Star.
London, England, 1831-05-24 00:00:00

ouwly
STA*; is tee geed-not to glie as a whole:
SPRIKIIII'd die MOUT HON. SIR W. MEREDITH, Ban. Le.
Isoyeallea...schotiseg ease of a young meson under 19, for a theft
Imllileted wader eiremmetemear Qf the meet spiaglifwe di tics;.
I.aggesrirgb miid honourable hided (Mr. Canada) that no greater
crime em be mmeitted than the wflfil main ties UP Merchant ship,
*bids may _endanger not oWly lives and peopenies, Mann:tic Witty..
I should think this crime, eve ail others, it to be punialied with
death, if 1 could suppose the inflicdon of death at all useful lu the
prevention of crimes.
But in subjects of this nature, we an to consider, not what the Lodi-
vidual is, DM what he nay have done we are to could's only what is
right for public example and private safety.
Whether banging ever did, or can, answer any good purpose, I
doubt: but the cruel exhibition of every execution day is a proof that
hanging carries no terror with it. And I am confident that every new
sanguinary law operates as an encouragement to annuli' capital of-
fences ; for it is not the mode, but the certainty of punishment, that
creates tenor. What men know they must endure, they fear ; what
they think they can escape, they despise. The multiplicity of our
hanging laws has produced two things—frequency of matinatiou and
frequent pardons. As hope is the first and greatest spring of action, if it
nesse, thatse, out of 20 convicts one only was to be pardoned, the thief
would say, t. Why nay not I be that one ?" But since, as our laws are
actually administered, not one in twenty is executed, the thief acts en
the chance of twenty to one in his favour, he acts on a fair and reason-
able presumption of indemnity ; and I verily believe, that the confident
hope of indemnity is the cause of nineteen in twenty robberies that are
committed.
But if we look to the executions themselves, what maniple do they
give ? The thief dies either hardened or pedant. We are nut to cone
alder such reflections as occur to reasonable and good men, but such
impressions as are made on the thoughtless, the desperate, and the
wicked. These men look on the hardened villain with envy and ad-
miration. All that admiration and contempt of death with which he-
roes and martyrs inspire good meu in a good cause, the abandoned vil-
lain feels in seeing a desperado Ilia himself meet death with intre-
pidity.
The penitent thief, on the other band, often makes the sober villain
think in this way ; himself oppressed with poverty and want, he sees
a man die with that penitence which promises pardon for his sins here
and happiness hereafter; straight be thinks, that by robbery, forgery,
or murder, he can relieve all his wants ; and if he be brought to justice
the punishment will be indeed short and trifling, awl the reward
eternal.
Even in crimes which are seldom or never pardoneA, death Is no pre-
vention. Housebreakers, forgers, and coiner', are sure to be hanged ;
yet housebreaking, forgery, and coining, ere the very crimes which are
oftencst committed. Strange it is, that in the case of blood, of which
we ought to be most tender, we should still go on, against reason and
against experience, to make unavailing slaughter of our fellow crea-
tures. A recent event has proved that policy will do what blood cannot
do—l mean the late regulation of the coinage. Thirty years together
men were coutinitally hanged fur coining; still it went our but on
the new regulation of the gold coin, it ceased. This event proves these
two things : the efficacy of police, and the inefficacy of hanging.. But,
is it not very extraordinary, that since the regulation of the gold
coin, an act has passed making it treason to coin silver ? But bas it
stopped the coining of .eilver ? On the contrary, do you not hear of it
more then ever? It seems as if the law and the erhne bore the same
date. I do not know what the honourablelnember thinks who brought
in the hill; but perhaps some feelings may come across his mind whets
he sees how many lives he is taking away for no purpose. Haul it bee.,
fairly stated, and specifically pointed out, what the mischief in casing
silver in the utmost extent is, that hanging bill might not have been su
readily adopted ; under the name of treason it found an easy pas.
sage. I, indeed, have always understood treason to be nothing lees
than some act or conspiracy against the life or honour of the Ring,
and the safety of the State; but what the King or State can suffer by
my taking now and then a bad sixpence, or a bed shilling, 1 cannot
imagine.
By this nickname of treason, however, there lies at this moment its
Newgate, under sentence to be burnt alive, a girl just turned of four-
teen; at her master's bidding, she bid some white-washed ferthings
behind her stays, on which the jury found her guilty as an accomplice
with her master in the treason. The master was !teasel last Wednes-
day ; and the faggots all lay ready—no reprieve came I al just as' the
cart was setting out, and the girl would have been burnt alive on the
same to had it not been for the Immune but casual interference of
Lord weymouth. ! Sir, are we taught to execrate
the fires of tnnithfiekl,and are we lighting them now to burn a poor harm-
less child for hiding a whitewashed farthing. And yet this barbarous
sentence, which ought to make men shudder at the thought of shedding
blood for such trivial causes, is brought as a reason for mote hanging
and burning. It was reenutnernled to me not many days ago, to Iniog
in a bill to make it treason to coin copper, as well as gold and silver.
