Newspaper Page Text
No. 29 Vol. IV.
DUELLING.
{For the able article which follow*, we are in
debted to the “Calcutta Journal,” politely
sent to us, by Mr. Newton, of Calcutta.]
[Boston Recorder.
To the Editor of the Journal.
Sir, —Having lately had a conversation
with an ingenious and inquisitive Brahmin,
whc is familiar with the Literature nf the
West, on a subject of great and deep im
portance, 1 beg Icavo. through the medium
of \ our Journal, to submit the substance of
it to the candid and serious consideration of
my countrymen. Eucrates.
Southern India, June 1822.
DIALOGUE BETWEEN A BRAHMIN
AND AN ENGLISHMAN.
Brahmin.— We are entirely agreed on the
of the burning of widows ; but I
‘must new observe that there is one English
custom that is more absurd, more criminal,
nnd to which they are more inveterately
eddicled, and will more obstinately cling,
than my countrymen will to their bloody su
perstition.
Englishman. — You mean duelling?
Brahmin. —Yes. The burning of widows
is nr ver practised but by those who believe
h to be a meritorious act, a species of mar
tyrdom, an atonement for the sins of ihe
victim and her most distant relations, a mag
nanimous -acrifire to love and dulv, a sub
lime conquest of the energy* of the mind
over the weakness of the body: but your
religion and your reason (for vour laws do
not bear upon the case) tell you that Duel
ling is a crime which may be followed in
this world by the agonies f remorse, and in
the next, by the endless forfeiture of a cer
tain measure of happiness. The English
wife, too, is more an object of pity than the
Hindoo wife, for the former is continually
liable to lose her husbaud when he is in
the prime of life, and all external circum
stances wear the most smiling aspect. No
gentleness of disposition, nor rectitude of
inteution, can exempt him from the chance
of being involved in an affair of honour, as
it is called. But the Hindoo wife has no
apprehension of any such sudden calamity;
it her husband be an innocent man his life
must run its natural course, and if she re
solve to accompany him on the funeral pyre,
her mind must be raised to a pitch of enthu
siasm which excludes all fear. And the ca
tastrophe does not occasion so great a loss
to her family *• w uupm.a
the death of a husband and a father.
Englishman. —There, is too much truth
in vvhat you nay. Indeed your censure is
unanswerable. We can only pray that
boih customs may be speedily extinguished.
The prevalence of that of duelling is great
ly dimirii-bed, aod the weak instead of being
more exposed to insulis and injuries from
the strong arc iminitely less so. Duelling
is not the remedy, but reciprocally the ef
fect and Ihe cau<e of quarrels and combats.
It is of the very essence of the code of hon
our that such intimidation as duelling must
be supposed to operate by, shall be vain
and ineffectual. A inan must not be sus
pected of being withheld by fear from fol*
lowing the impulse of his passion, and dar
ing to tight, atones for every aggression.
Since its effect- have hitherto been only to
aggravate dissension, and foment animosi
lies, how can we expect that its future ten
dency will be. to promote the peace ar,d
coiutcrt of society ?
Brahmin. —But how do the parties ex
cuse themselves to their own consciences?
Englishman. —They say that as their ad
versary consents, they do him no injury, and
they are compelled to run the risk of (ak
.fg his life, or throwing away their own,
jUv the. prejudices of society vVhich punish
®s non-conlormity by disgrace and expul
sion !
Brahmin. — We punish many actions that
you esteem indifferent with loss of cast ;
hut it i* never the penalty of abstinence
from a crime 1
Englishman. —The code of honour absolves
from all guilt. The code of honour is the
law of man erected against the law of God ;
for undoubledly, a9 Paley says, “if unau
thorized laws of honour be allowed to cre
ate exceptions to divine prohibitions, there
js an end of all morality as founded in the
’ will of the Deity; and the obligation of ev
ery duty may at one time or eriher be (ba
le b a rgr and by the caprice and fluctuation of
Brahmin —Tljat reasoning must be con
sidered a* binding and as obligatory by the
jyeist as by the Christian.
