The National Register.
London, England, 1819-02-28 00:00:00

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pal devisions, and not assign punishment of the first de-
gree to offences of 111 inferior rank."

In the discussions which took place in America be-
tween Dr. Franklin and his tv:sociates, prior to the re..
laxatiou of their Penal laws, this idea of the application
of speci".ic punishments to specific crimes Will strongly
insisted on ; and a very inte:ligent writer declares,
that " he has no more doubt of every crime having its
cuss in moral and physical influence, than he has of
the efficacy ol Peruvian hark in curing the intermitting
fe%er," But let in; observe how he succeeds when he
attempts to enter into pat ticulars. " Tue only. diffi-
culty," says he, " is to find out the pryer remedy or
remedies tut particular vices. M. I)ufriche de iNalaye,
in his elaborate treatise upon penal laws, has perfOrmed
the n;liim; of a pioneer upon this difficult subject. Ha
has il.vidod crimes into class.a, and hiss affixed punish-
ments to each of titein, in a number ofingemous tables.
:Mule of the connexions he has established between
crimes and punishments appear to be just; but many
of his panishmeuts are an-Ur:try to the first principles of
justice in man, and all of them are, in my opinion,
improper, us tar as he orders them to be inflicted in the
eye of the public." This in4enious writer has not,
however, attempted to substitute any scale of his own ;
and notwithstanding the efforts that have since been
made by other enlightened individuals, it seems by no
means probable that this object can ever be accomplished
to any useful or beneficial•exteut.

The error, however, if we may venture so to call, it,
is not in the idea that every crime (or railer every
criminal disposition) has its care in moral and physical.
influeuce, but in supposing that there is seize certain .
punishment appropriated to every crime, which if it
could be discovered, would piuve an infuilible remedy;
tin when we consider the ever variable nature of the
human mind, differing not only in different individuals,
but continually fluctuatiug evea in the seine person, it
is evident, that ill order to eflect any alteration either
of conduct or opinion, such measures must be adopted
as are suitable to the peculiar situation, disposition, and
feelings of the party; and consequently that this moral
and physical influence must be applied iu such diver-
sity of final, and with such variations of lenity and
severity, as way from time to time suit the circum-
stance. of the case. %% lien we speak of punishing
crimes, we are in danger of being misled by a figure of
speech. In fact, we do not punish the crime, but the
individual why commits the crime; Ad ivhatever end
the punishment is intended to answer, it must bear a,
relation to the nature, disposition, and circumstances of:
such individual. To hang up indiscriminately a eertairk
number of person, because they have committed a
certain act, without any regard to the peculiar circum-
stances under which suck act was committed, or by
which every different case is distinguished, o
without any clear idea of the result to ms p 2 0
would be the height of injustice ; and with regard to
interim. punishments, it must be apparent, un the
slightest reflection, that the sane punishment applied
to different persons may p:iduce nut only a diCerent,
but a contrary edixt, and that which may be
ueves-
anry to reftem one, may only serve to harden another.
Tu apply the same punishment to all, is, therefore, a
kind of empiricism in legislation, which pretends by a
certain specific to care a certain crime, without any re,..
thrence to the state of the party on whom the nostntra
is to be tried. The consequences of this have been must
final to the interests of society, and under the pretest
of an impartial administration of justice, the great....t
possible diversify has alwhys subsisted, but in the cone
sequences produced. That which to one is agony,
another disregards ; and, transportation, which by some
may be considered as the utinoq extreme of misery,
may to others resemble en excursion of pleasure. But
this inequality is the least portion of the evil The only
rational object which punishment should have in view,
is frustrated by this blind and iteliscriminutiug process;
and it is iu consequence of this, that criminale, after
having gone through wine prescriptive mode of disci.
pliue, are again turned louse on society, "more har-
dened in their crimes, and more instructed." On this
subject then, one of the most important that turi
en-
guge the attention of the human faculties, it is highly
requisite that a thorough investigation shoald nose
place ; in the result of winch, i; may perhaps arpcae,
that the talisman to which we have trusted is no longer
to be relied on ; that there is no short end exiediiieea
way of extirpating moral evil ; but the% it we wish to

succeed, we must enter upon the taA with a fa. con..
tiction of its importance, and a sincere resolution to
bend ourselves down to onr labour. We must inquire
into the character, temper, and moral constitution, of
th. individual, and acquaint ourselves with his natural
acquired talents, his habits, and his views, in order that
we may be enabled to adopt such measures fur his im-
provement, as may be best adapted to the case. If he
be ignorant, we must instruct him ; if he be obstinate,
and arrogant, we must humiliate him ; if he be indo-
lent, we must rJuse him: if he be desponding, we must
encourage him : and this, it is evident, cannot be ac-
complished without resorting to different modes of
treatment, and the full exercise of those moral and
sympathetic endowments, which subsist in a greater or
leas degree between all human beings as incident to our
common nature.

