The Express.
London, England, 1864-05-04 00:00:00

CAPITAL PUNISHMENTS.

life. W. EWABT, in moving for a select committee to
impure into the expetheiney of maintaining the punishment
of death, observed that he should base his argument
en the inoonsisteerry, oacertainty, and error of the
peesest system.
Ik. DENMAN said that his experienoe as a public
prosecutor and as morel in criminal cases induced him to
offer to the boom seine observatioes on this subject. ( Hear,
boar.) He did sot say for • moment that the State bad
Rot a perfect right and power to take away the life of any
et its members who deserved the punishment. But be
maintained that at every moment the burden lay upon the
Blase to show that its continuance wea necessary to the
safety of the community. (Hear, bear.) H. admitted that
if it could be proved satisfactorily that the number of
criminals was diminished by the penalty of death for
murder, it should be rendre& But from all he had read
and sseo, sod from everything he had ascertained he thought
there was good reason for supposing that the amount et
crime was increased rather than diminished by the effect
of this poi...henget. The discussions which took
place on every ma, with regard to the exercise
01 the iiisoyetion vested in the Grown, the varyieg
@visions as to whether the Home Secretary did r;glit or
wren. whether is commuting the sentence of A he was not
eetieg cruelly to B, all this tended to encourage crime. (Hear.)
Be had heard jurors state that because their recommend*.
tioos to mercy had been disregarded, they would Dever again
return a reidict that would subject • mac to capital punish.
meet. There thing tended to shake the efficacy of capital
punishment, and to brieg about • belief in impunity, which,
it there were speculation in such ratters. encouraged
people to commit crime. (Hear.) There was nothing in apub.
he eixecutios which was calculated to do soy good towards
the prevention of murder. The cam of the five pirates showed
that such speetacles were positively mischievous. They either
created sympathy for the criminal or a sort of brutal Nebo(
in the unsafe of those who witnessed them. The questioe
might be "shed, what were they to do with capitally roe-
vitt/4 prisoners if they were not executed! The com-
mittee would inquire into that matter, but it was sufficient
to ask, what did they do with them now (Hear, hear.)
For years pat the average of exseutioot bad been little
more than half the somber of capital ooevictions. From
1838 to 1832 there were IBS persons capitally convicted, sad
of these 148 were executed, 92 were transported for life,
and 20 or :10 others were either transported or imprisoned
for short periods. He believed it would be foutd on in-
quiry that ..apitel punishment had been abolished in the
great majority of civilised nations. sod that where it pre-
vailed it rather tended to encourage than to repress crime.
(Eats\ berar.)

Lori] H. LENNOX moved as in aramament that •
molest committee be appointed to inquire into the operation
of the Laws releting to capital punishments. He
moved his emendating with a view to enlarge the
scope of the ieciairy, which be thought would be too
weaned by the motion of the hon. member for Dumfries
to meet the object which they both bad ill view. He felt
the utinoit ensfidertee is the deliberations of the committee,
Demote he believed sub an amount of evidence would be
brought forward as to compel the committee to recommeod
to the batembange is the law.
MITFORD 'acceded the smendroent.
Mr. Alderman ROSE said, as all the speeches bad been
hitherto on one side, be thought something ought to be
said on behalf of the public. He thought that the inter-
relation of the speeches hitherto made wag "murder
made easy." (Cries of "Oh !") Having had some ten Fears
experience as a commusionra in the Ceutrel Criminal Court
be ventured to express a different opinion from that of the
lea. and learned member for Tiverton. He believed that
in the male the juries performed their functions honestly
sod eonscientioualy. They were of course jmilons, and if
there Wan a doubt they let the prisoner have the benefit of
it, as they were bound by the law to do ; but in the main
the result was that their verdicts were faithfully
gives. In his opinion the aaly safeguard to society with
respect to such peewee as Catherine Wilson, Mrs. May,
and Mrs. Cheebsra, iris that they should be hanged oat of
the way. He believed it was for the safety of enmity, and
it was io ancordanes with the law both of God and ruse
that life should be taken for life.
Mr. NE.STE saki although the forms of the house pre-
cluded him from revise the emenernent of which be had
given notice, yet be would take the opportunity of oh-
serving that in his euirriors neither the motion nor the
amendment of the NAM lewd opposite opened up so com-
prehensive a scope fee inquire as did his amendment.
He thought the quests. of rushee aforethought @boold be
more clearly defined, and as the question of capital punish-
ment is general smell be opened up for consideration, the
committee °reformatories, the latter he would prefer. should
avail themselves ia their inquiries of the experience of
other essuatrese was prepared to admit that in hi
rusks the removal of capital punishment would tend to
leanness the number if murders ; but others might take a
different view, Os the ether band, it was quite true that
sheep and bores dealing decreased after the removal of
the ctsaitel pasiehment, bat robbery attended with
viler* McNees& het that might be the result of
a feeling at the time that she system of transportation was I
sot es terrible • prishusit r the secondary panishmetits I
iallicted is this awake. He would eseteet himself by
rearking that the mare of exceptional cease bad so
multiplied that be thseght the time had come while they
ei
laght in
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ye the Mgt betimes the ezespliou and the
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