Englishman. —The Debt does not see
his way so clearly in questions of morality,
nor has he so strong a sense of the obedi
ence he owes to his Creator. With our su
perionr lights it seems easy to establish the
sinfulness of duelling on principles of natu
ral religion; it would seern easily suscepti
ble of demonstration that men ought not to
be permitted to become judges in their own
causes, and on every supposed affront to
their pride to decide by lot, as it were,
whelher the offender or the offended party
should be put to death ; and that such vio
lenco is in defiance of a clear law written
on the hearts of ill men by him who will
judge all men according to the opportuni
lies they had of learning his will. But when
>v consider the complete toleration which
the missionaky.
MOUNT ZIQN. (HANCOCK COUNTY, GEORGIA,) MONDAY, DECEMBER 30, 1822.
Heathenism allowed to the practice of
Oladiatorship and to many debasing rices
we could not expect to find in Deism any
system that had sufficient consistency and
authority to subdue the fashion of Duelling
Erah.mtn.-How then, do you account for
the (act that Duelling has never existed but
in Christian communities ?
, Englishman. —It is impossible to assign a
■ reason why that particular superstition
• which presided over the trial by duel, or
i distal combat, Ihe parent of (he modern du
el, was the. exclusive attribute of the Norlh
ern Conquerours of Ihe Roman Empire.
That custom long prevailed without the ig
norant laity suspecting that it infringed (lie
precepts of their religion. It was, howev
er, always discountenanced by the church,
and at last yielded to the force of improved
civilization. In like manner it was many
years before the prohibitions of the Chris'-
tian Emperours succeeded iu abolishing the
combats of Gladiators. “ The first Chris
tian Emperour,’ says Gibbon. “ may claim
the honour of the first edict, which condem
ned the act and amusement of shedding hu
man blood; but this benevolent law expres
sed the wishes of the Prince, without re
forming* an inveterate abu?p, which degra
ded a civilized nation below the condition
of savage cannibals.” “ Amidst the gener
al joy of the victory ofPollentia, A. D. 403,
a Christian Poet exhorted the Emperour
(Honorms) to extirpate by his authority,
the horrid custom which bad so long resis
ted the voice of humanity and religion.
The pathetick representations of Prudenti
us were less effectual than the generous
boldness of Telemachns, an Asiatick Monk,
whose death was more useful to mankind
than his life. The Romans were provoked
by the interruption of their pleasures ; and
the rash .Monk, who had descended into the
arena, to separate the gladiators, was over
whelmed under a shower of stones. But
the madness of the people soon subsided;
they respected the memory of Telema
chus who had deserved the honours of mar
tyrdom; and they submitted without a mur
mur, to the laws cf Honorius which abolish
ed for ever the human sacrifices of the am
phitheatre. ’ Christianity, which contains
among others, those distinct precepts,
Recompense no man evil for evil •”
“■ Avenge not yourselves, but rather give
place unto wrath : for it is written, ven
geance is min", I will repay, saith the Lord,”
“ as a mimh lormffil- war o—t .
