The Sun.
London, England, 1841-11-17 00:00:00

41T1t

fers—

LONDON:
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 1841.

Though the saying is trite " that public ne-
cessity can alone justify the infliction even of the
smallest degree of pain on any individual" by
criminal laws, it is so continually overlooked in
practice that we rejoice to see it asserted in the
Times, and are happy to rercat it. Instead of
being followed in practice, every man with a
. crotchet about the prevention of crime, whether
it relate to the silent or the separate system, to
capital or to secondary punishments, whatever
may be the penalties it inflicts, or the cost of
carrying it into execution, that man urges its
adoption, and insists on having it carried
into execution. If by chance he be entrusted
with power, he never considers for one moment
how much or how little pain lie inflicts on indivi-
duals or on the community, but he forthwith
erects prisons, appoints gaolers, and dooms a
great multitude of individuals to great pain, and
the community to great- expense. Far from
proving, even to himself,' that public necessity
justifies this course, he adopts itahnost at hazard,
he never makes any calculation on 'the subject,
and so the country has been doomed to suffer
the infliction of a great variety of severe, and
cruel, and costly punishments, none of hich
appear to have answered the purpose designed.
We have, fir example, a pamphlet lying before
us, entitled " Secondary
Punishments ; the
Merits of a Home and of a ColoniatProcess, of a
n
• social and a Separate System 0fEC0477
.Unredeemediet,;llich a g
thee-
lal
nicnt, discussed by Filen. INN. in ,w
author shows
that a great many
evils result from the present systems of secondary
punishments;that Captain MacoNocint'sscheme
, . i
should be carried fully and fairly into execution,'
and that the great principle of reforming
Tiflis has never, notwithstanding the enormous
establishments to this end, both here.and another
• countries, been properly acted on. Mr. INNES
• is therefore bent on reforming criminals at no
inconsiderable expense of money and pain, while
headmits that all the schemes hitherto tried have
only tended to harden and deteriorate the
criminal.
There are not many families probably in the
country, of which some one of its members has
not been faulty, vicious, or criminal ; and we
believe experience bears us out in saying that in
the greater number of such cases the most care-
ful application of the most approved family dis-
cipline has tailed, at least for a long period, to
reclaim or reform the offender. But what the
nicest application of a knowledge of the habits
and dispoSitions of such an offender, gathered
fro an an intimate acquaintance with him from
the Lour of his birth, what the strictest
and wise,t use of parental authority, which
can withhold food, and is naturally armed
.with an alma irresistible power, cannot effect
for aaintlividual child, political schemers expect
.e mass by some rude kind of.
lidh is necessarily not equally
eases of different individuals.
Prayed, the hereditary weak,
urinal, the victims of an inci-
e wild youth hurried away by
'elt passion, which knowledge
control;. • the easy
tioetakeSU-iiy impression, and

