The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1893-09-29
Lswissspsss.

Il is certainly spps'lipg 70 read the ae
counts 10 the daily papers Of the lavle-sns=s
| ;ssi seems 10 be abroad in the lan1. both
North and South. "a
For the past two months. very near every
daily. paper that hes been issued, contains
an account Of The commission Of some afro
cious crime. until now the decslogue Is about
| exhausted.
ore we drifting into barbsrism II We
are. then the boast Of American civili-
zation should cease, and our churches aud
school houses should be pulled down, our
system Of Justice abolished. and lot every man
establish unto himself code Of law and
morals, for we are not advancing in civilizs-
tion, and our churches, schools and icouris
are becoming a. parody in the sight Of the
| outside world.
or course, neither civilization, society nor
the institutions Of learning can put stop to
the individual committing crime, rs it Is i'm
possible for human agencies to change
human nature. ne both The divine sud human
laws have been violated from the beginning
VI shS "otf " eoV PteoVht ti"St ""e 'HSSS
laws will be violated through coming ages.
But we must sly that the individual COM
mittipg crime, is quite different to what is
known rs mobs. In one case it is the indi-
vilual. In the other II Is people for whose
protection laws are enacted, and they ALLOW
excitement and passion to control, and be-
come criminals themselves. Thus violating
the very law that they .itemp. &c T.ndcatc,
for after the criminal is put to death, or tor
tured by wild mob, the law has not been
vindicated; the wild human passion is alone
appeased, md the majesty Of the laws has
been insultei and trampled under foot.
Many poor wretch who was innocent
has suffered at the hands of an iufurated
mob, when if he had been given on impartial
trial before court, presided over by an
impartial Judge, and an impartial jury to
pass on his innocence or guilt, he would have
been acquitted.
In many instances the death penalty
| is inflicted by the mob, when the pun
| ishmcnt prescribed by the law is only
| Imprisonment for limited number Of years,
as in the Roanoke case few days ago,
which was au outrage of tho deepest dye,
and one that will stand on record rs being
one of the m st british and iuhumau lynch
ings TINT has ever taken place in n civilized
community, for the infuriated mob was not
satisfied with having put the poor wretch TO
death, but must burn the body.
L Il l, ,hora hat in tI,n
Roanoke case, the law was trampled
under foot, for the prisoner was in the
| hands of the officers Of the law, and
in endeavoring to protect him several
lives were sacrificed, and even now
Mayor Trout is a refugee from the city tc
evade the vengeance Of the mob because il
the discharge of his duty he cndeavored tt
protect the prisoner from the fury of tha
| rabble.
We can see no excuse for tho Roanoke
lynching and it is folly for the rabble to at
tempt to hold Mayor Trout responsible fol
the sad occurrence. They ore to blame fol
the horrible affair.
We must admit that the history Of ou
/
each case, except the lynching of Richard
son AT Denmark, the crimes with which th'
| parties stood charged were most heinous, ant
the penalty was death, and there was not {
shadow of doubt rs to the guilt Of the part
and they received the punishment prescribe,
by law, and which their heinous crime
deserved.
But even in these CAGES. it would hav
been much better to have let the la,
take its course and thereby be vindicated
than to have resortcl to m oh law
But it is not our purpose to cxonerats
the people of our own State and condemn
the people Of Virginia: but to ask the pee
pie to consider the effect that such q cours
will lead to, and the impression it makes o
the outside world to say nothing of the re
Election on our civilization.
1t becomes every god citizens duty
put his seal of condemnation OIL lynchin
and lawlcssness, let it bc for whatever Grim
it may.
The courts rs established by the constitr
ton are the ones to appeal to and not Judg
Lynch, whose urt is organized by passio
and in which the scntence is dclth, TO al
| peass passion.