The Sun.
London, England, 1869-10-06 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, WF.DNESDAY EVENING, OCTOBER 6, 1869.

granting of diplomas, which would act as a guarantee to
parents that those to whom they commit the care of their
children are qualified for the task.

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT

Mr. Tallack in a paper on the " Dignity and Efficacy of
English law as diminished by the Capital Penalty," written
at the suggestion of Miss Mary Carpenter, argued that all
law should be certain in infliction, and thoroughly as well
as cordially supported by the general body of orderly and
intelligent citizens. It then argued that there was one
particular penalty which a large section of the community
(including many eminent statesmen and magistrates) were
most reluctantly compelled to oppose (both actively and
passively) owing to objectlonspecullar to that one penalty,
as, for example, its irreparable consequences in case of mis-
taken conviction, and the hopelessly impossible task of distin-
guishing, in many instances, between subtle insanity and de-
liberate guilt. Further, owing to various other circamstances.
such as the royal prerogative of mercy, the functions of
the Home Secretary, and the long list of judicial mistakes
in the past, and precedents for interposition (in conse-
quqnce of the absence of a Court of Appeal in capital
cases), Mr. Tallack urged that the one penalty offered a
peculiarly week resistance to the pressure of the numerous
body of its opponents. After adducing reasons why such
an opposing body must always exist in considerable
force, so long as the penalty continues, he pleaded
that, inasmuch as law should really be a certainty
—a strong and unerring restraint—a power honoured
and upheld by all good citizens, in order to
secure this efficacy of law, and especially in regard to
the very worst of crimes, it should be harmonised with
the viows of the large and influential minority of abo-
litionists. To illustrate the law-loving character and
justly influential weight of the minority (assuming it to
be a minority, which was by no means certain), Mr. Tallack
quoted the names and opinions of a long list of eminent
men, including statesmen and legislators of all parties.
The paper then pointed out the important admissions of
other statesmen who had not absolutely pronounced for
total abolition. A long list of authors, journalists, and
general advocates of abolition was also given. The paper
did not enter at length upon the subject as connected with
foreign countries. It pointed to the successful results of
abolition in twenty-five foreign states, including a hundred
years' experience in Russia and Tuscany. The countries
where capital punishments had been most frequent, as
Spain (till recently), France with its guillotine, and
England in " the old hanging days," had, however, pecu-
liarly abounded in horrible and atrocious murders.

write or notfting • OISe IAT MIS ana =area StIOJOCTS.
The tone of the " national" papers does not promise
well for a fair and equitable settlement. Their
language is extreme, the epithet "felonious," in par-
ticular, being applied to landlords with unsparing
liberality. The Nation deplores the agrarian out-
rages which every now and then occur ; but it
ascribes the blame to the landlords. "As long as the
landlords continue to oppress, then the retaliation of
the tenant may be expected to follow ; and when the
law shields the exterminator, the class whose lives
and liberties are at stake will yield no obedience to
the law." Thus this journal recommends the
landlords to give in on the one hand ; but on the
other it ridicules the moderate and conciliatory over-
tures which have been made by certain owners of
property. " The time is passed for compromise."
By this it appears that whilst the landlords are to put
an end to agrarian outrages by doing justice to the
tenants, the Nation's view of justice is limited to full
and complete surrender.
The People of Ireland has no hope that such a " sham"
as the British Parliament will pass a measure which will
secure the tenant his property, and save him from the
necessity of appealing to the rifle for justice. . The
Evening Post advocates moderation. aOf one fact
we feel persuaded—that to be successful the tenant
farmers of Ireland have only to be practical. The
leaning of the landlords generally is towards an
understanding ; and we do not think that, from the
Conservative opposition, taken as a whole, a
factious or unprincipled resistance is to be
apprehended." The Northern Whig says the
behaviour of the so-called patriots is - disgusting.
Their extravagant demands only embarrass the
Government.

Lord Courtown writes in support of thc Conserva-
tive view. His own practice is to give leases of
21 or 31 years when the tenant asks for them ; but he
is opposed to the policy of forcing leases upon those
who are content to do without them. His lordship
denies that instances of landlords refusing leases
through desire to retain political influence are
common.

THE VALUE OF CREDI7.

(horn the Anglo-American Times.)