* Published by J. 011yiei;l'alt mall,

who is led into crime by the chance company
has fallen into ; he, whose education: has been
wholly neglected, and he who has been nurtured
and and taught with the tenderest care, n
never witnessed in his parent's abode one alloy-
ing example, but who has within him evil pro-
pensities which no skill hitherto possessed can
eradicate ; allthese, and a countless number more'
whom great diversities of disposition and of cir-
cumstances, have made trespassers on the laws,
are to be cured and reformed by one general
and indiscriminate system of punishment and of
discipline. We doubt whether that which family
discipline cannot accomplish when the plant is in
the greenest state, will ever be accomplished by
any system of penal or convict discipline when
age, when the sun of prosperity, and the storms
of adversity, have hardened the green sapling
into the tough tree. The devisers of numerous
schemes of convict and other discipline are of a
totally different opinion, and we are not ac-
quainted with any subject on which the human
mind has for many years been more active, and
has laboured- more signally in vain.
On this account, we rejoiced to see in the Times
the passage we have quoted, and we hope that it
will henceforth be clearly understood, and always
remembered, that the onus of proving the great
advantages of any system of punishment—of'
showing the great public pleasure which results
from the infliction of individual . pain, lies on
those who propose it, orcarry, it -into execution
not on those', who object to it. For them the
simple fact that punishment is a pain, iSsufli-
cleat to justify the objection ; to prove that it is
outweighed by advantages, that publiC necessity
commands it, is the duty of those who advocate
or inflict the penalty.
We Were much astonished, however, to find
the Times, after adopting this rational principle,
putting fort a totally different principle to jus-
tify the punishment of death. "If we would
have," it said, " no handsome and interesting
murderesses," &c., " we must continue to main-
tain and act upon the law, that ' whoso shed-
deth man's blood, by man shall his blood be
shed.' " Now, without entering into the very
large subject of the utility of capital punish-
ments—merely remarking, however, that as long
as they are continued, it will be difficult to find
many criminals more worthy to suffer death than
BLAKESLEY,—We beg leave to notice a discre-
pancy in the arguments of the Times. If we
" must maintain " that law, which it quotes,—
if that means, as those who quote it imply, that
the State is bound, by the overwhelming autho-
rity of the Bible, to put every murderer to
death,—that the " State must act," regardless
of the consequence?, on this brief and
emphatic command,—why does the Times
supply us with another and a totally diCerent
rule for our conduct, and tell us that we are not
to inflict the smallest pain on individuals, much
less put them to death and expose them to all the
horrors of a coming execution, which fill the
time between the sentence and the death, unless
that infliction be justified by public necessity ?
If we must obey the Biblical law, to inquire
into its effects on the public is wholly superflu-
ous, arid may, perchance, result in questioning
the authority of the Bible. If we must not in-
flict pain without its being proved that it pro-
duces public advantages, why refer us to a posi-
tive law, which shuts out all such consideration?
One or other of the principles referred to by the
Times ought alone to be adopted, otherwise, as
the one overrides the other, reason or revelation
will be brought into contempt.
We admit that we hold with the proposition
which the Times lays down from reason. The
law it quOtes from the Bible was given when
society was in so very different a condition from
the present; it is so extremely general, rather
justifying the Arab habit of taking life for life,
by private revenge, than applying to the solemn
acts of a .State and to modern legislation ;
in-
cludes shedding blood by accident, or in chance
medley, well as shedding blood by deSign—
, which our people never regard as proper to
be.punished with death ; and it is so differently
• explained by different commentators, that as
a rule for legislation we decidedly prefer
the principle the Times lays down from reason
to that it quotes from the Bible. Indeed, we see
with great and unmingled regret an attempt at
this period, in a popular Journal, to found our
criminal jurisprudence on the cruel laws of a
people which were expressly adapted, not to
abstract right but to their hardened hearts; and
we read with pity and disgust the hideous per-
version in that Journal by which all the beauti-
ful philanthropy of the age is ascribed to infi-
delity. The friends of the Bible can be little
pleased with the Times for justifying cruel pu-
nishments by its authority, and for ascribing to in-
fidelity, as the foster-nurse, that desire for the mi-
tigation of sanguinary laws which has so honour-
ably distinguished the most religious men of mo-
dern times.

We are now pompously told by the advocates
of monopoly and starvation, that ;the " seasons
defy human control, and mock human pru-
dence ;" but, if our memory does not cruelly de-
ceive us, the same gentlemen have defended the
Corn-law because it equalized the effects of
the seasons, which Sir ROBERT PEEL, on One oc-
casion, said it had effectually done. That the
seasons defy human control we admit, but they

no more mock human prudence than do storms,
against the effects of which men provide, though
the storms themselves are entirely beyond the
control of man.

Both are known phenomena; and bad and good

seasons alternate so regularly, that they are sub-
ject to calculation. Though human prudence can-
not control the seasons, therefore, it can provide
against their evil effects. It could, for example,
without any difficulty, but simply by doing what
justice and honesty require, open our ports at all
times to the free importation of food ; and it would,
by that means, ensure our people a much greater
supply than at present. If the people could
command plenty of food, and there is no reason
whatever why they cannot, but for the law, they
would consume a great deal more; the standard
,of comfort would be raised throughout the
country, and when bad seasons came, au come
they will, the well-fed people would have a con-
siderable superfluity to fall back upon, and a
barren year would not be tantamount to a sem-
tence of death by starvation.

Then- the class next above the very lowestand Most likely. to relieve them, would have some-
440 give their:suffering neighbours, and the
extremely wretched would not be thrust out as
now
Itaihlitan a the streets to display the worst features
of
be
pgkaoo_a
ttr;'‘Uv
,nwdheih
the`Under
is expressly
3C, law,ionrttet-nded
aided by the
to beat down the standard of comfort, and so de-
grade the labourer, the bulk of the working
classes, both in the agricultural and manufac-
turing districts, are reduced on ordinary occasions
to the lowest stage of existence, and a bad season
is a sentence of death to many of the suffering
poor. The seasons do indeed mock the prudence,
or rather avarice, of our Corn-law makers, . and
fix upon it the stern and indelible brand of GOD'S
reprobation. He has given to man the pOVier of
equalizing the effects of the seasons, so that uo
etheir changes ; but the landlords
havel l result from the
placed their veto on the exercise of the
d thereby the community is exposed to
-i
power, an
immense suffering.