In the mean time, this supposel practicabillity of
the adaptation of punishments to crimes, is unfavour-
able to the progress of real improvement ; as one of
its expected consequences is, that punishments should
be invariably afflicted, without any relation whatever.
That this is the opinion of Mr. Bentham is apparent,
from several passages in his works, and particularly
from the following, where, under the head of retnis-
sibillity, he thus explains the term :—" This is where,
although the offender has been punished, yet on ac-
count of some good behaviour of his, displayed at a
time subsequent to that of the commencement of the
punishment, it may seem expedient to remit a part of it.
But this can scarcely be, if the proportion of the
punishment is in other respects what it ought to be.
The purpose of example is th more important object
in comparison with that of refo.'snation. Whatever
then is required for the purpose of example, must
abide at all events. It is not any reformation on the
part of the offender, that can warrant the remitting
any part of it. If it could, a man would have no-
thing to do lett to reform immediately, and co free
himself from the greatest part of the punishment
which was deemed necessary."
To this reasoning, which, if admitted, would destroy
the very principle of the penitentiary system, and es-
tablish an inflexible, uniform, and indiscriminating mode
of punishment. it may, for the present, be sufficient to
reply, that until a regular and efficient scale of crimes
and punishments has been formed, it would be prema-
ture to avail ourselves of our boasted ; and
upon an idea that the judgment given was perfectly
just. and applicable to the offence to punish a criminal
to the full extent of his sentence. Even Mr. Bentham
has-himself admitted, that " under the continuanc of the
present imperfect system, the property of remissibility
may ly! deemed a useful one, but,would not in any con.
structel system, in which the rules of proportion before
laid down should be observed." That in the opinion
of Mr. Bentham himself, such period has not yet ar-
rived, is apparent from his constant and successful
efforts, for the advancement of (every plan that may
tend to reform the unhappy offender, and shorten the
period of his captivity ; and till it does arrive, let us
csntinue to•avail ourselves of the most likely measures
in our power, to call the guilty to repentance. and to
soften the calamities, of human nature.

, IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.

HOUSE OF LOttDS.

On the days not noticed, no business of public interest
•as transacted.

THURSDAY.
STATE OF THE PRISONS, &c.

Viscount Stostourft, addressing the House, said, he had
then to lay upon the table the returns made by command of
the Prince Regent, in consequence of an address moved by a li
Noble Marquis tot an account of the various Prisons, Peni-
tentiary lionsei, and Houses of Correction throughout the
kingdom ; and lie hail the satisfaction to state for the infot-
Nation of the House, that the returns had been made
to meet the wi,h of the Noble Marquis, who espreiscd
a doubt on a former day whether all the returns might
be made out to procure full information. The conise
pursued was this :—Letters were sent to all the She-
riffs in Great Britain requiring returns of the state of all
Prisons, Penitentiaries, and Houses of Correction under
their managenigut. Letters were written to the Clerks of the
Peace in eve ry County, for similar returns, and to the Ma-
gistrates of every town in the kingdom in which it was known
there was a Gaol or Prison. Having so done, many returns
had been made ; and if any Noble Lord would mention a
place or Prison where returns had not been made, he would
confer a favour. The returns from Scotland were not quite
complete. He might say that n-tithe of the information ex.
peeled was on the table. They had • mass of iuforniatiuu
respecting Gauls, sufficient to induce the House to lose no
time in referring the same to a select committee of inquiry.
They had also a variety of returns respecting the number of
prisoners sentenced to punishment in Great liritain,from the
year 1805, the period at whirl' the register was first made, to
the close of last year. The House world fluid a separate ac-
count of the number of persous convicted in London- amid
Middlesex, from 1749 to the close of 1800. The Noble Vis-
count added, that he eras enabled to state, that the number of
Commitments dining the last year was less than that of the
year prece log. The thotiontion wets not considerable, bet
the knowledge that co iiiiii itments had decreased could not
fail to afford satisfaction. It Was also worthy of observation,
that t se increase of crimes in the City of London and Country
of Middlesex was less in proportion than in every other part
of Great Britain, excepting Rutland and Gismo' gaii. It had
been generally suppostA that clime. had iucreased in cense-