That the Springfield Republican is a good autho-
rity on the affairs of Massachusetts, few will deny ;
but the holders of the Bonds of that State will bear
in mind when we quote its remarks, that they were
directed at the leaders of a party, and made as
strong as possible to impress on them the necessity
for economy. That paper asks—
" Are the Republican leaders sufficiently impressed with
the fact that, comparatively speaking, the finances of
Massachusetts are in a worse condition than those of any
northern State, and of half the Southern States ? Do they
realize that while the National Government has reduced
its debt, since the close of the war, by nearly a fourth part,
Massachusetts has increased her debt by more than a
third part ? Indeed, if we consider only the debt unpro-
vided for by sinking funds, and in other ways, the increase
has been more than 70 per cent.,—for, on January 1,1866,
our debt unprovidod for was $8,254,864, while at the same
date, this year, it was about $14,000,000 ; the whole debt
at that time being nearly $28,000,000.
The Hartford and Erie Railroad, and the Hoosac
Tunnel, have increased the indebtedness to about
$10,000,000, leaving Massachusetts now pledged to
the payment of a State Debt of nearly $38,000,000.
I When the war commenced, that debt was only
$7,000,000, at the close of the war it was
23,000,000, having multiplied five times to make
up its present figure in less than nine years, during
which period the productive resources of the State
had not increased more than fifty per cent. The
annual outlay on the State Government has within
that time doubled, and the State tax which ten
years ago only amounted to $300,000 was last year
over two and a half millions, and is expected next
year to be three millions. The legislative expenses
are twice what they should be, the State printing
costs 50 per cent. more than it ought ; the depart-
ments are all conducted in the same way, and institu-
tions, such as colleges and other educational esta-
blishments, are allowed to draw too largely from the
Treasury by men who lavish the hard earnings of
the people on what they call a liberal policy, and
measures of internal improvement. All this is
culled from a leading paper of Massachusetts, and
let us glance with these facts before us at the rela-
tive market value of United States Six per Cent.
Five-Twenty Bonds, and those of Massachusetts of
Five per Cent. A $5OO Five-Twenty Bond is marked
on its face with a value slightly over £lOO, and at
the market price it costs about £93. A Massachu-
setts £lOO loan at five per cent. may be quoted at
£9O, tberefore the difference in price of a United
States Bond yielding £6 per annum and a Massa-
chusetts Bond yielding £5 per annum is but small
at present in the London market. At the same
moment that the Massachusetts paper attributes a
recklessness of expenditure to the Government of
that Commonwealth, the most rigid economy is
being enforced by the Government of the United
States. While the State is rapidly increasing its
debt, that of the Union is being rapidly decreased.
While Massachusetts relies on its own narrow
boundaries of sterile land, the Federal Government
draws on the boundless wealth of the mighty Repub-
lic. Is it then due to gross ignorance that the credit
of the State of Massachusetts is better than that of
the Republic, of which it is so small a part? Clearly
not, but it marks a lesson all Governments should.
lay to heart. Massachusetts has distinguished her
career by a rigid adherence to the spirit and letter
of her contracts, honourably and liberally inter-
preted. Under no circamstances has she for a mo-
ment been tempted to deviate from her honest path,
and her reward is in a credit such as few sovereign
nations possess. This she has earned, and this she
has the right to enjoy. But it is passing strange
that a man acquainted with the circumstances, and
with any power of estimating comparative values,
could put Its money into Massachusetts Bonds
to the neglect of those of the United States. If
Massachusetts has always been honest, the Fe-
deral Government has been as strictly so. If Mas-
sachusetts has the power to pay its debts—the United
States possesses that power even in proportion to its
vast debt in a still higher degree, and while a reign
of recklessness has characterised late years in Mas-
sachusetts, retrenchment, economy, and liquidation
of liabilities, are the prevailing featUres in Wash-
ington. These are the facts, but the world is hard
to move, and it takes long to wear out the impres-
sion upon it, slowly, and laboriously engraved.
That impression, Massachusetts has made; but the
Union, not yet ; although it is rapidly doing so,
and—in spite of the repudiators—will, within half
a decade, rank next to Great Britain, in the strength
of its credit. It is too, a remarkable fact, that the
very circumstance which ought to stand in favour
of the United States militates against it. It has
been a Government almost free from debt till lately,
and therefore the world has little experience of
how it will casry and refund the loans it has raised.
Had it, lika Great Britain, been always steeped in
indebtedness to an extent mankind knows it cannot
repay, its credit might have been very good ; but
because it has hitherto kept out of debt, the world
considers this a reason that it should not be per-
mitted to contract a loan, except on the most usuri-
ous terms.