ORIGIN OF THE TERM "LYNCH LAW."
IT is not generally known that the term "lynch law" originated in Campbell County, Va., before the Revolutionary war. At that period the country was thinly settled and was infested with Tories and desperadoes, too many of them, apparently, for the local authorities to adequately punish. Col. Charles Lynch, a distinguished officer of the Revolutionary army, undertook to rid his county of the outlaws. He organized a force, arrested the outlaws, and having satisfied himself and comrades of the guilt of the accused, executed them without reference to the constituted authorities. While not altogether approving of the desperate remedy for a desperate cause, the beneficial effect of Colonel Lynch's action was recognized, and has since been known as "Lynch's law" or "Lynch law." Lynch's process of meting out speedy justice extended to other parts of the country, and is a well-recognized form of redress of grievances to-day, particularly for that class of offenses that are popularly believed not to be adequately punished by the statutes and courts of the State. Colonel Lynch's brother gave his name to Lynchburg, and left a son who was subsequently governor of Louisiana.—Pittsburg Dispatch.