The Sun.
London, England, 1830-06-22 00:00:00

said " never." We defy- him to point out a single
instante of the judgment of the law being, in trod,
t!mes, carried into execution in the cases of forgery
which he has enumerated as those that are to be
exempted from the punishment of death. What
tiro was the improvement of the law proposed to
be if;e!-:.ed by his Bill ? Merely to prune away
what mly be gilled the dead branches of this poi-
of c ttr penal system, while the main stem and
I:ving a ms of the destroying tapes were left to
flouriih in all their fatal vigour and baneful luxu-
riance ! In fact, this Bill would not have the effect-,
if it passed into a law as introduced by its author,
of instigating the practical severity of the law to
the amount of a single execution. Yet there were
Jouroals, and among them one which had formerly
urged in strong language the necessity of abolishing
the capital punishment in all cases of forgery, that
praised this Bill as a complete and finished speci-
men of judicious legislation.• • We felt it our duty to
undeceive the public on the matter. The decision'
of the House of Commons on the third reading of the
Bill has proved that opinion was not. erroneous. By
that decigion an amendment, moved by Sir J. Mack-
intosh, has been introduced into the Bill,which has the
effect of repealing the penalty of death in all eases of
forgery, except...the forging of wills—an exception
which the Hon. and Learned -Mover of the amend-
ment accounted for by stating that it was a conces-
sion which he made to the opinions of others, to
whose views. he sacrificed, in this instance, his own

!.judgment. Should the Bill, in its amended shape,
as it now stands, pass into a law, we. should still
regret that a single fragment of the sanguinary code
remained to blot the new Statute book of a better
era of legislation; but it was, perhaps, necessary to
give up something to secure the remainder. The
reasoning that applies against inflicting the penalty
of death for the forging of bonds, bank-notes, bills
of exchange, &c.—namely, that it is not effective in
repressing the crime, and that it confounds a fraudu-
lent invasion of the right of property with off, aces
of violence and blood, is as applicable to the forgery
of wills as to the other cases just mentioned. At
one time the great argument on which the advocates
of the sanguinary principle relied, was the necessity
of protecting, by the severest penalty known to the
law, the banking and commercial interests; which,
they alleged, would be subjected to ruinous depreda-
tion, if any punishment short of death was annexed
to the crime.
..That argument has beer. shown by
bankers and merchants to be a gross and pernicious
fallacy. Upwards of 200 petitions, we must again re-
mind the supporters of exterminating Statutes, have
been presented to the Legislature in the present Ses-
sion, praying for the abolition of capital punishMent
for forgery, on the various grounds—that it is op-
posed to revealed religion—to reason—to the na-
tural sentiments of humanity, and to public opinion;
that it is, in consequence of its extreme severity of,
uncertain execution, thereby encouraging crime, by
.holding out the hopes of impunity to the offender,
and consequently rendering peculiarly insecure the
property which it was intended to protect. But in
addition to this mass of petitions, to which appeared
the signatures of bankers, merchants, clergymen,
barristers, solicitors, and private gentlemen, was one
petition, which afforded the best evidence that
could b,..• given to Parliament touching the single
po'nt of the insecurity of bankers' property, in con-
sequence of the cruelty of the law producing a con-
scientious disinclination to prosecute offenders.
This petition was presented by Mr. Brougham. By
whom was it signed ? By one thousand bankers
What was the language which they addresed to the
Legislature ? Here it is—" That your petitioners,
as bankers, are deeply interested in the protection of
property from forgery, and in the conviction

and punishment of persons guilty of this crime—
that your petitioners find, by experience, that the
infliction of death, or even the probability of the
infliction of death, prevcnls the prosecution, con-

victim', and punishment of the criminal, and thus

endangers the property which it was intended to
protect—that your petitioners, therefore, pray that
your Honourable House will not withhold from them
that protection which they would derive from a
more lenient law." Here, in the simple and forcible
language of truth, gathered from long experience,

is the ;appeal to Parliament of one thousand bankers
of the United Kingdom, supplicating for the abo-
lition of the capital law of forgery on the interested
principle of the insecurity of their property under
the existing laws. Such are the witnesses—such the
evidence! Leaving religion and all moral and hu-
mane considerations out of view, here is the testi-
mony of cold, and even selfish, calculation. It
shows the injurious consequences resulting from the
present state of the law in a commerci,d point of
view. Bankers do not theorise for the sake of huma-
nity to their own pecuniary prejudice; nor are
they exactly the class of men who prefer sentiment
to self-interest. It happens, however, in this case,
that their particular interests coincide with the
view of this question which is derived from the
higher considerations of religion, reason, and hu-
manity. Can the Legislature rtfuse to listen to
the evidence of those who know the working of
the law best—whose property is most affected

by its operation—and whose demand of an efficient
law to guard their property against depredation
goes not to destroy, but to save, the lives of men?
The House of Commons have listened to their ap-
peal—they have decided in favour of the calcula-
tions of commerce, and the right of humanity equally
demand it. We hope those who have hitherto op-
posed the mitigation of the criminal code in. the

other House will recollect that this is not a question
of politics, in which men may safely indulge in spe-
culative opinions even against the sense of a great
proportion of the community, but that it is a que,-
tion of justice, and that life is at stake. In such a
question an error on the side of humanity is easily
recalled, while on the opposite side it is irreparable.

The vote of the House of Commons is now on the
records of history, arid will assuredly, one day or
other, if defeated now, become the law of the land.
But we will not anticipate a decision this evening
that would severely disappoint the country; we
would rather encourage the hope that the House of
Lords will make the inchoate triumph of civilised
law over cruel prejudices complete, and accede to
the earnest supplications of practical men, backed
by the highest considerations that can operate on
the minds of dispassionate and enlightened legisla-
tors.—Morning Herald.

DARING ROBBERY.—Yesterday afternoon,
between the hours of two and three o'clock, the show-
case of Mr. ROFFEY, surgeon dentist, Cranbourn-street,
Leicester-square, was cut, and several very valuable speci-
mens of terra-metallic teeth, gold palates, &c., were ex-
tracted, to the amount of between forty and fifty pounds.

We understand that the towns of Llangadock,
in Carmarthenshire, and Crickhowell, in Breconshire, are,
under a late arrangement, made regulai post towns.—
Cambrian.

A coach is now established to run from Car-
marthen to Coli!blow, Tenhy, Pembroke, and Pembroke
Dock, for the express purpose of conveying passengers to
meet the seam-packet Lee, at Mllford Haven, and tob,ing
pass ngers landed by her for any of those places, on each
day of her arrival and sailing, thereby ircreasing the faci-
lity already afforded the public in their communications
with Liverpool and Bristol, and a great advantage to
travelling to Scotland.—Cumbrian.
EMIGRATION AND IMMIGRATION.—OD
Tuesday last a number of families from the counties of
Denbigh and Flint, passed through Chester on their way
fur Liverpool, where they will embark for the United
States of America. They were accompanied as far as the
canal by many friends and relations, who, on bifiding them
farewell, expressed a determination to follow as soon as
they should receive the necessary infcrination from the
New World. Tile emigrants appeared to be of that class
of persons denominated small trailers, possessing small
capitals, and sufficient enterprise and spirit Lot to languish
in misery and want in a country which no longer affords.
them encouragement or support. On the Monday fol-
lowing, about fifty Irishmen arrived in
.the city from their
native shores, clothed in filthy rags, the picture of rverty
and distress, who are prepared to displace as many Eng-
lishmen, by performing ►he labour at one-half the price,
and which will be but sufficient to drag out a life of mi-
serable existence and disease.. Chester Courant,