The herald., 1896-06-23

natural love of truth and justice, by
which we can be guided and govern our
selves and know how to guide and govern
our fellow beings.
The man who feels his personal re-
sponsibility to the Being who he be-
lieves has created him, is watching over
him with never-failing and never
ending solicitude and will certainly re-
ward his obedience to his laws and his
execution of his commands by crown
of everlasting happiness, can never,
holding this belief and in full possession
of those glorious faculties with which
his Creator has endowed him, cut short
that life that he knows Is not his own,
but given him for some wise purpose
which he cannot altogether compre-
hend but can never cease to venerate.
With this man we have nothing to do;
his feet are brushing the dew from the
flowers of earth and his head is set
among the stars He has no restless i'm
, pulses and desires; he is prepared to
meet and suffer all things because he
feels there is a great undying purpose
underlying them, which he one day, per-
hapS. may understand.
The man with whom we have to deal
Is he who admits no law but that framed
by human intelligence, and who claims
the right to do as he thinks fit with the
faculties with which he is endowed, and
10 IlcIciy III uOuDl DIS u eAdcCty now
much pain or trouble or disgrace he
ought to bear before putting an end to
his existence.
Now, If this man is to rely for guild
ance on his own innate sense of right
and wrong, and proceeds to act upon it,
he will soon be brought in opposition to
some other who is doing precisely the
same thing, each thinking his cause Just
and his system of ethics the correct one
These two, If they do not fight (Which
event as rational beings we hope
against must inevitably resort to
third party to settle the dispute, whom
to their dismay, they find holds opinions
gather others to them and, after much
discussion, they decide on code of NOR
ais which is elevated or debased, ac-
cording to the nature of the majority.
Now, should the question they resolve
on be that OF the propriety or impropri-
ETY. or self destruction. and the majority
decide that self destruction Is proper
when desired. by the individual, every
one who Is tired of life puts himself out
or it, and as the strongest supporters of
suicide as natural right of men would
reasonably be supposed to be in a hurry
TO leave the world, in a short time only
those who find life worth living will be
left to enjoy it, If we consider such a
state of society as this, where man is
regarded as merely a creature of this
world, empowered to make such laws a s
seem best to him, and dependent on the
system of the survival of the fittest to
develop his race. it will be impossible to
prove that suicide is wrong.
Let us now leave this supposititious
case and examine the existing condition
that Immediately surrounds us. The
criminal law Of the United States does
not infict any forfeiture or penalty upon
tne one VINO takes his own life, but per-
son who aids and abets the act is a,iiItv
or murder In some of it's degrees. or or
manslaughter. Now no law made hv
and for an intelligent people could treat
as felon one who aids and abets an
other to commit good act, or an act
snat v neither good nor bad. and no per-