The Sun.
London, England, 1830-01-01 00:00:00

DAY AT ONE O'CLOCK.

rxICKs OF STOCKS THIS
Rank Stock '•' 216
1 per Cent. Red. 941,414
1 per Cent. Cons. - shut
1% per Cent. lOO%
>itto Red. 100(
1 per Cent. Ann.
Ditto, 1126
Ditto Scrip —
R,rik 1.. Ann.
Ditto 30 years
'ndia Stock shut
litto Bonds — pm.

-
South Sea Stock shut 1
Old Annuities —
New Ditto shut
Ex. Bills, Xl,OOO 2d. 77 '7B pm.
Ditto lid. 76 pm.
Ditto ....AM 2d. 77 '7ll pm.
Ditto.. , ....... lid. '76 pm.
Ditto Small 2/1. 77 78 pm.
Ditto lid. '76 —pm.
Bank for Account —
India for Account —
Cons. for January ..., 951 A, 5 %

PRICES OF FOREIGN FUNDS THIS DAT AT ONE O'CLOCK.
Austrian Bonds
Brazilian Bonds 72% 3%
.3 Peruvian Bonds lBl/4
Buenos Ayres Bonds ...... ....„, , Portuguese Bonds
Chilian Bonds
Prussian, Old
Colombian Bonds — Ditto, New —
Ditto, 1824
Danish
Greek Bonds —..----... 1823 —
Ditto, 1825 3O French Rentes, sp. c. —l. —c.
Guatimala i--- Exchange —C —r.
Mexican Bonds ,-- 3 per cent. —t —c.
Ditto, 1825 — Exchange —f. ---•

PRICES OF SHARES THIS DAY AY ONE O'CLOCK.
Paid. Per Share.
Anglo Mex. Min. Co. (iss. at 5/. pm.) £lOO 43
Brazilian Imp. Min. Co. (iss. at 51. pm.) £2O ni
Mexican Mining Co. £3s
Real del Monte Mining Co. £4oo
United Mex. Min. Co. (iss. at 2/. pm.) £39% ,
Protector Insurance Comp

75 73
18%14
£1 12

PRICES OF IRISH STOCKS, DUBLIN, DEC. 29.
Bank Stock —;St. Patrick lnsur. (per sh.)
Consols, 3 per cent.
Gov. Stock, 3% per cent. RN !National Ditto —
Ditto, New — 'Patriotic 'itto —
4 per Cent lOl4 Hibernian Bank 19%
Gov. Deb. 354 per cent.... 99'4 Provincial Ditto —
Royal Canal Stock 45 Royal Irish Mine —
Grand Canal Stock — , Imperial Mine —
City Deb. 4 per cent. —' Mining Co, of Ireland —
Ballast Ofßee Deb. 4 p. c. --' Commercial Buildings —

occur again in each successive year, with
a melancholy regularity, which
,can leave no
doubt of the inefficacy. of the sanguinary ex-
amples that have been made. We are, therefore,
sacrificing human life uselessly—wantonly—
and, it may be added, wickedly ; and we do,
moreover, what no society has a right to do—
we commit an act of cruelty equally barbarous
and unjustifiable with the massacres of their pri-
soners of war by savage nations. Necessity is
the only excuse for putting men to death ; and,
as Sir JAMES MACINTOSH once observed in
his place in Parliament, the burthen of proving
the existence of that necessity must fall upon
the Legislature which sanctions the system ; and
heavy indeed is the responsibility of a Govern-
ment which, from ignorance or prejudice, takes
for granted that no other means of repressing
crime, besides capital punishment, can be found.

Our criminal code is framed in the spirit of
vengeance or vindictiveness, rather than with
the simple view of repressing crime. All that
society can reasonably hope to do, or has any
right to do, is to preserve themselves from the
commission of offences against persons and pro-
perty. This is to be done—first, by the pre-
vention ; and secondly, by the repression of
crime; but vengeance belongs to GOD alone, who
knows men's motives, and is able to punish them
justly according to their deserts. This society
can never do ; for it cannot read men's hearts,
and can, therefore, never determine the degree
of their moral guilt.
Exertions are making all over the continent to
procure the total abolition of capital punish-
ments, and to substitute for them a well
regulated plenipotentiary system. The prize
essay of M. LUCAS, lately crowned at Paris and
Geneva, has excited a sensation of horror, which
bids fair to pave the way to an amelioration of
Criminal Codes in general. In many of the
Swiss cantons, in Hanover, in Louisiana, and in
the Duchy of Oldenbourg, the penalty of death
has been effaced from the statute-book ; the
Emperor of RUSSIA has intimated his intention
of shortly proposing its cessation throughout the
rest of his dominions ; the Swedish Diet are at
this moment occupied with the same considera-
tion ; and in every European state, except Eng-
land and France, executions for crimes against
property are becoming less and less frequent.
Yet Great Britain, to her shame and scandal, has
executed in the last five years the following
number of her subjects, which has steadily in-
creased in each succeeding year, viz. :

In 1824..+
1825
1826
1827
1828

. 49
. 50
~ 57
~ 70
~ 79

....mil..••
Total 305

Surely it is time that we should pause to con-
sider the wisdom and justice of this sanguinary
career. People are shocked at executions, and
feel that humanity is outraged, but why do they
not do more ? Why do they not petition Par-
liament to spare the lives of their countrymen,
and to mitigate the civil severity of the laws—
which are as impolitic -in themselves, as they
are inconsistent with the precepts of that religion
" which would not seek the death of a sinner, but
" rather that he should turn from his wickedness
" and live."

THE FUNDS.-(THIS DAY.)