men can do.
DO not believe, gentlemen, that in
defending the unjustly attacked pre-
rogative Of my office I claim any per.
sonal merit. | know that an office.
however brilliant, is always distinct
from the individual who holds it. As
lay no claim to the glory OF my func.
tions, it would be unjust to cast upon
me the opprobrium which the thought
less have seen fit to attach to them,
and to call me infamous because it is
alleged that my Office deserves the ep-
tibet. Permit me to add that ! have
the honor to be the fourth Of my fam.
lily to whom the office OF public execu.
toner of Paris has descended from ia.
ther to son, and if hereditary nobility
were attached to it, as it should be,
might stand on even ground with Ma.
lame la Msrquise.
/ You laugh, gentlemen, at the word
hereditary I cannot find anything
extraordinary or preposterous in it
/ Military offices, which have the same
/ functions as mine and which, as l havt
observed, are inferior TO il, enjoy en-
| Joy the same advantages. Yours. gen
tlemea-allow me 10 say so-yoars
which only contribute 10 the public
veal in an indirect way, have tht
same privilege. Why Is the conces
sion denied to my Office None amonl
you. gentlemen, can, individually, n
sure public happiness etiectually, non'
can pronounce a sentence except II
,.,,,.,r.a;nn ,riAh al tln nihnr nam