i*,rgr w uei ever me iolamous casmstrv of
the Jesuits was received, that, and every
crime, including the most treacherous as
sassinations, were justified and reconciled
with the religion which they professed:
Protestant Divines cannot be charged with
palliating its guilt, but they can claim little
merit for the frequency and earnestness of
their appeals to the reason and consciences
of their lay brethren. General exhorta
tions to holiness, and general denunciations
of the consequences of impenitence, are not
sufficient; end least of all can they be effec
tual in (be case we are considering. Men
confess the sinfulness of other sins, but when
urged with remonstrances on this, (hey will
either prevaricate and sophisticate, endeav
ouring to except it altogether from the cir
cle of tilings prohibited, or madly declare
that thus far they will gain the path of duty
and no farther. Here then is a topick de*
man ding lRe utmost zeal and perseverance
on the part of the Clergy, and yet there is
none on iVhich they are less accustomed to
insist. Our Novelists have done rothing,
that deserves the name of an attempt to
stein the torrent of fashion. There is
scarcely one of them that has not thought it
necessary that his hero should “win his
spurs” by fighting a duel; and nsthiog can
more strikingly evince their %se of the
difficulty of non-conformity in this matter
than the sort of half-duel in which Richard
son engages his faultless Baronet, who dis
arms his adversary at once by his superiour
dexterity. Wha! if the superiority of skill
had been onr the other side, —if the weap
ons had been pistols ? Was Richardson on
ly anxious for the innocence of tall, sinewy,
and active men, and would he make no pro
vision for those who are undersized and
awkward in the use of arms? Could not Sir
Charles Grandison trust to the dignity of
his character for respect and esteem, while
he dared only to do all that might become
a man who feared God? Perhaps Miss
Edgeworth has least offended iu this res
pect. She has only one dvoJ, I think, aDd
that no! for the purpose of raising her hero
in our estimation, but of bringing to a tra
gical close the lite of a man whose good
qualities were fatally marred by infirmity of
purpose. Thu author of Calvary and joint
author of the Exodiad , has several duels for
the honour of his heroes.
Brahmin.— lt seems to me that some ad
vantage mjgbt be expected from the vague
ness and uncertainty of the code itself. Ei
ther an injury ought to be held too trifling
to be a fit ground for so serious a proceed
ing} or too grave to require Ihe injured per
son to seek nominal and technical satisfac
tion. iustkad of receiving reparation at *he
hands of tlra law or of publick opinion. In
the former Case the parties may be free
from any feelings of personal hostility, and
only wanting in confidence in the effect of
nobler modes of preserving personal digni
ty. In the latter the most rancorous enmi-
WT ° ALL THE WORLD AND pr EACH THE UOSI’EL TO EVERY CREATURE.
ty may be coloured over with all honourable
pretences, and guarded with Ihe nicest
jorms, and yet one or both may be actuated
uy a really murderous inteat, and expose
Ir.°r L lfe . ° n,y f or the sakt of stacking
of bis adversary. Exposure to person
at danger is incident to the prosecution of
many criminal purposes, and may be only
an evidence of Ihe intensity of that rancour
with which two men may assault each other
animasqve in vulnere ponunt. Now neither
ol these descriptions of offence ought to be
resented by duelling; and whenever thev
do lead to that issue, the publick ought to
punish the unreasonable challenger in the
one instance, and the guilty challenged in
tlfoother, by the most significant marks of
its disapprobation.
. Englishman. —The dilemma you describe
is perfectly just and might be illustrated by
an examination of every case that has oc
curred. ‘] he same or greater provocation
than has led io a duel in numberless instanc
es passes away without any such result. It
would be endless to quote instances of the
most furious invective being uttered by
publick men, and being eithfer unnoticed
or retorted with equal vehemence. Mr.
Sheridan said, in reply to the aspersions
which Mr. Pitt cast on his “ honour and in
tegrity” that “he would never ask from
the right Honourable Gentleman an apolo
go for any provocation within these walls:
and he was well convinced that no provoca
tion would ever be given to him without.”
(May 00, 1/94.) Similar language has been
used by Mr. Burke and Mr. Fox. June 9,
1782, Mr. Burke being interrupted by an
uncommon confusion at the bar, said:
“ Those who by the present unaccountable
tumult seemed dissatisfied with his private
character knew where to find him.” And
March 4, 1793, Mr. Fox having denied the
truth of some of Mr. Burke’s statements,
the latter said: any man that said his asser
tions were untrue, without confining them,
and showing how they were so, was a ca
lumniator Mr. Fox called to order, and
sain, it the right honourable gentleman
meant to affront him personally, he should
do that elsewhere.” Mr. Tierney, on the
contrary, thought that an attack on hjs hon
our, an unjust imputation of anti-patriotick
motives, could only be repelled by the force
of gunpowder. Mr. Fox refused to make
the very same disavowal of personal offence
did not return.
