OCR Text |
Show OBEDIENCE TO LAW. The lack of obedience to law and the lax administration of law, have, on this western frontier, been productive of more social and business misery than can be ascribed to any, or all other causes. A literal interpretation and an impartial administration of law are unquestionably the remedies indicated. indi-cated. Wealth has too much power even tor our courts, and poverty and helplessness sometirms induce a sterner application of it than the situ- ation demands or the crime warrants. With these facts remembered it will ' readily be seen that obedience to law is not only the thing of all others to engage our attention, but it i6 the soundest policy. There is absolute safety in it, dangers of a thousand and oae kinds in its infraction. Respect for, and obedience to law ia the safeguard safe-guard of the people. Let the wolves who prey upon society but understand that tnis is a community which respects, re-spects, obeys and fears the law, and thev at once determine that here is no field for the display of their malign energies en-ergies to the hurt of the people. This applies as well to the sleek, well-fed, good-mannered, high-born rogue who forges your name to a bank check, runs off with your deposits, as it does that other rogue who robs your hen house, steals your horse, or puts his brand on your mavericks ; the cases only differ in degree. There are assassins who ehoot you from behind a wall or ambush, am-bush, and another kind assassinate your character. The one is a deadly otTsnse in the eyeB of the law, while the other is forgiven, condoned, tolerated and its punishment always rare indeed. Now a rigid application of the law, ! an impartial and honest enforcement will correct both these kinds of lawlessness. lawless-ness. Let the man who steals or assassinates assassi-nates your good name be as surely and severely punished as the assassin of blood, and the crime will become much more infrequent, or it will cease altogether. alto-gether. This alone will do away with many of the crimes which grow up cut of slander. The intrinsic value of obedience obed-ience to and a rigid enforcement of law is very great and enters into euch an article aa this very naturally. In a community where these great triats are found property has more value and strangers seek it more eagerly than they would a far richer community, where the same advantage could not be had. In a commanity where your blood can be Bpilt, your property carried off, or your family insulted with impunity, you will find property almost valueless and the tide of immigration passing its gateways for other places where these adverse conditions do not prevail. What we like, particularly in old Xingmna, is mat no matter now high or how low the infractor maybe his punishment is always swift and sure. This is trua both of England proper and all of her colonies, no matter how remote. This is security for life and property. How different in this country. coun-try. Whoever heard of a man worth ten' thousand dollars who waB ever hung for murder or received a long sentence sen-tence to the penitentiary? The instances instan-ces of this sort of administration of law are all too few and far between. If a court once understands that it is to be sustained in a rigid and impartial administration of law,instances of easy escape from the consequences of its violation will become scarce indeed and crime will promptly cease. It is the duty of every honest citizen to consider these things, and to resolve to stand by the courts in their efforts to enforce the laws. |