The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1898-09-16
THE TRIAL OF CHRIST.

>h''' S-i.t'N'- - L-AN II NJ
THE TRIAL OF CHRIST.
As announced some time ago a re-
port by Pontius PLATE to the Emperor
Tlberius Oh the trial and conviction of
Jesus Christ has been found. so it is
claimed. in ia" arr!ir. Stfth he Vatican.
Although no one rs vet Las b,,n able
to vouch for its authenticity. the uocu-
mcnt has occasioncd much discussion
III ecclesiastical circles i'll Rome, and 4
transcript OF lis contents has been given
wide publicity. What may he its ulti-
mate value as an historical document,
or whether it will be found to be Il
clever forgery. it is impossible to say.
Dalziels Agency sends rom Rome L
translation Of the document, OF Which
the following are the most important
passages:-
"Pontius PLATE to Tcrcntius Ciarus,
Secretary to the Emperor Tibcrius.
greeting:-
Il am astonishcd at the sensation
created in Rome by the trial of Jesus
Christ. The incident in itself certainly
does not amount enough to demand the
attention of the Emperor, although it
has been made the excuse by certain
envious persons to discrcdit me to our
master. You call upon me to justify
my action, and for this reason [ make
this report.
Il deny that have compromised
Roman influence by my action in this
unfortunate affair. Everything that
concerns the religion Of the conquered
people has been respected, and | have
been guided by tue policy, 50 important
in colonization, to avoid intrusion upon
the personal affairs of the governed.
IL found the Jewish people divided
into two adverse factions, the Old Jews
and the Young Jews. | closed my
eyes when | thought it desirable t, do
so, and | was severe when severity
seemed to be the proper course. | in
terfered in their disputes only upon
rare occasions. and then it was when
the dignity ofthc Emperor or the domi-
nation of Rome entered into the ques-
ton. Ordinarily | took no notice of
the rival parties.
"Once only have departed from
the policy OF non intervent;on-in tic
case of Jesus Christ, and in that i'll
stance both the Conservatives and Lib
erals alike demanded Of me his con-
demnation. | will briefly recall the
facts to you:-For some months the
party Of the Old Jews had been alarmed
at the progress made with new doc
trine proprounded hy a young Socialist
preacher named Jesus. | could not
see anything serious in his utterances,
but they were regarded 10y the ortho-
dox as very threatening. The Con-
servatives were thoroughly aroused
''rhen certain influential persons
came to me and charged Jesus with
planning rebellion. did not believe
one word of these charges. but, as they
were persisted in, and it was further
GAINED that he hal assam ii The title
Of King Of the Jews, | summoned him
to appear before me. admit tl.at
when | saw him | was most tuvoraby
impressed. | know men pretty well,
and know that Jesus was no ordinary
man. You write me that he has been
represented to you as being dangerous.
There was nothing dangerous about
him. He had Il quiet, amiable appear
ance, and 4 manner of speech that
Slio" t'i MN w bt iil oldtol. L W Ill
ingly listened to his theories, which
were philosophical rather than political,
and | saw no reason to condemn him.
"As my functions give me the right
to determine finally as to the capital
punishment, | announced to his accr-
sers, who were present. i see nothing
wrong in this man. This aroused
universal resentment, and | found that
public opinion had reached such point
against the accused that nothing but
his conviction would satisfy the pco-
pie. | endeavorcd to gain time 10y re-
terring the matter to IIcrod, but Herod
promptly referred it back to me. After
every eilort to save the man from the
camors OF the crowd, was forced to
submit. and in ir'rrrnce to their relir-
ious ideas condemned him, while at
the same time | declined all RESPONSE
billty, saying it was nothing in which
the q overnment had any part, and the