The University daily. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 18??-????, 1891-06-08

iaIf0nShlp ana muuuai pFOIeEIlOnss
/ IA treaty il therefore contaminated,
with the federal government. The.
/ State constitution are mot considered
/ BY powers across the water The
States are not permitted to make
treaties; certainly they should not
be allowed to nullsty them. While
the treaty IS still operative, murder
occurs id one of the American States
and number of aliens are arrested
and brought to trial The evidence
lis introduced; the arguments are
made the Court instructs, and the
| jury retires; a verdict Of mot guilty
is pronounced. Then and there the
accused, BY every fair construction
of law, are absolutely free They
are entitled to all that a verdict
of acquittal implies in q crimi
nal case. However, instead of
being permitted to depart from the
court room. they are incarcerated in
the Jail a mob, conceiVing that
justice has miscarried, proceed to the
jail, shoot down the prisoners, who
IN the face of the. lat0 are guilttess,
and hang them to the lamp posts.
The home government Of the prison
ers demands reparation. It is po-
litely2 informed that owing to our
peeulitr system of States and Fed
eral union, the United States cannot
punish the mob. It demands indem
nifty for the families of its slaugh-
tered subjects and is made to I'M
derstand that the whole matter is :
mere question of inclination and de-
sire on the part of Congress. This,
and nothing more!
That is the. New Orleans case in
a nut shell Admit the prisoners
were assassins, admit they imperil-
ed the peace and security of the ma
tive citizen. The equity Of inter
national law,the guarantee Of our
Constitution to give security TO all
persons, strengthened by treaty stip-
ulations, stand as flaming swords to
brand this government for it's ina
Sbility to carry its honorable promises
into effect. The cries of 'bribery'
and ''fear'' and power furni sh no
excuse for the violation Of a solemn
treaty, - X.
4 Were one of the provinces of Italy
Ito become the scene of a butchery
of American citizens who were by the
law of Italy pronounced guiltless of
crime, Shout of indignation would
be heard throughout the land, and a
million patriotic, willing hands
would batter the possessions of5the
Caesars into dust! Should we be less
just th an we would have others be to
us? Should we longer permit q con-
stitutional injustice and weakness to
-disfgure our civilization, whe IN we
would treat it with violence and dis
dain, if urged as an avenue of escape
from damages, by another nation? 1
Mightdoes not make rights Were
an Italian feet. to drop anchor in the
Gulf OF Mexico, and murder the in
habitants ofNew Orleans by nerci-
lesslJ cannonading the city, and were
King Humbert to- refuse indelnnifi-
cation to the: government, and the
punish ment Of the offenders, because
owing to our peculiar dual govern
ment, the United States have no
right to ask for either, when the in
Jury done was to the State Of Louis
lana alone, war would result beyond
doubt. : Americans would feel that
they had been insulted and outraged,
and the government would speedily
resent such an answer. Yet, Italy
is ODE fed the same nauseating dose
that we would never take.
20, consistency, thou art jewell!
\ This is the nineteenth century.
Civilization, religion, and education
are doing much to bring into closer
and more familiar relations, the pow
ers of the earth. International law
4 (the comfy Of nations, the code of
manners of the world } is extending
its lines of protection and aftability
everywhere. Rights are defined,
remedies agreed to-, and punish ment
provided. America is considered the
model Of human governments. Here
the rights of the poor and weak are
supposed to be as stable as those of
the rich and powerful; Here. wis
dom and justice are represented as
having entered into. partnership
for the dispensation of humane law
and equity" Yet, to-day america
is the only nation on the globe that
distinctly and positively declares it's
utter inability to punish those who
annul the Constitution of the land,
and refuse to. carry out treaty, en-
tered into with due solemnity and
honesty of1pnrpose! /: ="
The national government should
be given absolute jurisdiction in all
questions of this nature. The States
should not desire to take from the
government which makes treaty,
the power to enfoce it. Italy is
small nation. The mighty phalanxes
that were once the dread ofthe world,
are not here to avenge insult to the
Roman people. Caesar, Regnlus,
Tarqutn, lScipio, the once proud and
fierce chieftains of the Roman SOL
diery, cannot return from their dust
to wage war with the enemiesof their
country. Weakness sits now where
erstwhile feclined imperial power! .
There is, however, a public. senti-H
ment more powerful than all of these.