Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1900-04-25

put in the dock charged with murder
has been convicted of either murder or
manslaughter.
"Gentlemen, if it is always, or near.
ly always the intending murderer who
is fortunately killed by the man who is
acting in selfdefense, will not the race
of murderers soon be exterminated in
this state at the rate of 200 odd year !?
To put that question is to show the re-
ductio ad absurdum.
~ have said that self.defense is ga.
cred right, but it is not more sacred
surely than human life and it is in be-
half of the sanctity of human life that
I have been led to make the remarks
1 have just made. Is there no remedy
are we helpless is the law powerless ?
Can no law be enforced to stop the pis.
tol.carrying habit? Our legislatures
have again and again endeavored to
pass laws and have passed variety Of
laws, but they are deadletters, and a
deadletter law is itself a teacher of law
lessness, and unpunished violation Of
law eats like cancer into the body
polite. Are we to confess our inabili-
ty to take hold of this frightful evil
and to some extent moderate it. This
is a land of churches, Sunday schools,
schools and colleges, of young mems
Christian associations and all the means
and appliances for Christians religion
in all varieties and forms, perhaps to
greater extent than any other civilized
land, and yet in this year of 1900 our
record today. cannot compare for
moment with the record of ancient
Egypt of 5000 years ago, for it was
then the boast of Egypt that "in times
of peace none of our citizens carry
arms" And here in the year of 1900
l am safe in saying that the majority
of the youth of our country carry arms.
No doubt there is difficulty in the way
our legislature-our constitution-the
federal constitution-secures to the cit
izen the right to carry arms; but it
surely cannot be contended that the
little devilish pocket; pistol, the hip
pocket, the coat pocket, the vest pockel
pistol was in contemplation of the
trainers of the constitution when they
secured to the citizen the right to carry
arms.
"Those wise fathers of the republic
never intended to leave as legacy to
posterity so bloody curse. That con-
stitutional provision had relation only
to the character of arms then carried
by the soldiers in defense of their coun-
try and the huntsman on the plain
muskets, rifles, swords, cavalry pistols,
carried as brave men carry their arms,
openly. The diabolical habit of con-
cealed weapons had not yet grown into
existence. 1t was to preserve the right
to defend home, property, person and
family and to defend the country and
the right 10 hunt game. 1t was for
this purpose and similar purposes that
the constitutional provision was in
serted. He will be wise man and a
benefactor 10 his state who can suggest
to the legislature some law that can
grapple with this evil or reduce it.
There is no doubt that a law might be
framed making it heinous crime and
seriously punishable to manufacture,
sell or buy or use or possess pistol
certain size, and the size might be made
such that it would be impossible to
conceal it upon the person and thus put
stop in large measure to the carry
ing of concealed deadly weapons. If
something like this cannot be done
then all that is left for US to do is to
educate public opinion, TO educate the
minds of the juries and to Danish from
the minds of the youth of the country
and the men ofthe country the diseased
notions of self.defense, and thus we
may to some extent reduce the number
of homicides and rid our land of the
awful curse.
II have already referred to the fact
that sometimes juries are condemned
for what are supposed to be miscar-
riages of justice and failure to do what
was expected. The jury system has
been very much discussed of late
throughout the state, and in some parts
of the state has been condemned as
not being as successful as it ought to be,
and it has been even pronounced as q
failure. In my opinion such condemna-
ton is altogether undeserved. Our
jury law, our system of trial by jury is
good if only carried into effect. Our
statutes require that the jury commits,
sioners shall choose so many names in
their respective counties, men qualified
to serve as jurors, men of sound judg-
ment, and of good moral character !;
there is 10 county in this state that
cannot furnish sufficient number for
every term of court-men of good
moral character, sound Judgment and
we'll qualified to serve as jurors; if the
names of such men are not put in the
box it is not the fault Of the law, but
entirely the fault of the jury commits
soners who are unworthy of their of
fees from whatever cause. The RENE
DIV for that is TO impeach the jury COM
missioners as unworthy of their high
trust and place better men in office and
not ask for change in the jury law. If
bad men are listed and their names put
in the jury box it is needless to look
for good men to be taken out.
"Jury trial is priceless heritage. 1t
is protection of the poor man against
tyranny and oppression. 1t is the bull
wark of our liberties, especially in a re-
publican form of government; the pro.
tector of the weak against the strong
and the best guarantee of freedom that
we have 1t does sometimes miscarry
hnt IL 10 hnmun To err that iS no rea.