He refused to avow his true meaning, think
ing it more honourable to support by uniaw
. ful menus opinions which he did not enter
tain ! Not that his tardj’ disavowal or that
which Sir Francis Burdett has twice made,
when applied to by Mr. Whitbread anffMr.
Canning, is clearly intelligible, or founded
in common sense. The disavowal for such
cases made and provided is, of having inten
ded personal offence, or an allusion to person
al character.—This is the distinction which
General Hamilton ineffectually laboured to
establish in his fatal quarrel with Colonel
Burr. Now hoiv any thing, good or evil,
whick can be said of a man’s publick con
duct, of his actions, speeches, or writings,
in his official or protessional capacity, c*n
be supposed not personally to affect him, is
incomprehensible. When a man has dis
tinguished himself by his publick services,
he is very willing that all the merit should
be imputed to him personally, that they
should be ascribed to his personal genius
and virtue, bis skill, courage, knowledge,
integrity and perseverance, and to be re
compensed with honours and emolument.
On the other hand when a man’s publick
conduct is formally impeached, he is not
permit.ed to plead that he is not personally
responsible for it; nor can he repel anv
charges of incapacity, corruption, o r op‘-
pression, but by disproving the facts on
which they ate grounded. Those, there
fore, who give or i-eqoiry this sort of expla
nation, satisfy the-m selves with an unmanly
jargon for the purpose of avoiding an infi
nitely worse alternative. So far they are
to be commended, but the te-ue course, the
golden rule is, that those who censure
should be guided by candor, and that those
who are censured should defend themselves
only with the arms that Truth supplies, and
the Law allows, refuting what they hav®
been wrongfully taxed with, bearing
with the rest as part a merited punish
ment. A/hxH may infuse circumstances of
Intemperance and impiety,but it can neither
annul nor alter the previous facts, arid their
influence on the characters of the parties
concerned. Let us Wok, for instance, at
the case of Mr. Lockhart and Mr. Scott.
For what purpose, with what intent, did the
former cb..llenge the Utter ? Did he se
cretly desire to go through a bloodless cere
money, or did be wish to satisfy a vindic
tive appetite ? On these points he would
have been at the mercy of accident; but
what tendency could such a proceeding
have to efface or neutralize the reproaches
which constituted the provocation ? None
whatever. He did not need to stand high
er in the opinion of those who thought them
undeserved, and he ensured his sinking still
lower and exciting more severe disapproba
tion in the minds of those who thought them
justly applied. The merit of the punctilios
on which this duel was avoided is not worth t
arguing; but for a misunderstanding with
SqspejTt to tlje prmtrtl stntcmrd qf those
I punctilios, apparently without intentional
deceit any where, Scott challenged the un
fortunate Christie and fell by hi ß hands!
Thus in the midst of his cameras a Censor
of publick morals, did Scott expend bis life
in upholding a custom not more pregnant
with absurdity than with guilt aod misery !
(To be continued .)
Late Missionary Intelligence.
CHOCTAW MISSION^
FROM THE MISSIONARY HERALD.
Extracts from the Journal.
The journal under date of April Oth,no
tices (he interview of tyr. Kingsbury with
Maj. Pitchlyn, United States’ interpreter
for the nation, at which time the latter
made a donation of gl,ooo to the mission.
