The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1808-05-19 00:00:00

most severe. ..Id, at the same time, the very le
verse of certainty. This was a feet ao antorions,
that it VS MS only uecessary, in order to illustrate it, tit
to refer to a short utateineut he had made out from
the Secretary. of State's office, from which it al:-
peered. quit in the year 1805, the number of per-
sons capitally convicted in Loudon and Middlesex,
and upon all the circuits in Eaglaud, awousetp.;
to 350; while the number actually executed
amonnted to 63, being less than our-filth of the
persons actually so convicted. Lu 1806, the nuul- •
ber of capital conviction* was 325, mad the min.-
her executed was 57, being nearly our-sir th part
of those convicted. Amongst these he includes!
those convicted for murders and highway robberies,
and if these were deducted, the remainder would
be tumid to be. arms of simple larceny, which, by
certain old Statutes. were tucluded amongst the
capital opts nces. Tirese, on account of tile s v
rity of the laws making them capital felonies, leer.,
he believed, in 'lout of e 0 eases pardoned hi:M..
geher, instead of being submitted to it milder pu-
nishment. 1: rein this be' inferred, that the lass
it' goacsal, in tact eases, were only esirting in the.-
orb and nut in practice ; and that they have alunet
been totally abrogated by the astuteness ofJudgets,
the mercy of Juries, or the clemency of ttle
Crown. It aa. not, however, his present Inc-pose
to bring before the House any more than ouc 141ISS
of offences which the law bud rendered capital, but
which it could not be the meaning of the legis-
lature of the present day to punish with such
severity. He meant those cases where the capital
part of the charge depended entirely upon the
amount of the property stolen. By the Statute of
William and Mary, the stealing iu a shop wit deiregs
house,to the amount of 51. value. was teaderesl
capital. By a Statute of Queen Ann the *web
to the amount of .101. although nut ac patlacd
by may aggravated circumstances, was alsetitatie a
capital offeuce; and by tie Bth of Warn Elisa-
beth, the stesliug . to the small ausount of tirade',
peace, under certain circumstances, and iu egrets,
places, excluded the criminals from the beuelit of
Clergy. Such beiiig the preseut state of the law,
it entirely depended upon the clemency of the
Judge. the mercy of the Jury, and iu some casts
of the Crown. Whether or not these Statates were to
i.e carried into strut execution. Since these Stu-
mites were emoted, so much time had expired, slid
so much iuroovenieriee and hardships had been
experienced, that it was matter of mach astowv.e-
meat that the law of the country should have
remained in force. That_aoooithinent was out so
much occasioned by reflecting %ion the severity of
40•0 persons who enacted them, when the
chalges of times, and the value of property were
conaiderred and compared, as because theca
ciiiinges of circumstances had not produced
changes and alterations in these criminal laws. lac
could not, upon this occasiou, irate ea opinioe
inure apposite and appropriate to the subject, titaa
that of Lord bonus to slew that time was the
greatest of all innovators. His Lordahip's opinion
was, thetas. owasioastly th tt servo, ear
articles became dearer. that the lite of mans 11.:(1
become cheaper. lie thought that nothing was
more true than that observation; for there were
uiany more mirchievous effects produced by such
Statutes remaining in their original force, than what
immediately struck the observation of every one;
ere-.tell not so much by such laws being enacted,
as because they could not now be executed.—
The Judges of the country were placed in a
most panda' situation, having a duty im-
posed iipcia them, by • the Uovertunent under
which they exist; and another duty which they
conceived much superior, hieing the duty of nature
dictates of humanity. Juries, actuated by
the same feelings, were &leo induced, against tl e
plainest citiknce, to tired things to be of • value tar
inferior to what even ocular inspection *hewed
them to be. This, in the Commentaiies of Judge
Blackstone, was what was denominated a kited of
plums perjury. it was a custom in men to trifle
with their consciences, from their conviction that
the law ought not to remain in its present state.
The experieuce of every day made the alterations
he was now suggesting become more and more
pressing til.on the legislature of the ouuntry, wbru
they observed the uncertaiute of punishment
created by thole Statutes that aetermined au of.
fence to i.e. capital by the amount of property.---
The fait was, that a much smaller winner of of-
fenders were convicted than there ought- to be, as
the Jury were induced to be merciful, from the seve-
nty of such laws. Was it proper or consistent with
justice, that on account of ancient Statutes having
appointed too severe a punishment in many cases.
that no punishments should be at all inflicted Or
was it proper or consistent with the leniency and be.
nignity of our good constitution. that an unforto.
nate individual. who had been guilty of stealing to
the amount of one shilling, should suffer death t
The consequence of the existence of' such rigorous
laws waa, not ouly what he had already stated, but
it hi a great degree deprived the Crown of its pre.
rogative of *hewing mercy. The true state of the
case was, not that the Crown extended its mercy to
many of the capitally convicted criminals, but that
it had imposed upon it the disagreeable and pain-
ful duty of selecting from amongst the number
of persons, so convicted under the law, thaw
who should suffer the punishment of' death.--
Tnat duty, which was thus executed by Coto P•
In regard to capital convictions in L and Mid-
(llexes, was, throughout the rest of the kingdom,
performed by the Judges themselves. This duty
was felt isv Air Judges as by far the most painful
one inflicted lapses thrum. Alter having performed
the 1141.01.4 ms amd urititoes duties of the Assizes,
hey ler then the irksome 310 painful tads of re-
from ansers;it 'hose who had beci, capitally
• a. t cd„ t hose w i a were t• be capi; ade I meshed.
Tii..y were .-ell aware brat Oust which 1:t the
tHilate was int rev titre: v, a•.,1 not IA jog
thej ~ele ,A taut to to it, ip