The Sun.
London, England, 1852-11-01 00:00:00

Itat.
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C-4110.

LONDON, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 1852.

"Extreme cases make bad precedents." The apoph-
thegm is well founded, more especially in relation
to the criminal law. Justice should be administered
without passion or excitement. Judges and jurymen
should, so far as practicable, divest themselves of the
ordinary feelings of humanity—not suffering them-
selves to be influenced either by compassion for a
prisoner, or horror at the offence with which he is
charged. In the olden time frequent appeals were
made to juries to interpose between the stringent
severity of the law end the prisoner. The act with
which he was charged might 'rive been committed
under what our continental neighbours term " ex-
tenuating ciraums!ances," wh;cl3, although they could
not justify, might materielly lessen the gravamen of
the crime. The skilful advocate would create a deep
sympathy for his unfortunate client, who had perhaps
previously maintained an exemplary character. Every
point that could be urged was strongly insisted on,
and acquittal was often the result, although totally
opposed to the evidence, and despite the salutary
warnings of the presiding judge. Thn consequences
of this undue leniency were of a serious description.
It is the certainty rather than the severity of punish-
ment that strikes terror into offenders, and thus re-
presses crime. The chance of acquittal served in a
great degree to remove the wholesome terror that
should ever be maintained, and a great increase of
the class of offences in which the " humanity" of
juries was usually called into operation, was the re-
sult. _ _ _ _

It is needless to cite examples of this fact. For-
gery—so long as it continued to be a capital felony,
171 which the extreme sentence of the law was almost
invariably carried into execution, and homicides by
duelling, may serve as familiar instances. Numerous
cases occurred in which the injured parties refused to
put the machinery of the law into operation, declining
to prosecute or even forfeiting their recognizances,
rather than place the life of a fellow creature in jeo-
pardy. 'While verdicts in
m directean
suncommon.
opposition
A
to the
facts of the case, were by
no
prosecution was rarely instituted against any of
the parties concerned, in a fair duel, sometimes when
the survivor had evinced a great want of discretion,
offering gross provocation to his opponent, or refus-
ing a reasonable apology. A verdict of manslaughter,
returned in obedience to the laws of honour, rather
than to the laws of the land, might mark the indigna..
Con of the jury. As a general rule, however, the
practice wcs sanctioned, and it consequently became
a fashionable amusement. Scarcely a week elapsed
in which accounts did not appear in the public jour-
nals of some " affair of honour" that had been con-
dactel to a satisfactory conclusion, while a person
who bad just been committing a capital felony, by
firing at a fellow-subject with intent to kill, strutted
along the streets and eighweys as if he had been en-
-el yaeseircgrArkit*. . in a most laudable transaction.. If the duel
.__,i
,S etFplu ted fatally, 4 the pa might pcoqbly go out of
411113,
. - iAlii,3r. for a time, until the views of the family of
'-?zt--4,,::-NAe.d ed were known, and it had been ascertained
te 4.,--.;;4,--- 4
—O, ~ , 4 he they
,-;..v 4, would act in a gentlema6 manner,
di.
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