Maj. Pitchlyn was confined to his house by
severe sickness. The donation was the
delivering up of a note for the above sum
which he held against the mission, and
which for some time he had intended to
give up. After expressing his gratitude
that Mr. Kingsbury had come to him, and
thus afforded him the opportunity of execu
ting his intention, am! after placing the note
in the hands of Mr Kingsbury, he remark
ed, that the Lord had intrusted him with so
much property, that after he had conferred
this benefit on the school, there would be
enough left for him ; that if all rich men
would give only two hundred dollars each,
there would be no want of funds; that not
withstanding his having grown up'in the
Indian country, among traders and pack
horsemen, and in the midst of swearing,,
drinking, card-playing and horse-racing, he
was thankful to God for preserving him, in
a good measure, from those practices ; that
however be did not consider himself a pi
ous man, but rejoiced that missionaries had
come t teach his children good things;
and that if it pleased the Lord to raise him
from his sickness, he would come and in
terpret for the mission as faithfully tho’
he were hired for that purpose.
Opening of the School.
April 30, 1822 Six native children have
,been brought to receive instruction in our
school. Including the children of the fam
ily, and Ihe two Choctaw Fads that have
been some time with us, we have now 12
C&JdfS* l JV^ftrcY^lffimortaTs, Mr.’ H ooper
and Mrs. W isner commence their schools to
day. We were truly rejoiced to begin this
labour of love, for which the friends of Zi
on have contributed so liberally, and for
which we have so long laboured and pray
ed. May the Lord enable us to instruct
these dear children in the ways of true wis
dom, that they may be blessings to their
country. We have made provision to re
ceive fifty children info the school for the
summer. This number we hope soon ts
see complete.
May 1. Eleven more children were bro’t
to the school. Their parents and friends
who accompanied (hem, manifested a deep
concern for their education. An old wo
man with hoary locks, came 40 miles on
foot to see the place where her grandchil
dren were to be educated.
2. Most of the children who came yes
terday, were dressed after the Choctaw
manner, with blankets and leggins, and
handkerchiefs upoh their heads. Before
they wept into school this morning, their
native drees was exchanged for clean and
comfortable apparel, which had beeD for
warded to this mission from different parts
of our land, by the friends of the Redeemer.
Could the kind benefactors of these chil
dren have witnessed the pleasing emotions
with which their benefactions were receiv
ed, and the change made in the appearance
of the children by their new dress, these
distant friends would have rejoiced with
us, and prayed more fervently that these
precious immortals may be clothed in robes
washed 4- made white in the blood of the Lamb,
To the parents and friends of the chil
dren present, the course of instruction, dis
cipline and labour to be pursued in the
school were pointed out. They gave up
their children entirely to ircr diisction.
A letter received from Mr. Williams has
filled our hear(9 with joy and thanksgiving.
He expresses the hope that a work of grace
has begun at his station, (Elliot.) Last Sab
bath was a very sslemu and interesting sea
son. The word was quick and powerful,
and several bve been constrained to ask
with deep solicitude, “ What must we do ?”
In the evening the family met for prayor
for the continuance and spread of this bles
sed work. May the Lord carry it on vith
almighty power.
Trials of Missionaries.
June 10. In the prosecution of our work
of benevolence among this people, we have
many trials and difficulties Io encounter. —
Rumours of an unfavourable nature respect
ing our'motives and object in coming among
them are from time to time circulated
Many of them cannot believe that we pos
sess that disinterested benevolence which
we profess. That people living thousands
of miles from (hem, should take such an in
terest in their welfare, and should send out
missionaries and make such exertions for
■Jheir good—appears to them marvellous.—
Wicked white men are not wanting, who
eodeavogr to persuade the indians that oar
Price $ $ 3 -.5G pr. nnn. or, >
r?CC , Utopia ad-ancel j
object is gain. When we cfnsider tho ig
norance ol these people, we cease to won
der that things are thus. And though these
things are trying, they are suited to remind
us, that our hopes of the conversion of this
people must rest solely on the promise of
God.
Opinion of a Choctaw woman with respect
to Education.
