The Sun.
London, England, 1846-04-30 00:00:00

PUNISHMENT OF DEATH.

- -
A great public meeting was held on Wednesday evening in
the la: ge room at Exeter Hall, to consider what means ought
to he used for the abolition of the punishment of death. The
hall was erewde.l in every corner long before the hour for
the coMmencement of business.
W. F,w„cnT„ Esq., M.P., who was unanimously called to
the chair, ititriadaQed the subject to the meeting which had
called theta together. _ It WftS unnecessary, he e telt, to detain
them long: Their adversaries '
-on the -question bad been
.
driven from peint to point and frorn
crimeto crime in this
award,, of awa,, .and now' death was
beinflicted only for one
crime—the crime of murder. (Hear,
to
bered at the time when it was attempted iin) He
abolishremem-
death as the
punishment for sheep-stealing and
burglary,
that one rose
op and said the consequence of that would be, that they
could not thhat theirdomestic servants
; when it was moved to
abrogate tt . as the penalty of forgery, another said commercial
credit would be at an end. \V.as the punishment of death,
he asked, retained on the principle of tea lex talionis, like fir
like,, d th f d tl ?He •
ea ,or ea i believed no matt did so. Orit
Why,
then retained for the sake of example?
ryas ,
on the part
of their adversaries, a motion had
lately been made that
this sentence of the law should be executed in private,
so
that fq. them the argument tram example went for nothing.
But if they supported the present
example let them send their children to
on tile ground of
(Cheecs),---uod the- more especially if
thisio the spectacle_
part of -a national system. f d • was meant to be
- - . • -.. • , o . e ucation.—(Lau 1 t -
g -e..) H
any did maintain it on r..ligious grounds, he gel d that the
spirit and the precepts of Christianity were directly
to it. There was one remarkable ditfererce in the iinopopred
fence taken up by parties onus behalf. He (Mr. Ewaert "-
his friends depended on the Parliamentary Statistical ')and
Returns
which had i,en . got up from year to year. These
showed a diminution of executions, and with that a diminu-
tion of crime; and what was also worthy of observation, they
exhibited an increase of convictions, thus showing st ith what
cmairity. criminals can be detected when juries were un-
trammelled by a perverse sentence. Be begged the meeting
to hearin initul the result which bad been drawn from these
statistiee-by.Mr. Wrightson, which was, that wi; it the dimi-
nution of executions there was a diminution of crime. Tney
felt theMselves secured and a ell established on these figures
in their efforts against this systematised evil, at the same
time they were encouraged and strengthen d in their oppo-
sition-by the scene which he saw around hint, as well as by
the general movement which he knew was proceeding in
Liverp&il, and Southampton, and other places. It had been
said, however, that they desircd tire abolition of this sentence
from false sentiment and from false delicacy of mind,
He said that was far f oin him. If any false sentiment
existed in the community in connexion with this question,
it had been produced nut by the crime, but by the punish-
ment of the crime—(Hear, hear)—for he believed that the
criminal was exalted into a species of hero, not by the crime
he hail committed, but by the punishment inflicted upon
hini.--it was the awful punishment of death which enlisted
false feeling. If.crime had produced this false feeling, then
it Weu!d have continued while they viewed those crimes in
refeientie to Whi.ch death had -been abolished, but that false
feeling continued to exist only towards that one crime which
was still punished capitally. only
one had any such feeling
now towards the-sheep-stealer or the burglar, for the occa-
sion had been taken away. They had been asked by the
other-- side, whether they were prepared to offer any
ptinishment, instead of that which it was sought to abolish.
.Now,*they were not there to find out the correlative scale
and character of punishment and crime, yet they were con-
vinced that there was a punishment more adapted to crimi-
nals guilty of murder, and that was imprisonment for life;
for what could be more awful
to man—what greater torment
—than to be for the rest of his days the companion of soli-
tude and his sin ? Such
weight than
the
punishment a prospect would carry with it more
ment which swept a living bring in
a moment, out of exister
and reflection producetr se i and if this solitary imprisonment
ance,then it became a orrow in the criminal, and sentencerepent-
more in accordance with the
spirit and end of religion.
The thin. Gentleman's speech
trance f John Bright, xis._ was interrupted by the en-
audience wif-h-lmg-contiuutd cheering.who was received by the
Lord Nuonsyr was called oil by
first irSolution, which the Noblev heLord Chairman to move the
did h
statute, and the history of sanguinary ey adverting to
He said the Roman laws were nual laws in other natious.
until the times of the Emperors,
Nvtroate in this particular
Seneca, taught the people crime. TheseTbloody edicts, said
existed for '23 years, was an example to ran code, which
mency, hut at the French revolution thate nations in cle-
and the assassina returned among the codel was abolished,
their prey. The statistics of the Britillheolpslealike beasts to
divided-into-cycles, showed that the diminutioe-, for 30 years
page with the abolition of capital punishments,
of crime kept
when there was an increase of population.
They, and that too
that the number of convictions had ininceeasedshowed also
scription of crime except murder. In the crime every ae.
this kingdom stood next to Spain, and was eight.of murder
than Prussia. - In Belgium, between the yearslB3
times
andes worse
there bad been only six murders. The Noble
e 1837,
Lord
commentedut length on these. and other facts, and resumed
his seat after moving the following resolution :
. _bet
the efficacy of Criminal Laws depends less upon the
Serenity of punishment than the certainty of infliction;
and that laws which cannot be carried into execution with-
out shocking the feelings of society, and sinking abhorrence
e( the crime in sympathy for the offender, are contrary to
Teas,* inconsistent with morality, and opposed to the inte-
rests of justice—obiections which most forcibly apply to
statutes enacting the punishment of (kith."
1)-e lei O'Contmrli,.
N , • E-1.., .41. P., eroere.! the meeting as the
Noble Loki was
speaking,and was received with cheers,
whiek Were
~._
e.
._renewed for several minutes.
•14c J. kiILIGHT, ZIP., addressed the meeting in an elo-
.

