The daily sentinel., 1905-06-09
Legal Customs
OF Palestine

The Baptist church was again fllet
last evening, in spite of the rain. tt
hear the sixth lecture OF Prof. Geo
w, Watson. 1t was on the legal Gus
toms Of Palestine. He spoke of the
method of dealing with the adultress
who had to be stoned to death by her
male relatives, and the man with
whom she offended was punished by
her husband, Whilst death was the
penalty for the female sinner, the
man had no law against him, and al.
ways went scot free.
The Arabs had a system of blood
sacrifices, whereby they offered blood
between each other. and so made a
covenant and were assured OF peace
The Bible speaks of Christ's blood as
bringing peace, and also that it was
the blood of the new covenant.
The covering of blood was import
ant as preventing blood feuds, and
the law of Moses strictly enjoined on
the people the necessity of covering
up blood The uncovered blood OF
Abel was said to cry from the ground
for vengeance. Job (16:1Sl said
80, earth. cover not my blood. "
Ezekial ear, 81 represents the Lord
as saying that he had caused the
blood of the Jews to be spilled on the
rock of Jerusalem where there was
no earth to cover it, in order that it
might cause revenge to come up on
the offending Babylonians.
Open air trials were dealt with. 1t
was usual for the cadi. or judge, to
sit on his carpet and enjoy his pipe
while evidence was being given. Each
witness for the prosecution will have
his voice drowned by his friends, who
shout ont their endorsement This
hubbub is further increased by the
prisoner and his friends shouting out
denial, This din continues until
the weakenessesl Gi--G-epnofe- fifth
the witnesses on both sides have
spoken. The prisoner usually behaves
like a madman during the whole
trial 1t was noticeable that Isaiah
in his prophecy said that Jesus would
be like a lamb before her shearers,
dumb. Even plate is said to have
maryelled greatly at the silence of
Christ. We never marvel at the si-
lence of our prisoners on trial, but
in ti-is land of violent trials such
would be a miraculous difference to
the painful usual.
The professor told of the methods
the judges employ to get evidence
in order to find out and convict the
guilty. The superstitions of the peo-
pie enable the judges to play on their
peoples credulity. In one city a
burglary had been committed. A doz-
en- suspects were rounded up, and an
effort made to sweat them, to no pur-
pose. At length the door of the bur
gled house was brought to the court
and interrogated by tho judge, who
sad that the door had told him that
the guilty man had a cobweb in his
lufDdU. Out Vi tlit l1uhhhpo at oHNN
attempted to brush the imaginary
eobweb away from his turban. The
Judge was looking for this, and or
dered his arrest, and on this evidence
convicted him.
Another case was that of a poor
Hllager who, during the day, had
missed from his house a sack of meal,
The Judge was informed, and he at
once went TO the three tents of some
Arabs who had encamped near the
village that day, He gave them each
newly cut stick from the tree, tell
ing them that he was coming in the
morning for the sticks, adding that
the guilty man, his stick would grow
four inches during the night. On
collecting the sticks in the morning
one man had his four inches shorter
He was the guilty fellow, and tried
to fool the judge by cutting off as
much as he believed his stick would
grow during the night. He was con
victed.
The professor lectures on Court
ship and Marriage" this evening, and
donbt1ess will have a very full house
The Rivers Rising Again.