The Statesman.
London, England, 1818-04-20 00:00:00

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co. usrganctis o.v Ft R •
•i , •
n o cis accoont has been sobinitted to 'Pattie:
meat of the number of perioni probecoted by 'the
Oliiied of hil Mint, lb.
cement bold or Slyer Coin bf the (Realm; of serif et;
tering the iadsir, foe 14 seats peeerliiim the .inept*:
.ion of taint:payments by OW Illok of C *laud
distinguilidum the ?ward, the re.l ers!Sers,corivicted, 4
those who hese eel ecird detail or whet ponliihdlerte;
toget het With the like Seco rut, PO:or.!ts. 1797 i to Feb.
24, 1818: It appeiii fruai this icottun't t the
total number of perantii' togli
and those Convicted to do lest than 1132. rite itaie.
awed of the Solitittirs to tee Mint adds that l• the
016cersef his Majeity's Mint hate no dricaments its
their prissisilon to shoe Whit sentences hitt' itedit
phased upon the ',tend petiOns cifov.cted, or Who.
thee: these sentenced bate or hive net hied bstrihd
into erect ; add they are, therefoti, d ma e
.6 ovum rt the nordoei bf orsoris
death or Whet t'• • 1 • 't
'44 •f •
alit
CHINO, LaWo: • ~,i4V0.01.
liPre io no elreherstatite eitlttacted itith
Veinal jurispiodenee of this thuniry which lellita
more assfeevetable losotesislon Open the mind, of fn.
reigners than the frequency of pebtit esecutions.-;
Bat there is another pertniarity roonectell %Orli (Its
administration of public justice, Which, though of a
less striking end übviouS nsture,.delerves the most
'serious attention. We refer id the emoting (timber
of instances in whit* the sehteitte of death Itions-
MOted for itopilsonnattit for verities periOds, or foe
Irsneportation. At the Assizes which hive acently
been held for this end the neightioff ring county' of
Lancaster, no fewer than seventy.four persons were
capitally convicted, and receideB the detienciation of
the heaviest penalty that human Imo. can inflict—
that of " the eatitiction et being." Out of thie
large number sit have been selected and left for
ezecutiots, the others being reprieved ; and we Mil
assume it es the deliberate opinion of the {Aimed
and able Judges who presided on the trials; Ott
the cases of the remaining shiy.eight prisoners &I
nut merit the drealiful punishment which they were
compelled by the law to pronounce upon them. Nor
is this a solitary instance, the'saine proportiod pro-
bably pima, in Moot of the circuits.; or tie may
tattier say, that the number left tot vsecutioti uplink
this occasion net been'groster than aruil, on acCouiti
of 1,140 k of Forgiald prosecutions, five out of the gig
being persons convicted of uttering forged Nat
pipet. An important sotyjem of enquiry hire pre-
teats ithelf, and it is iMpossible to.refrain from auk.
log whether throe is not i manifest end palpsblo
idipropiirty in continuing upon 'mit' Statute-books a
punishment so manifestly disproportionate fa molt or
the offences with which it is connected, sod old dit
can in 60 hew instances be esectsted ; toe though'ilis
I oittnbthr•bf 'etecoileste 114 great COttslilerediid them
aeleeso yet they sr* bet few when etsniwirvittthttlAo
number of capital ositivictions. It 'has been geld that
it is necessary td preserve the pbwer of Witting
this most
.severe of ell panisliffients upon a *tent
number of offences, because the dread of It tends td
prevent the commission of ciime this arguthent
has often been* urged as an apology for' continuing;
the present sanguinary code in all its hosed de.
finality t but it seems to have little ne no weight its
it. Men of intemperate habits; and of such, the mij
I jority of &feeders elision the litsri ate ioeigesedi
are not likely to be infleeneett by the spprehensloill
of remote and distant *tilt: they are disposed td
take desperate eloinces ; they do hot calculate upoi6
the degsee of punishment which, if detected, the?
are likely to endere, hut upon an entire intmonity.
A comparative small puhishmentilf wilts) follow'
promptly and certainly the. cotrinfiS4oll of canto,
would be more effrcacious in
.riistrainiog thenl howl
offending, than the heaviest ;mishits •WO therel
was a possibility of evading. ii•it if fhe puntshrttetst
of death, •o loditcrimitittety denounced by the lase
upon such an infinite variety of offencel, is trot likely
to be efficacious in repressing crime, we may add, ci
la further objection to it, that the great frenther of
iiistances in which it is not eaecuted, diminishes the
1 efficacy of it, even in ltinloe cases where it is con.
aidered espedient and necesssry that ate Sentence
should be carried into felt effect.
Another weighty oblection to this moiled adini.
nisteriog the law arises from the consideration of thid
uncertainty which is thus introduced it'd( the pro. 4
ceedings of the (Minim! Courts. As there is on me.
neral role or known priticiolie by which the Judgee
decide upon the fate of (he unhappy men whose rises
come before them, it cannot be foreseen how they
will decide in any particular instatice. This decisiont
I will probably dtp-eild opnn the view they trite of the
effect Produced anon society by the different offences
' which come ender their contiderstioh, and upoo.
which different Judges will *form very varying es.
(invites: Nor is is any reproach to the learned sad
able men who administer the few to say, that somea
thing will also depend upon the personal temper and
habit of mind. of the Judge. it is also iihtinos to re 4
mark, that. this large discretionary power casts art
insupportshlechigree of responsibility upon those to
whom it IS nonficled,ind we are cosoisiced,that the
ledges -weiticl be most happy to be Peed from it.
Those who have opposed the refordi sibith Sit Samuel
'tonally his been engines to Wee ots thie. subjects
vindicate the severity of the Ise, toion the Principle,
that if, by any possible colitsistriite of aggravating
circumstances; the crime its questiorreirk deserve the
punishment of deaths it it desirable to tahject the!
whole class of (Menders to the danger elf !his pottiok.
merit, in Order to have 00 Iv of thrilling this
aggravated case with its adequate &glee of punish-
Meat. Bat this Is certainly a west isicerreht rode
of reasoning t—pwilishments, to be Jost, 0001 to be
COMmeasarate with the average guilt of tke class of
offences to which they are. meshed, sod not framed
to meet some rare occurrerice, some singular *seep.
Lion to the general role. • We trust that this suhject
will receive the serious and ptoosps.attention of do
Irgislatorei and 'wham !he ortrulimpled number of
individuals who have lately received *Potence of
deathln ?ay
Leedsgive
Mercury.)it
a more ha is ordinary degree of in.