Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1889-08-24
AN EASTERN VIEW
Comments of New York Paper on
Late Tragedy.

Comments of New York Paper ON the
Late Tragedy.
The New York Ereling Post has the fol-
lowing editorial on the death of David s.
Terry;
David S. Terry, who was shot YESTERDAY
by Marshal Nagle when committing an as
sault OF the grossest character on Judge
of the United States Supreme Court, be-
longed to that class who all deserved sud
den death by the pistol, and who generally
got their deserts. Terry's long survival
must be considered a piece of rare good
luck. He was desperate of thirty wears
standing, who during all that period carried
his life in his hand, and lived among
other deSperadoes as bad as himself. Their
failure TO murder him long ago is only ex-
pllcaole on the ground assigned by the
Irish car-driver in Pl1ich to a land agent
for the great delay in killing the agents
predecessor-tha what was eyervbo6v's
business was nobody's business" Some
body ought TO have killed Terry a Quarter
OF a century ago-if not the public execn.
toner, some friend of ciyilization-but the
obligation was SO general that nobody in
particular felt bound by it. But the DELAY
was fortunate, lnasmuch as it led to his
dying most suitably, when in the act of
assault on Judge who had decided
against him. Attorney. General Miller is
entitled to the thanks of the conamunity
for furnishing the Judge with proper pro-
lection, and the Marshal for doing his
duty IL such manner as to save us the
shame of seeing q ruffian get off with a
short term of Imprisonment for publicly
beating Judge of our highest Court. We
must be thankful that Terry did not begin
his VIOLENCE, as he undoubtedly would
have ended 1t, with Justice Fields murder.
Terry was really very interesting speci-
men OF class which may now be consid-
cred almost extinct, even at the South.
where ne originated and got his notions of
honoT and morallty-a class which we
have heard admirably described by witty
member of our bar as regular anti-hpi.
lum blackguard." He was, as most of
them were. more than BLACKBOARD. He
had force of character, great courage, and
doubtless some knowledge of the law. for
be was Chief Justice in the early DAYS of
California, but person as much ont of
place in our modern industrial and busy
communities as tiger in barn ward.
The whole tribe owed their existence to the
lnordinate value attached in the South. in
the slavery days, to personal courage as
one OF the social virtues and which thew
| accordingly soon learned to use as a cover
to every variety of social defect-drunkep
ness, quarrelsomeness, idleness and gen.
eral business untrustworthiness. They had
IN fact, to be quarrelsome in order to bring
their peculiar virtue into play and make il
tell on their social standing; but it was a
virtue which, of course, has comparatively
small value in any community in which
the administration of justice is efficient
and the police reasonably vigilant.
Ierry's death reminds US forcibly of the
changes all parts of the country-N ork
as well as the Southern States and the Pa
citic Coast-have undergone since he rose
into fame by killing Broderck. Broderick,
though man of good character and con-
siderable ability, was simply ward politi-
clan and saloon keeper, and the foreman
OF tire company when he emigrated from
New York to California, and vet his death
convulsed the publicin New York as great
political calamity. But the community
which was convulsed was not shocked bv
seeing one of the most notorious rutfians
OF the day-the leader of more than one
riot-lsaiah Rynders, occupying the place
OF United States Marshal, and gave Bill
Poole, political pugilist killed in bar
room fight, one of the most imposing fune-
rails ever seen in the city.
Terry was, in fact, in his beginnings, a
man OF his time, but must have felt him
self ever since the war the member of
rapidly-disappearing variety of the Homo
Anlertcdnus. In the South his congeners
are nearly all gone. Almost every month
carries one of them off, either through
wounds received in battle" or through
the action of alcohol on his mucous mem
brane. What their ideas of post-mortem
existence were il would be interesting to
know, but we have never heard that any of
them published his views on a future life.
They were seldom men Of a speculative or
meditative turn of mind, and probably oc-
cupied themselves with no subject of a
metaphysical character, except the nature
and requirements of honor" But GER
tainly heaven as place of peace and rest,
with no bars, no difficulties" and no
code" and no gentlemen of the old
school, cannot have had much attraction
for them.