We are glad to see, from our report of what
cccurred yesterday in the Bail Court, that Mr.
TRAVIS, the farmer who was committed to pri-
son by some country gentlemen for felony, be-
cause he resisted.a Mr. ENTWISTLE in trespass-
ing on his grounds to hunt, and stuck his pitch-
fork into Mr. ENTWISTLE'S horse in the scuffle,
has obtained a certiorari to move the cause into
the Court of Queen's Bench, and a rule, calling
on the other parties to show cause why be
should not be admitted to bail. Mr. Justice
PATTESON immediately assented to-the motion,,
and we shall now have all the particulars of this
case made public. We will not say a sEngle
word about it till it, lias been investigated is a

THE SUN, LON D

Cant of Law, further than to remark that the
case is an illustration of the manners of those who
deem themselves born to ride over the people in
the pursuit of their game.

The suggestion of a Correspondent to pull
down the Tower, as an insult to the City of
London, which it was built to keep in subjection,
and convert its site into a dock for steamers, into
which they might enter and depart at all times of
the tide, and around which commodious wharves
might be built, one side being used to land pas-
sengers, and another to embark them, is, we
think, well worthy of public attention ; but we
are afraid that a respect for antiquity will pre-
vail over a love for the happiness of the present
generation, and such a useful project will have
no chance of being carried into effect.

Letters and papers from Madrid of the 7th
inst. have reached us. The capital continued
without the smallest interruption of its tran-
quillity. From Barcelona the news is of a
date one day later. General VAN HALEN

had not entered—the. city, as the autho-
rities had refuSed to admit him unless
he consented to the demolition of the
citadel, which he refused, at the same time
threatening to cannonade the town. The num-
ber of men employed in demolishing the citadel
was 3,000. In Valencia the authorities assem-
bled on the 31st ult., and adopted the following
resolutions :

." 1. The demolition of the tower and the citadel
which commands the town.
" 2. The suppression of the names of Ferdinand and
Christina on all public monuments.
" 3. The dismissal of all employes not supposed worthy
of public confidence.
"4. The -disinissal from the ranks of the National
Guards of all individuals whose opinions are not suffi-
ciently liberal.
5. rm., demolition of the Palace of the Inquisition.
6. The arrest and imprisonment of all suspected
persons.
•` 7. The suspension of all prison labour, as being
detrimental to industry and manufactures."

The next day, however, the decree of the
REGENT for the dissolution of the Junta arrived
and was proclaimed, the authorities only insist-
ing upon the demolition of the Citadel.
The funds continued firm at Madrid. The
Fives 27 for cash.

The Paris Journals have been received, but
with the exception of a spiteful article
against England in the Courrier Francais,
provoked by the generous and friendly speech
of Count ST. AULAIRE, the French Ambas-
sador, at the Lord Mayor's dinner, their con-
tents are of the usual common-place character.
In onr Summary will be found all the notice
which we shall condescend to take of this pitiful
effusion of spite and meanness.
The French Court organs continue their
attacks upon the Spanish Regency. They ex-
agerate every trifle in order to embarrass the
REGENT. Not one half of what they report about
the state of things in Barcelona is true. •

The Debate, alluding to the statement which has been
made relative to the treatment of the persons of Tou-
louse, connected with the public press, on the charge of
having excited the revolt in that city, has the fulf.3witig:—
" We are even less than other partisans of arbitrary
power and useless rigour, and we are about to prove it.
It is true that the responsible editors of three journals of
Toulouse, accused of having part in the troubles of
that town in July last, were removed on foot, and
with chains round their necks to the pled where
they are to be tried. A simple contradiction would
have sufficed on the part of the Ministry, and this con-
tradiction has not been given. In the present case the
prisoners have not been condemned, they are merely
tinder accusation. On the other hand, it appears certain
that a woman who has been condemned to hard labour
for life, for murder and theft, the too celebrated Ma-
dame Lafarge, has been removed in a post carriage
to the prison in which she is to undergo her punishment,
and conceal for ever her infamy. We must confess that,
supposing the news in both cases be correct, the con-
trast is intolerable, and a flagrant outrage upon public
justice. 'We are not amongst those who, from
the moment that an offence becomes political, are
ready to absolve the offender. On the contrary,
we think it perfectly just that they who attack
society by force, or by preaching seditious doctrines,
should be severely punished. We do not, because we
:belong to the press, excuse its excesses ; we do not ask
:for' favour .On its behalf ; we demand only justice. If
the responsible editors of the Toulouse Journals should
be fouad guilty of the crime of which they are ac-
cused, we will not complain of their condemnation ;
but up to this moment they are merely under accusation,
and yet they are said to have undergone the punishment
of being dragged along, under the eyes of the whole po-
pulation, as so many malefactors, to the spot where
justice is to pronounce as to their guilt or innocence,
whilst consideration and indulgence were reserved for a'
murderess. Again, we say that we demand no favour
for the press, but let us not have the preference of seve-
rity. As regards persons merely under accusation, all
the right possessed by the Executive is the security of
their persons, and the accused of Toulouse would, in a
carriage, have been equally, and, indeed, more secure
than they were, chained and exposed as they are said to
have been. 'We sincerely hope, however, that the state-
ment which has given rise to these reflections may turn
out to be unfounded." _ _