Yet, in the format on of these sanguinary laws, humanity, religion, and
policy, are thrown out of the question. This one wise argument Is al-
ways sufficient ; if you hang for one fault, why not for another? If
for stealing a sheep, why not fora cow or a hone ? If for a twilling,
why not hoe a handkerchief that is worth eighteen-pence ? autl so on.
We therefore ought to oppose the increase of that new laws; the more,
because every fresh one begets twenty others.
When a utetuber of parliament brings in a new hanging law, he be-
gins with mentioning some injury that may be done to private property,
for which a man is not yet liable to be hanged ; and then proposes the
gallows as the specific and infallible mews of cure and prevention.
But the bill, in progress of time, mades crimes capital, that scarce de. '
serve whipping. For instance, the shoplifting act was to prevent ,
bankers, and silversmiths' and oilier shops, where there ate commonly
goods of great value, frum being robbed; but it goes so far as ne Make'
it death to lift any thing Wl' a counter with intent to steal.
Under this act, one Mary Jones was executed, whose ewe I AA
just mention; it was at the time when press-warrants were 11.1111114 •
the alarm about Falkland Islands. The woman's buthand waelweemd,
their goods seised for some debt of his, and she, with two mai ihL
dren, turned into the streets a-begging. 'Tim a circumstance sit le be I
forgotten, that she was very young (under nineteen) and lOW merk.
ably handsome. bite went to a linen-draper's shop, took sense Muse
linen off the counter, and slipped it under her deal ;
shopman saw her, and she laid it down : for this she
was banged. Her defence was (I have the trial in my pocket)
that she lad lived in credit and wanted for nothing, till a press-gang
cattle and stole her husband from her; but since then, she bad no bed
to lie on; nothing to give her children to eat; and hey were almost
naked ; and perhaps she might have done something wrung, tar she
hardly knew what the did :" The parish officers testified the truth of
this set ry ; but it seems, there had been • good deal of shoplifting about
Ludgate: an example was thought necessary; saw this woman was
!tensed for the cnnifert and satisfaction of some shopkeepen is Led-
eate-etreet. When brought to receive sentence, she behaved in such a
frantic manner, as preyed her mind to be in a distracted and des/Dom:ins
.t..te ; and the child was sucking at her breast when she act out fir
Tyburu (gallows.)
Let us reflect a little on this woutatt's fate. The poet says, " An
hunt mast's the net lest work of Uwe " He might nave said, whh
equal truth, that a beauteous woman's the noblest work of Gun.
But fur what cause was OOD'S creation robber' of this its noblest
work ? It was fur no injury, but fur a mere attempt to clothe two
naked children by unlawful means. Compare this with what the finite
did, and what the law did. The State bereaved the woman of her hus-
band, and the children of a father, who was all their support; the law
deprived the woman of her lit:, and the children of their remaining
parent, exposing them to real danger, insult, and merciless
treatment, that destitute and helpless orphans suffer. Take all the
circumstances together, I do not believe that • fouler murder was
ever committed against law, than the murder of this woman by
law. Some who hear me are perhaps blueing the judges, the jury,
the hangman ; but neither judge, jury, nor hangman, is to blame •
they are ministered agents; the true hangman is the member of podia:
sant ; he who frames the bloody law, is mainsails foe the blood
that is shed trader it. But there is a further oposhlyeadeo
Dying as these unhappy wretches often do, who knows why/Atha bum
let may be !—lPerbaps, my honourable friend who moves this Trig, has
not yet considered himself in the light of an executioner; se awn has
more humanity, no man a stronger sense of religion than himself. and
I verily believe that at this moment, he wishes as little success to his
hanging law as I do. His nature must recoil at making himself the

Having said so much on the general principles of our aiminal laws,
I have only a short stottl or two to add, on the two propositions now
before us ; one, as moved by the houourable gentleman (Dlr. Combe)
—to hang persons that wilfully met fire to ships ; the other, moved as
an amendment by my honourable friend (Sir Charles Sunbury),—to
compel such offenders to work seven years on the Thames.
The question arises from the alarming events o the late ACC/ a!'
POTtii/0.161 and Bristol I for which the Incendiary is put to death.—
But, will an act of parliament prevent sods men as John the Painter
from coming tutu the world, or control diem when they are in it
You might as well bring in a bill to prevent the appearance, or regu-
late tie motions, of a comet. Join: the Pait.tcr was so far from
fearing dead), ti.s. he courted ie ; was so far fwu& concealing
his att, that he told full as much as was nue, to his own eon-
vlction. When once n villain turns enthusiast, he is above all law.
