On the 9th July last, the United States House of Representatives voted unanimously to allow juries to impose the death sentence on drug pedlars who sell or give heroin to children under 18 years. It was also reported from Washington that the legislation would increase all present penalties for narcotics’ law violations. In cases involving sale or gift of heroin to minors, the Bill would allow sentences ranging from a minimum of ten years’ imprisonment and a fine of 10,000 dollars to death.
The death penalty in such cases may or may not be justifiable in the light of the Word of God, but we are not prepared to enter into that subject at present. But what we would like to emphasise is the very serious view the U.S.A. Government and politicians have taken of the drug menace and the dastardly activities of those who would ruin the souls, minds and bodies, even of the young, in order to make money from this diabolical traffic. But there is another aspect of this drug question we would like to refer to in a cautious and careful manner—and it is that drugs seem to be taken more freely and with less care in our own country than formerly. We are quite aware of the fact that we possess no medical knowledge to write technically on this subject. But we do know that certain drugs prescribed in the bona fide manner by our honourable medical practitioners can be injurious where patients do not exercise that care and restraint which they ought to impose upon themselves. It is easy to advise those with varying degrees of ill-health, and recurrent ailments, to refrain as much as possible from drugs which give powerful and speedy, yet maybe but temporary relief. It is not so easy to suggest an alternative. Nevertheless in certain cases the drug can become a worse menace than the ailment, where the ailment is not of a deadly nature. Professing Christians especially, we think, having due respect to our competent and careful medical advisers, should be expected to exercise wisdom and restraint in the use of certain types of drugs.
The House of Lords Reject the Bill to Abolish Death Penalty.
On Tuesday, 10th July, the House of Lords, after a full debate on the Bill to abolish the death penalty, sent up from the House of Commons, rejected the Bill emphatically by 238 votes to 95. The Bill will now have to go back to the House of Commons, and undergo further procedure. What will ultimately become of it is now not so certain. It is to be hoped that it will never be established upon the Statute Book. It is asserted by many competent to speak, that public opinion in this country is not in favour of the Bill. One would think by the speeches of Church of England bishops that they had the people behind them in favouring abolition of the death penalty. We do not believe they have anything more than a small minority of their people behind them. They probably thought to make a display of modern Christian charity, in their speeches in the House of Lords, without regard to Scripture or justice. Murders and acts of violence continue. The death penalty is required.
A Murderer Professes His Faith in Christ Jesus.
We have received a perusal of the newspaper The Vancouver Province, of 22nd May, 1956, wherein there appears a lengthy account of the case of a young 24-year-old miner, Robert Graham, who committed murder, and who professed to be saved a few weeks before he was hanged on the gallows at Oakalla Prison Farm, British Columbia. He made a declaration in writing shortly before he left the world, and the following are among his statements:—
“Having lived a godless life all my life up to a few short weeks ago, I have found the Lord Jesus as my personal Saviour. . . . The Lord took me into His merciful hands. . . . I am grateful to the Lord that in this trouble I have been brought to the light as it is in Jesus Christ. . . . In less than two hours I will leave this life. I wish to state that I have no fear, for I know I will be with the Lord. . . . As we read in John v. 11: ‘God hath given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son’ . . . I am very sorry for the sins of the past, particularly the act that brought me to this hour. I deeply regret the heart-break and sorrow I have caused others, and I trust and pray that bitterness will not keep them away from my Saviour. I am writing this because I have no other way of letting people know of the joy, peace and satisfaction I have found in my Saviour. I sincerely hope that many people reading this will come to love the Saviour as I do.”
It appears that the Lord exercised His sovereign and saving mercy, through Christ Jesus, towards this great sinner. The thief on the Cross, a godless and ignorant sinner, was enlightened in the knowledge of the suffering Jesus, as he came to the threshold of Eternity. Truly, the conversion of some more conspicuously than others, reveals the sovereignty and graciousness of God in the salvation of vile and guilty sinners.