Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1903-02-25
aaoT AppLIcAsLE 10 rllLalAN CASE.
The Cain, Moses and David Homicide Case:
Entirely DlssimlIar.

~ s4NteOAp AooWc6Ss t0uTleE. 1OuI
correspondent, &C." in his article
under the headline "a Voice from
Old Pickens," closes his racy com.
munication with this paragraph:
"Tbe taking of human life is q
most solemn thing, but Cain MUIR
dered Abel and was not hanged for
it. Moses killed an Egyptian and
was not punished, and old David
murdered Uriah for his beautiful
wife, but repented after he got her.
i hope he was forgiven, but don't
,kaow. The mercy Of Heaven ID
wonderful, and that Of man should
not be less."
Col. j. H. Tin an's killing of Edi-
tor Gonzales was the subject under
consideration, and the writer, from
these Bible examples, draws the
conclusion that Col. Tillman, whe-
ther guilty of wilful murder or not,
should go unpunished. This writer
condemns newspaper prosecution of
men accused of crime, and then in
the same article uees a newspaper to
influence public opinion in favor Of
acquittall The true position, how
ever, ie not to take sides, pro or con,
and let the courts manage the case
and mete out justice according to
the lights before them. 1t is just as
improper for newspaper correspond
ents to advocate acquittal. before
trial as to advocate conviction in
advance. Mr.. @. therefore places
himself in just as untenable posi-
tion as those whom he condemns.
Paul said to the Romans: "Happy.
is he that condemneth not himself in
the thing which he alloweth." Con-
demning in others the liberty he as
sumes for himself, he is not happy in.
what his pen makes him say.
The reference to Cain is altogether
non-apropos. Only few people
were then living, and there were no
written laws, and there were no
human Courts. Cain slew Abel and
God did not allow an avenger of
blood to slay Cain, for that would
have been lynch law in advance OF
all human laws and courts. But God
punished him by sending him away
from his presence vagabond on the
earth. His punishment, whatever
its nature may have been, was as
great as death itself, if not greater,
for poor, guilty, wretched Cain said
"My punishment is greater than 1
can bear"
The writer refers to the killing of
an Egyptian by Moses. Some COM
mentators think that Moses slew the
Egyptian for shifting the Israelite to
death, and the act of Moses was JUS
titled by the Noachian law, "Whoso
sheddeth mans blood by man
shall his blood be she'd" When
Pharaoh heard of the homicide he
sought Moses to kill him. But he
had fled to the land of indian, which
proved to him a city of refuge, like
those he afterwards appointed for the
land OF Canaan for manslayers who
slew at unawares. The case of Moses
is just as irrelevant for an example
as that of Cain.
The writer referred to David in
the killing of Uriah. This example
is just as irrelevant as the others.
David was king and no man in pri-
vate, or as public officer, had the
right to take his life, although he had
committed murder. He himself
might have slain Saul, the king,
years before, but he would not do it
because Saul was "the Lords an.
nointed." But though David could
not, under the laws of Israel, be put
to death for the killing of Uriah, it
is an egregious mistake to suppose
ne was not punished at all. The
Israelitish government was a theoc-
raoy. God was the Supreme Ruler.
David was subordinate. God pun
ished him, though men could not.
The Lord said TO David, "Where-
fore hast thou despised the com
mandment of the Lord to do evil in
his sight? Thou hast killed Uriab,
the Hittite, with the sword, and hast
taken his wife to be thy wife, and
slain him with the sword of the chill
dren of Ammon. Now, therefore,
the sword shall never depart from
thy house, because thou hast de-
spised me, and taken the wife of
Uriah, the Hittite, to be thy wife,
oh, the suffering of poor SHINING
David after his double crime in the
matter OF Uriah. No wonder when
Absalom was slain that he cried in
the agony of an inconsolable grief,
"oh, Absalom, Absalom, would God
] had died for thee" ( although
David was not killed, he suffered
more than a hundred deaths in the