Punishment is ids reward, and death his glory. But, though this law
will he useless against villain, it is dattgerotot, and may be fatal to
many innocent persona. There is not an honest industrious car.
perdu oe sailor. who may not be endangered in the course of his
daily labour; they are constantly using fire and combustible matter
about shipping, tarring, and pitching, and caulking t accidents are eon-
tinually happetfing ; and who knows how many of these accidents may
he attributed to design II 'The act, inked, says, the firing must be
dune Wilfully atal maliciously : but judges and juries do not always
distinguish right between the fact and the intention. It Is the province
of a jury only to try the fact by the intention ; but they are too apt to
judge of the intention by the fact. Justices of the peace, however, are
not famed for Dectit•ate and nice distinctions, and all the honors of an
ignominious death would be too much to threaten every honest ship-
weight with, for what may happen in the necessary work of their
calling.
Btu, as I think ponisbment necessary for so heinous an offence, and,
as the end of all punish: um: is example ; of the two modes of punish-
ment, I shall prefer drat which Is most profitable in point of example.
Allowing then, the punishment of death hs utmost force, it is only
short and momentary ; that of labour, permanent; and so much MOM
example is gained in him who is reserved for labour, than in him who
Is put to death, as there are hours in the lira of the one, beyond the
short moment of the other's death.

Our readers are aware, from the publication of the Recorder's report
to the Ring in Council, that two men, named George Widgett and
John Broach, are selected, from among the number of persons capitally
coneletsl at the Old Bailey Sessions In April lase. to suffer the ex-
treme sentence of the law. There wets le person who received ger.-
teuce of daub at that sessions; and we presume the two CUM in which
the Royal mercy does not interpose between the unhappy aimbsals and
the externiinattog severity of the law are the two wont eases in the
calendar othvr eriee the selection must have been made either In a spirit
of partiality or aivice. Now, what are really those caws in which it
is thought nothing will satisfy be ends of jostles but the shedding the
blood of the offenders P One is a case of sheep-stealing--a crime
against property, which undoubtedly deserves to be seventy
_punished,
but *high is not, under any chew:nuances. an offence which justifies
the twilit* of human life. Recollecting, as we do, the opinions which
the leading members of the present ministry entertained of capital pu-
nishments when out of dike, we were not prepared to expect that they
would have advised the King to withbokl a prerogative of mercy
from any of those Inferior olkies• which a visolietive and barbarous
system of legislation made capital, and which, alth they con.l
stitute serious violations of the rights of propertyough , are not
accompanied by any of those circumstances of atrocity yr
terror which distinguish violent and sanguinary crimes.—
There are persons who assume the name and pretend to the intelli-
gence of legislators, who, whenever it is proposed to abolish any of
our sanguinary laws, express their alarm at the dangers o. innovation
upon the ancient and established system of Engliso crituinal jurie-
prudence. This is an alarm which betrays u much ignorance as it
does obduracy of feeling. Moat of our statue are them-
selves only Innovations on the sadist law leghad. Bow hog Is
it since the Legislature called in the asisasse of the wasetlener to pa
down the offence of sheep-steeliaglo It le fay since the 14th yawl,
George H. that capital putdaseist hes hew iallimed its the aloe;
and we believe it will be head the, netwilledillging th_
examples that have front doe to thee been
WPM Ml' bile
had no effect in diminhidft the ainetat dsgeeduien la this way—
bot, indeed, is it to be wsred at; for, as fa the aced every Tab.
don of the law, where the penalty exceeds the ohm; human cad oes.
scientiuns people would rather bar with the Way than proamette.—
Many offenders escape with Impunity ; while dine who oosedenally
fall a sacrifice to the rigour artist law excite the lempauden of the pub-
, lie, whose natural sense of equity Is teo strong he the astildel mots.
limy of the law, and who sine their dassatien el the abash their sym-
pathy for the offender who unjustly seam hutted cite seensure of his
guilt. Ne man dies the death of the aside le for sbeepasaling
in Franca, p even in finals. Is such *Gray less seam I.
those Foreign Countries, or is human lOW mate need I.—
As to the offence of John Bieseh—thot of wading lathe d
property shove the value of /v. posies—sadit whet law enlresel:e!
tented to suffer ? Under the statute of he Ids mad Oh Oak I 7 sae
el hip .Robert Peel's Asa fir the ,madam and unelleathe et ihe
Orlahal Law. Parka* the sea emeaney to sestiati=osi
or the pries of Wave ph, wee hely
rsist them
Peel, In his allihnieg aid arapreharive Whw
ate
slasilsb;ftdsa, WOW to the troolle mpiallig lbe MOW stet en
Ms of the 11th of Anne, and daddli staying a new
ational la pm, which /shed the tines et hems Rh by the