North American. [volume] (Swanton, Vt.) 1839-1841, 1839-04-10
From the Democrats Review, for March. 1889.
THE EXECUTIONS IN CANADA.

The most foul atrocities with which this
part OF our continent has ever been stained
taking into consideTate connection all the
facts and circumstances OF the case, are un-
questionably the late British executions in
our neghbor state of Canada. In the
present age Of the world and the present
maturity OF tie public mind, TO extinguish
human life for political opinion is not a
whit less infamous or revolving than it
would be TO revive the fires of Smithfield,
and burn men, women, and children for
religious belief. 1t is impossible to apply
to this case the jnstifc of legal right.
The laws OF England which have been
defiIed by her monarchs with penalties for
every crime, sanguinary as the code Of
Draco, authorize the penalty OF death in
unnumbered instances, where the daily
practice of her Courts show that il is neces-
sary for justice sake to preserve the lte.
The law Of High Treason in particular /;
under which these hideous murders have
been committed, is as old as the reign Of
Edward III, and ordans capital punish
ment for conspiring the death OF the King +!
If the great Jefferson in the sincere respect
Of phIlosophic lawgiver for the rights OF
posterity, and with sacred Difference to
the progress of opinion, questioned the
power and doubted the proprety of legis-
ature's enacting laws binding for more
than one generation, what shall we think
in our land and in an age subsequent to
Jefferson, ofthe horrid criminality of these
bloody executions in Canada, under law
some hundreds of years old and for an Of
fence an American and a Republican can
not commit No, the spirit Of murder is
essentially combined with the spirit of Brit
sh Monarchy. The sanguinary selfish
ness of its fear off light, truth, justice and
patriotism, has traced its long career in the
pages Of British history in the best blood
OF its own land-and it is not to be borne
that the monster appetite is row to be sa-
tiated with American and Republican VIC
Tins. We say American without especial
reference to the natives of the United
States who persisted at its bidding, but al
so Of the more frendless Canadians, natives
OF the same soil, children of the same sun,
and inheri,ing the same sympathies and
associations as ourselves.
We attach no blame to the People OF
England for these atrocities. Their infin-
ence, wherever it has found its way into
the legislation of their country, has been
like that of the people in all countries
uniformly beneficial, enlightened and I'M
name. The influence of her Monarchy
has been, on the contrary uniformly bad.
and its elements Of evil, accelerated with
all the impetus Of power and energy, have
unhappily for large portion of mankind,
gone so much farther, as her history re-
cords, in the infusion Of crime and guilt,
and the adulteraton of the good, arising
from the opposing influence, that the Brit
ish system-whether of politics or of legiS-
lation, has been rendered compound
monster, in which the darkness greatly
predominates oyer the light, and whose
operation has been almost uniformly NAL
e6ceni on the destinies Of the human race
whereve. it has been tried. We have not
now space or heart to enUmcrate the holo-
eanst Of illustrious names comprising the
brightest and the best of Britain's children
which has been sacrificed to appease and
comfort this Mnloch of her Monarchy.
What noble army of martyrs, yet and
that 5000, 10 be honored as they deserve,
would no, these names compose from the