_23 Portland Place, Oct. 29_
Footnote 41: Mr. WISE said in one of his speeches during the last
session of Congress, that he was obliged to go armed for the
protection of his life in Washington. It could not have been for fear
of _Northern_ men.
Footnote 42: A correspondent of the "Frederick Herald," writing from
Little Rock, says, "Anthony's knife was about _twenty-eight inches_ in
length. They _all_ carry knives here, or pistols. There are several
kinds of knives in use--a narrow blade, and about twelve inches long,
is called an 'Arkansas tooth-pick.'"
Footnote 43: Bishop Smith of Kentucky, in his testimony respecting
homicides, which is quoted on a preceding pages, thus speaks of the
influence of slave-holding, as an exciting cause.
"Are not some of the indirect influences of a system, the existence of
which amongst us can never be sufficiently deplored, discoverable in
these affrays? Are not our young men more heady, violent and imperious
in consequence of their early habits of command? And are not our
taverns and other public places of resort, much more crowded with an
inflammable material, than if young men were brought up in the staid
and frugal habits of those who are constrained to earn their bread by
the sweat of their brow? * * * Is not intemperance more social, more
inflammatory, more pugnacious where a fancied superiority of
gentlemanly character is felt in consequence of exemption from severe
manual labor? Is there ever stabbing where there is not idleness and
strong drink?"
The Bishop also gives the following as another exciting cause; it is
however only the product of the preceding.
"Has not a public sentiment which we hear characterized as singularly
high-minded and honorable, and sensitively alive to every affront,
whether real or imaginary, but which strangers denominate rough and
ferocious, much to do in provoking these assaults, and then in
applauding instead of punishing the offender."
The Bishop says of the young men of Kentucky, that they "grow up
proud, impetuous, and reckless of all responsibility;" and adds, that
the practice of carrying deadly weapons is with them "NEARLY
UNIVERSAL."
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