quent and energetic speech. lie said the pectiliarity of that
discussion, was, that go, Hitical feeling or religious rancour
need be stirred; for every nian had that in him which na-
turally led him to abhor the punishment for itself.
Their great object in this movement was to ascertain
whether in a great community the people could so conduct
themselves that life and property would be seatreVeitliiiiira'
punishment which took away from their number by death.
On this point he referred to the past experience of London,
when it was pot one-sixth of its present size, and yet six
human beings were put out of existeuee at least every week.
In 1832 or 1833 there had been a great reduction ofihe
crimes capitally punished; and he asked whether, since then,
they had found life or property less secure? The Hon. Gen-
tleman argued the question, not front Scripture but htiMan
nature—those principles which lie at the foundation of cha-
racter; and concluded with expressing his strong belief that
it would be abolished within five years.
The Rev. Dr. MORTIMER, head master of the City of Lon-
don School, supported the resolution, which was put from the
Chair, and carried without one dissenting voice. t•
. D.aniet. O'CoNNELL, M.P., moved the second resolution,
and supported it by several interesting facts from his own
knowledge, while engaged in professional life.
• Mr. SAMUEL GURNEY seconded the resolution, which
was put to the meeting and carried unanimously.
" That in the opinion of this meeting, no fallible tri-
bunal should be. entrusted with the power of inflicting an
irrevocable punishment., That awful instances of the con-
demnation and execution of innocent men, convicted upon
what appeared at the time the clearest, evidence. proves the
fallibility of the best constituted courts, and the necessity
of adopting some punisment, which may be recalled in the
event of subsequent proof of the innocence of the supposed
criminal, in place of a punishment which takes away that
which man is powerless to restore, and consigns to a pre-
mature end a helpless fellow-being; thus closing the gates
of mercy which God would leave still open, and shortening
the time for repentance which He would still extend. "
Mr. W. J. Fox, in an eloquent speech, moved—" That
the following petition to het Most Gracious -Majesty the
Queen be entrusted for presentation to the Right Hon. Sir
Robert Peel ; and that similar petitions be presented to both
Houses of Parliament. That the Xight Hon. Lord Denman
be respectfully requested to present the petition to the Lords,
and W. Ewart, Esq., that to the Commons." •
This was seconded by Mr. G. W. ALEXANDER, and carried
by the meeting.
It was moved by the Rev. Mr. CHnesTatas, and supported
by Mr. WRIGHTSON and Mr. H. VINCENT—" That a society
be now formed, to be called • The Society for the Abolition of
Capital Punishments,' and that the following form the Com-
mittee of said society, with power to add to their number."
A vote of thanks to Mr. Ewart, M.P., for his conduct
in the chair, was passed unanimously, and the meeting
separated.