The Statesman.
London, England, 1818-10-08 00:00:00

DR. HALLORAN'S CASE.

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Dr. Halloran was, for some yeirtsiter velident in
the county of Devon, and his sentence May induce,
if any thing can effect it. the trint.intiovation mete,
the faithful disciples of 1)r. Pastgloss who beliete •
that our laws are the best of .allpossible laws, to see
the eon folly, and wanton cruelty, of tome part of
our Criminal Code; a code more black and blood,'
than eve? stained tho pages of the history of any
ether nation. To prevent crime, and to pettish it '
when committed, are necessary duties; but to in.
flict barbarous-punishments, for trivial offences, is an
enormous sin! The dreadful ferocity which stamps
itself on the course of our Legislators, in for pro-
mulgation of penal laws, wearies and disgusi, the
humane, the honourable, and the wise. l'hilosn.
pliers disdain its unjust infliction., end good men ab-
hor its thirst for blood. But a short period hart
elapsed, since the mere entry in pursuit of game, five
minutes before seven in the morning of one of the
winter months, into the grounds of another, without
his consent, Rasa FELONY! It was sitting( beyond
the bounds of reason to have presumed, that Ito
most worthless, the most savage, the must it) -i.ke
of human beluga, would have converted a trifling tres-
pass into a capital crime: It was almost beyond the
tsnundsef reason to have presumed, that any rational
creature', suit ilenionilcals hive 'pieced Mem br
and eaile-hrtieath the valve Qf partridge! I I 1.1 II •
deeds II f iiistuoceimight be adduced, in which human
Wood is vainly sod .wanitiely wiiked to the pro.
ierien of property, and property; perhaps, of little
estimation Hundreds of instances might be adJi:ced,
in which the ignorant and the miserable are imniolzi.
ed for /WO offences, fir plat the wicked vengeance of
the law.. Too often ire the ties of nature turn asun-
der, for some KOe breaCh of moral obligations : men,
women, and children, iire.Vnistcherl linen their friends
and their holies, commi+ted to dismal dungeons,
',retied with irons, fell on bread sod water, trans•
ported' to distant clinics, or suspended oft the gal-
lows—as if "it were delightful to muck human faults'
with the etereise of unthinking power, and to ruin
a lid destroy the captives, however slender their traes•
gressioos. hlen iibu can make such laws, or who
can basely execute them, for revenge or gall, must
have hearts haeder 'biro stone, and beads duller than
the fat weed on Leihe's wharf. Their crime admits
of no defence; they most have passed beyond the
;ale of_ humanity, and ceased to feel as men.—
Their pretended !nee of society, their desire for
justice, their wish to repress crime rather than In
punish it, and their mercy, are all fictions : they are
hypocrite. deathly veiled, who direct their vengeance
againit their fellows, tinder the pretence of rendering
set vice to mankind. Cattlt Eis INJURY. The Legis-
lators that enact punishments disproportionate to of.
fosicea, are the highest criminals. They are cool and
deliberate evil-duets. To rub man of life, that pre.
cious gift of ['Pilsen, for imitating a t wetity.shlllieg
(SOUP, is an act far more deserving punishmeet, than
the guilt of the forget ! balance life against a.
feu: pence-'—to hurry a wretched being into eternity,
for robbing the Batik of a millionth part of its nor-
brtent gains—to guard its fatal paper system, which
will terininete in incalculable mischief, with a mound
of human *cunt:, and to surround it with ditches
filled with human blood, may be politic for the mo-
ment, yet it is unwise as well as cruel : the days of
the Ogres are fast failing away. Again 4 this part of
the Penal Code, public opinion begins to cry aloud;
but, if public opinion steps there—if it does not
rouse into active abhorrenCe against the whole sys.
tern of iiiiii!equele and grievous punishmeres, it will
prove, that public opinion is only directed against
that pelt of these wrongs, in which the mass is jute-
rested. It will show, that it feels not yet for the
wretched beings, who, foal comparatively trivial
offences, ere the victims of miscalculating policy and
ferocious laws.
To defraud the Post-office or Yric.eruct. according to the
present sy.ient, is a hit rid and diabolical outrage, and aerie
rile fur SEV Texas. To plunder the Public of lhoasaads
uud lens of U if, nib of pirunits annually, fur no services, or fur
the basest con-potion, is meritorious, mod deserve. applause.—
To steal a hat privately, to curer a ft; dor° head, is so horribe.
that human nature shudders at the deed, and demands the se-
Verrill punishment for the culprit. • But to rob children of their
proteciress—husbands ut their belpinates—to destroy the peace
of families. break up their ruuditrts, and cover them
wiitt
cloud. 0: sorrow and disgrace, is a venial offence—it is gal-
lantry! Ye bungling lawgivers, your laws meant to guard the
rich against the poor, fan toe pass of the former, hat allow
not fur the temptations of the latter ; ;moist' error and crime
alike; protect the cold- bloaded villain, who sins in wanton -
ni ss ; amid stretch on the gibbet the wretch, who errs from ne-
cessity. 'Fite sum or quantum mischief ye do not calculate ;
but, with undistinguishing Teo:enact., inflict your punishments
Irmo the same inewone. sin the mirnight anaemia, the hoary
plunderer, and starving thief ! But this Cookie code, the
fruit of folly, pride, ignorance, and barbarity, must give place
to a compitat ttttt more equitable and more just, la •shinent
mint bear proportion to crime. Refortnatioo, rather than
emistisement, must guide the legislator, and Mercy sit by the side
of Jusrice. Were our present penal system browgin time bar of
mown; were the motives which called it into action weighted
with careand iti consequences dimly appreciated ; were the Pro-
file to ennsider, dial the Legisiati.re possesses no moral punier to
oramtrageously punish, stun code wooll excite horror in
everyernine.' If Legislators canstise petty Wieners with tied, h.
'key' are murderers, and trifling crones with exile, they are
oppressors; because, the evil which they inflict tot the indi-
vidual, is far more detrinetnal to him than the injury which hr
has Cioniniited agaiiid society. Judges •wito pro ounce suds
sentences are erietrairi—nut fur obeying the law., hut for rc-
mainiug,io o situation, in which that obedience renders it neces-
sary for them to do injury under the pretence of jostice. The
person who prosecutes, the Attorney who conducts, the Gunn-
sel ho advocates, are all participatios in the misdeed. Let
the People view this subject in its true light—let it lie measured
by the standard of philosophy, and it would then he infainntiv
execute tinjtot laws; and the laws diems Ives. being disgraced.
would be abolished. k't hilst they remain, they generate a savag.•
insensibility to the miseries, temptations, and errors, • f the un-
fortunate nod the wicked. A stronger instance ea 1111 l it be
selected than the recent• remark of the Recorder of London.
who with unfeeling barbarity, wished fur the punishment 551
DE Crli to prevent the picking of pucker ! lie may pride him-
self on his humanity. in comparison with illettultan whit hanged
'a Vizier tur putt Mg litres grains of pepper into a tart l

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FATAL ACCIDENT.— William Belson, grooM to W.
Arnold, EN. Soho-square, and the servant of
another Gentleman in the neighbourhood, took out
their masters' horses to esercige them of, Tuesday
evening; the men had been drinking, they were sot.°
racing at full speed upon the road; when they arrived
opposite the Green Map, on Finchley Common, Bal.
sink's foot supped frunv.the stirrup, asid be Was
thrown upon the ground with much violence. Dr.
Blenheim, who resides in the neighbourhood, was
called to his assistance. The back part of his skull
was much fractured, and his left side was bruised in
a dreadful manner ; the ntifortunste man was quits
insensible, and expired almost instantly.