Press enter after choosing selection

Adultery Legalized!

Adultery Legalized! image
Parent Issue
Day
10
Month
April
Year
1843
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

Fornication are considercd ns beinoiis acts. - ' Among the Jews, aclultery ivas punished wit Jj ' death. It Las been forbidden by the Jaws of 5 all civilized nntions, under penalties of various ( degrees of severity. The necessity of ' preesing indiscriminate licontiousness has been ' feit by our Jegislalors genernüy, und we r lieve enactmenls againsl it have been passed f in each State in the Union. ' During the winter we have noíiced c grapha in severalwhig papers, affirming that r our Legislalure had repealed the laws ding adultery and fornication. Wc did not copy the remarles, because we could not lieve such was the fact, but we supposed that ? these assertirns originated in misapprehension, f1 or in a wilful perversión of the truth for lilicnl purposes. But the last Frce Press, the s State paper, has the following section of !An t] Act relative to Crimes, and the punishmenl thereof." ? "Sec. 2, Seclion 1 and five of chnpier eijhth, - title one, of part four, of the Kevised Statutes, fi and all laws contraveninw the provisions of ibis e uct, nre hereby repealed." Approved, March o 3 tb, 1843. On referring to the Revised Stat mes, we find that the Sections here repealed rpad thus: "Sec. 1. Every person v ho 6hall commit the crime of adultery, f hall be pmiished by a imprisonruent in the State Prison not more j' than three years, or by imprisonment in the b county jail not more than one year, or by fine c nt exceeding five hundred dollars; and wlien the crime is committed bet een a mnrried n woman and a man who is iinmarried, the man shall be deemed guilty of adultery, and be ble lo the ome punishmenf. Sec. 5. If any man shall commit fornication with any tinmarried woman. each of tbetn c hall be punished by imprisonment in the s county jail not more than two tnruitlis, or by i fine not excecding thirly dullars." Wc are no lawvers. hut n Rimnnco fliif■adultery and fornication are no longcr forbid_ ■ -d en or punishable by the laws of ibis State, and consequently a universal and promiscuotis Jicentioiieness is "proclainied to all tlic ' itants thereof." We understand ihnt the only way in which the law con be made to take cognizance of tbeee acte, is by a civil ccíioii for damnges by ■nny pereon wbo may be injured by Jbem. Thus it will be eeen that the Fanny Wiiijlii a doctrine of the promiectious intercourse of the l exes, has been legalized to a largo extent by nir legisiators, anti formally approved by the ■ Governar! The next step, we snpposp, will c be íhe abolition of the lega.1 eanclion of a ng-o. a Unteiïigent men will naturally inqnire uhy tlie punishinent for these crimes has teen abolished, and the door opened for tlieir universal prevalence. Were tire sections repealed s' ductivc of any injurious effects on community? b Were they old fashioned and puritanical in their character? Or did they stand in the wny n of the habits of the Honorable Members? It 'a js generally believed that this last reason was P th most powerful. Thatitmighl have been s' erncacku6 vvith n few, we can readily c' ine; but that the majonty of our legislature tl were of such a character thut they were m obliged to annul the laws to keep themselves bc frotn leing incarcerated for crime, we cannot " yet belicve. But we can conceive of no ïit öible object to be attained by their repeal, he cept the opporlunily lo pract'tsc these vices tcith sh impunily. Tho Democratie papers teil us w aboutthe gloriouB triumphs achieved by vi( gretsive Democracy." If this be one of the be steps of the progress of Democracy - if to versal licentiousness be ono of her leading boi characteristics, let the fact be generally knuwr, sti that tiiose who admire this trait in their sh vinity may lo it heartfelt reverence, and the thi viriuous and pnre-minded may enlist with fro those whoee habits, ta6te, and principies will lead tbem to deend, net to destroy, the joys rul )f soeiol and domestic life. ofi ilute wim busiuini'd me repeal or tbrsc srcuons fhould Le calle d opon by tlicir consiuucnts, nnd by the public generally lo ghe their rcasons for llie rapen I; und unless they can render fuchos ivifl be sal factor j tliey shotild be brnnded is the dost royere f good moráis, ! tlie direct advócales of vicp, and t.'ie eiicniiee bfdómestíc virttie and felicity. Tlie Reproreiitatires of r f je Democratie I ly onhj cr.nld lave repen]r;l (liis part of the S ature. Whigs cmild not have done it Tliere s to miicli intelügcnce nnd love uf virtne in tlie masa of t lint partylo permit ti,rii ' dclegates to entertain for a inoment tliej thoug-hfs of micIi an nct, witliont beirr visiícd by fcarful fo'fbod?na if.he ir.d'gnaíijn which ! vo.il(l furely fu'll lipón th.-m. Tliey might, perhap?, legislato in support ofmnHy foollsll nnd uirust ]irnjects wHVtJic npprobalion of their constiluents; but ehculd tliey lay liands iipoii the legal delenecs of virtue, for tlie purroseof Spreiding vice and crime tlirough ihe land, tbtír rebuko wonld be immediate and troinndoiip. In (lie Eiftern Slales, Michigan has been denom-oated tlie parodie of Debtor?, on hcconnt of l.l:o lihurality of our col'ec'ion laws. VV hat additinna] I ille wil) be giren to onr Stalr, when they learn íhat adullery and fornica'.ion, whicli nre punished every wliere throiigh the civilizedearth, are liere allowed, by our islatorp, to reign and revel n unrcstrtíned indulgènii e7 If'pomo one will forward to ns (Ii3 yeas nnd nays upon fie passace of this act, we will pubÜsh llipm, that the public mny know who were foi sustníi.ing good moráis, and who werc for encourngintj crime.

Article

Subjects
Signal of Liberty
Old News