The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1903-10-21
.lN0T GUILTY.

The Law has declared that James H.
Tillman was guilty of no offence
against the Law, the peace and dig
nifty OF the State, when he killed n.
G. Gonzales. That is the verdict rem
dered yesterday by the jury which
sried the case in the Court at Lexing-
ton; a verdict which opened the pris-
on doors to the homicide and permits
him to move about among the people
rs if he had done no wrong, as if his
hands were not stained with human
blood.
But that is as far as the verdict of
the Lexington jury goes. 1t is not the
verdict Of the larger jury scattered all
over this State and throughout this
country; the jury which will as Ger
tainly condemn the Law in South Car
olina, as by its failure in this case the
Law has condemned itself. No one
can now say lawfully that Mr.. Till
man is murderer. as charged in his
indictment, as testified to by those
who witnessed his deed, as voiced by
his helpless unarmed victim looking
into the very face of Death, and Of
which the lonely grave in the cenne-
terry at Columbia will ever continue
an accusing witness. He can come
and SO as he will; there is no authori-
81 now which can place any restric-
zion upon his movements. In Office
and market place and field, whether
working among the flowers in his
garden, or seeking the fellowship Of
his neighbors, or pleading at the Bar
for some poor creature whose life is
the forfeit required by the Law for the
life that he has taken, he will always
have with him the company of the
dead. the actual, if invisible, pres
ence of the man whose body he killed
but whose spirit will follow him with
ont mercy forever.
And the Lord said unto Cain,
Where is Abel, thy brother? And he
said, know not; Am I my brothers
keeper?
tbs voice Of thy brothers blood cr1eth
unto me. from the ground.
And Cain said unto the Lord, My
punishment is greater than l can bear.
Behold. thou hast driven me ont
this Cay from the face of the earth;
and from Thy face shall be hid; and
I shall be fugitive and. q vagabond
in the earth and it shall come to pass
that every one that fndeth me shall
slsy ns, ,.,a .,+o him
Therefore whosoeyer slayeth Cain,
vengeance shall be taken on him seven
fold. And the Lord set mark upon
Cain. lest any finding him should kill
him. -
It is now as it was in the beginning.
The judgments of men are coiored by
ignorance and prejudice and passion,
by politics, by misunderstanding or
the law, by the confusion wrought by
eloquent counsel, by the association OF
the issues or men on trial with the
things Of immediate concern in daily
life. These were some Of the matters
which were introduced into the trial
of the case az Lexington to the eonfu-
sion of 8 Jury entirely incompetent to
discriminate between the issues Of fact
presented by the witnesses and the IN
Serprstation Of these facts as made by
the lawyers. In the mind Of the jury
it was more important to deliver the
defendant from the consequences OF
his act than il was to maintain the
supremacy Of The Law. in South Caro-
lima. We are not surprised at the out
come of the trial. Except in rare cases
The killing of one white man by anotn-
er is the safest crime that can be COM
mitsesd in South Carolina. II Mr. Til.-
man had taken Mr.. GonZsles's pocket
book, he would have been required to
pay *he penalty prescribed by law; he
took Mr.. Gonzales's life and South
CAROLINA jury sa;s that he did nothing
80 deserve punishment.
NE shall not attempt any review OF
the case-it would not change the re-
gult. There is no appeal from the
verdict Of the jury except TO puDtlc
ooinion, and that tribunal, while wait
sng She Judgment Of the Coart at Lex
inSson, made up it's own verdict upon
the evidence submitted to the jury in
the case through the press. 1t is SO
much the worse for the Law, SnaI
the verdict of public opinion is not
she verdict Of the jury. Mr.. Tlllmao
has been released from the custody OF
the LaT, and walks the earth a free
mar, and is entitled to the protection
of the Lsw. We do not envy him his
greedom-the dead man is far happier
chan the living.
The trial is not ended, of course.
There has been change Of venue from
the Court at Lexington TO the Court OF
Conscience. There win be no question
aow about Whc shall preside in
ee,s trial of this case. The rules will
not permit very great latitude in the
examination of Witnesses, the merci-
ful Christ Of Calvary being the same
in substance as the avenging God OF
the Jews who commanded: "Thou
shalt not kilIr'-News and Courier.