The record-union., 1894-02-01
FOR PEOPLE OF LIMITED INTEL
LECTUAL CAPACITY.

LECTUAL CAPACITY.
The people of small reasoning faculty
are too often overlooked. Inferior an
alytical power has rights, and we owe an
apology to an esteemed correspondent
for having forgotten him in his class
when writing on the subject of the re-
prieve of McNulty. We shall endeavor
to repair the injury in this article.
To understand the simplest and clear
est analysis is a difficult task to all that
class of persons who mistake prejudiced
conclusions for the result of analytical
reasoning. We therefore ask the friends,
in whose interest this is written, to note
each step in the process of reasoning.
John McNulty inflicted the death PEN
atty. The man Collins, whom he killed.
had offended him. A quarrel had ensued.
McNulty had received physical punish
menJ in the way of assault and battery,
from friend of Collins.
Observe closely now. The offense
against McNulty was assault and battery
committed by friend of Collins. and for
this he inflicted the death penalty on Col
Inns. John McNulty did not give Collins
any chance to petition the Governor of the
State to reprieve him (Collins) from the
death penalty, which McNulty in the
malignity of his heart had pronounced
upon him. In the conception of John
McNuIty capital punishment is the only
adequate penalty for the kind of offense
which Collins committed.
As already stated, McNulty and Col
had committed assault and battery the
day before the latter was killed by
McNulty. During the interval between
the battery and the murder. McNulty
was evidently trying Collins in his own
mind. He was not authorized by society
to try him. but he did try him. He meas
ured up his offense. He determined in
his own mind and by standards of his
own creation that capital punishment was
the adequate punishment for an assault
and battery for which he seems to have
held Collins responsible.
Thus you will find that, tried by the
standards erected by John McNulty, life
should be taken as a penalty for the COM
mission of the misdemeanor known as
assault and battery. After weighing duly
the doctrines herein presented, is there
anyone left so asinine as not to under
stand that John McNulty is not in favor
of the abolition of capital punishment?
On the contrary, McNulty would hang
every man who commits assault and bat
terry.
How merciful was McNulty to the man
he killed? Did he give the Daughters of
the Good Shepherd chance to interfere
behalf of Collins? Di anyone come
to him as Judge. jury and hangman and
saw to him: ''Wiu you please give the
Governor a chance to reprieve Mr.. Col
Inns? Will you be so kind and SO oblig-
inp as to commute Mr.. Collins sentence
OF Qeatl TO I'LL pE1SOAAAOAb AOA AAASt ~'NSAA
inp of the kind was done. The McNulty
standard was to deal out retributive JUS
tice. and his measure of that justice cor
related assault and battery with the death
nena,ty. McNulty tried by McNultyism
would hang McNulty; and likewise the
standards set up by assassins everywhere
would deprive them of life. They infiict
the death penalty; they must believe in
its inherent justice. Nor is this un-Chris-
+;on. The entire tenor of Christian teach
;no is that men shall be dealt with accord
;no to the standards they establish for the
government and direction Of their deal
inos with others. Even the lowest cspa-
citv will perceive this upon remembering
few leading quotations, so consistent
,v;tb each other as to establish an invalu-
obla guide to ripe conclusions:
mPlessed are the merciful. for they shall
obtain mercy"
aHe that sheddeth mans blood. by man
shall his blood be she'd"
"ae that taketh the sword shall perish
by the sword.'
.Judee not lest ye be judged, for with
what measure ye mete, it shall be meas
ured unto you again."