E A Choctaw woman came to-day wjth
her little 9on whom she wished to have ad
mitted imo (he school. Mr. Hooper, be
fore receiving the boy, stated tbe course he
should pursue—that he had certain rgles
which must be observed ; that in case of
disobedience be should punish the offender ;
and that her son would be required to work
when out of school. To this she replied,
that she had brought her son a great dis
tance lo be educated: that she gave him
up to the direction of the teacher, and that
she wished him to be kept in subjection,
and punished when he deserved it :—for,
said she, if he remains at home and is not
governed, when he is old perhaps he will
get drunk and whip his mother. The ob
servations which this woman had made,had
suggested to tier something like that great
principle in the moral government of Goilw
“ Train up a child in the way he should go,
and when he J 9 old he will not depart from
it.”
Jldilross of Barney.
July 1. All Indian named Barney, visited
the school. I/e addressed the scholars in
a very animated manner. While telling
them of the great advantages they en joyed,
he often raised his hands and his eyes to
heaven, and said it must be in coti*e*quonce
of the movings of the great Xash-nish-ta ha
lo on the heart* of the missqyiaries, th*t
they are induced to do so much for those
from wtiom they exact no pay. “ Yoiir
teacher,” said he, ii belter for you, and
does more for you than your fathers and
mothers., Here you are instructed in right
things. Wh>n you grow up you will know
how to treat your parents.
The Choctaws examine the School , 4-c.
• 31. About 9 o’clock in the morning, the
chief and his people assembled and took a
view #f the various buildings which have
been erected for the accommodation of the
school; the apparatus for cooking ; the
b 1 iitj^yjrrthrh^T
mill, which is not yet completed; and Abe
blacksmith’s shop, wnere they stiw one
Choctaw and one half-breed lad beating hot
iron. At the joiner’s shop they saw two
half-breed boys at work with their planes.
One of these boys also gave a specimen of
his skill at the turning-lathe. They ex
pressed great satisfaction at what they saw.
About 10 o’clock they visited the schcol.
Both the male and female scholars were as
sembled iu the new building erected for Ihe
boys’ school, and which is not yet comple
ted. The scholars were arranged at the
end of tbe house, and tub-bee
and his warriours at the other, where they
could see and hear all Ihe performances of
the children. About 50 Indians were pres
ent on tbe occasion. The number of scho
lars, exclusive of tworeceived last night,
was 45—37 boys and 8 girls. The exer
cises commenced by reading a short por
tion of Scripture, and singing a short hymn,
after which a prayer was offered, the na
ture and object of which were explained to
them.
The boy 9 were divided into nineclassdp.
Considering that the school had been in op
eration only three months; that some of
tbe scholars bad been here only a few
weeks—and that many of them when they
came were entirely ignorant of onr lan
guage—their progress was very pleasing.
They read and spell in various places in
the spelling-book, and several of them in
the hardest parts with promptness and ac
curacy. A class, most of whom had attend
ed school at Elliot, read a portion of the
Bible with much propriety, and answered
questions relative to what they bad been
reading. One half breed lad, 18 >r 20
years of ago, who had been in school only
14 days, and who did not know a letter
when he came, read and spelt with facility
in words of two syllables. In addition to
reading and spelling, some of the more ad
vanced scholars were examined in ptinctut
ation and the sounds of the vowels. The
girls also read and spelt in two classes.
Some of these read well in the Bible.—
Those unacquainted \yith English wore ex
ercised iu speaking it. Objects were point
ed out to them by the teacher, and all as
one would give its name in English. Choc
taw words were also required to be trans
lated into English. After these exercises
the chief addressed the scholars, expressing
ois great satisfaction at what had been
witnessed. “ When V-wasyouogj” says he, ;
such a thing was net knovq. here. 1 have”
heard ofit, but never *0 see it- I
rejoice that 1 have lived to see You
must be obedient to your teachers, andi tarn
all you can. I hope I shall yet live to se*
my council filled with hoys who are now in,
school, and that you will know much more
than we know, and Jo much Better than w$
do.” After the address ol the chief, Mr.
Hooper repeated a short hymtj which tlj*
boys rehearsed after him iii one voice;lhey
(ben repeated and snug it line by lipe; as ja
the morning, and the exercises closed.