The trial before the Correctional Tribunal, of the par-
ties connected in the publication of the journal called the
Humanitaire, in which were involved questions of illicit
association and detention of arms and ammunition, com-
menced on Wednesday, and terminated yesterday, when
all the accused, except one, were found guilty, and sen-
tenced to imprisonment for various terms from two years
to three months.—The Debuts states that, as the pri-
soners were being conducted back from the Court to
the Conciergerie, one of them, named Sauvaitre, escaped
from the guards, and got clear off, by means of the crowd.
We learn through Vienna that the town of Komorn,
on the island of Schutt, in Hungary, at the confluence
of the Waag and the Danube, was at the end of last
month visited by an earthquake, which shook down all
the timber-houses, and severely damaged other build-
ings. In consequence of this disaster upwards of 5,000
people are said to be ruined, and left without shelter.
The general loss is estimated at an immense amount.
His Excellency Lord Cowley received visits on Friday
from M. Guizot, Marshal Soult, and the Sardinian Mi-
nister. The Countess de Flahault, and a great number
of English residents of distinction, have called on Lord
and Lady Cowley.
Advices from Leghorn of the sth instant, in the Mar-
seilles papers, state that the Grand Duke of Tuscany
was about to proceed immediately to Naples, with his
family, for the benefit of the health of his youngest
daughter, who is feared to be in the same condition
as her elder sister, who died last month. A steamer
was ordered to be in readiness for this purpose by
the I Oth.—A violent hurricane had been experienced
in the Bay of Naples on the 30th ult., during
which the. Mongibello steamer had run foul of a
Tuscan steamer, the Marie Antoinette, and had
caused her much damage. The Neapolitan ship of
war, Copri, had been driven from her anchors, and
had greatly injured several merchant vessels in the
port. Among these an English vessel, laden with
sugar, indigo, and other goods, had been sunk.—An ex-
tensive fire had occurred at Leghorn on the night of the
4th, in a furniture warehouse, and had caused much
damage.
A letter from Berlin, in the Auysburgh Gazette,-states
that the suppression of the conspiracy in Belgium has
been witnessed with much pleasure in the Prussian
capital. At the period of the Belgian revolution, a re-
storation of the House of Orange at Brussels was much
desired in Prussia ; but now, this letter adds, it is con-

'eeived that the independence of Belgium is closely con-
nected with the prosperity of Prussia. "We are con-
vinced," says the writer, " that if the Belgian conspiracy
.had momentarily succeeded, the Prussian Government
would have acted with more energy than even that of
France.to.cause the treaty of London to be respected."
In consevence of the removal of the slaughter-house
for horses from Montfaucon to the Plaine des Vertus,
near AuberVilliers, the colony of rats, whose enormous
number was well known, no longer finding food for their
support, have emigrated to Belleville, La Petite-Villette,
and the Fattbourgs du Temple, and Saint Martin, where
they are said to have committed great ravages. It is
even supposed that they have penetrated by the sewers
to the markets in the centre of Paris, and to the
Some days ago, a young orphan girl, driven to dis-
traction by want, threw herself into the river from the
Pont d'Arcole, but the cries which nature induced her to
utter, when she felt her life in actual danger, attracted
the attention of two gentlemen in the office of the Secre-
tary of the Prince Royal, who happened to be passing at
the time, and by their personal exertions they succeeded
in saving her. One of there, M. Chamonard, being a
married man, without children, having ascertained that
her character was irreproachable, has adopted the unfor-
tunate girl. The Duchess of Orleans sent her 100 f. on
being informed of this circumstance.
A young man, and a woman, with whom he was living,
were, two evenings ago, walking along the Rue Saint-
Honore, when a dispute arose between them, and the
female became so excited that she drew a knife from her
pocket, stabbed herself to the heart, and fell dead in-
stantly. The young man, in his alarm, fled, and left her
on the ground. She was taken to the 3lorgue, where she
was soon afterwards claimed and given up to her friends.
The Sentinelle de la Marine, published at Toulon, has
the following news in its number of the 9th :
" The Montebello, three-decker, has been dismasted.
" We expect, from Brest, two frigates, with 600 sail-
ors, for the ships of the Mediterranean squadron.
" It is asserted that the Minerva frigate, which is not
yet out of quarantine, has received orders to be in readi-
ness to put to sea. The destination of the vessel is not
known. The Embuscade and the Roussoll corvettes are
still in the roads. ' It is said that these two Vessels,
which are deStined for distant service, will soon be ready
to p,
sea
, Indromede frigate has received orders to be
put to
ready to depart at the same time as the GenereuX and

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