New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1850-05-10
THE ANNIVERSARIES.
4 BOLTON Of Capital PuuI.hment.
Reported g. -. TribsusI

OF tlf COClrtNs VIA IT " mcLOuIt DkNJAAAN l.
LIS Esq one OF tie Wee Presidents, was called u
the Chair. Hoo. JAags H. THUS also one Of the
Vice Presidents, stated that no Annual Address
az heretofore had been prepared, but that he would
offer the folio wing Resolutions as embodyiDZ The
general views aud purposes Of the Society:
RsaoteG 10 ~ Language o. our lste slogiished grs
sse talesmsn, E1~ari L.lssoo That a. both s5ceiy
ana 1d5ua hsys 'hs rigb. Ia preserve ther several
issacs ard are moreover under ne reciprocal dui9 10 d.
ferd Wien al Eec, u iyows hat one or the other -
threatened with scsgciDu which cannot be ayered hu'
BY taxing The lie u e ssssllsrt the right nsy more tn
duty 70 ae eKiss; tho Irresistible impulse u nature
dcsss The right she has conferred and her trsl grssl
shows hai NJ may be Lake1 10 self de'euse'
ResrSd (aan ain 10 the language Of the dsin-
erisheo arsi md 4esmsn nat lhis Tish both n ms
Individual sui 10 socsy, 10 slcy defensive and Only
be exsred deng nat Psroe when the danger
The question H. which 81 shs exsi,he sRsressOr
Tie party aitacSsdwether this nc Individual The
8Ocey Before ths crisis has arrived Or ssr has psss-
ed sell oea1ss, ard then thef night % eni y
exsisoce would b coexsissI and equal bat not councl.
ing and for ons % dsprse The oher Of II wo11 5e Of
uasand teSriJfe that the ngh 70 Inf e death
sts, bet bs h defsns@ ether Of individual or 20
elal rxseacs; aud hal l. limited 70 ths case "hefe 10
serazve prevent the threatened destruction
ana furthermore ihsi ne pfseiVso1 ., s - y, 80
case 10 which sy could eiYe TIE ngnl 70 80
life for ue npe f.asoa 1al ms - re oay &C. bt.Se"d
and in which te scale must pfepoDeesse "a jesoI %
6n. he 90 tro- foundation for the night " inrc;-
ing ceaih IL to- preserysilo1 oi exssenos - -.
Re.olpsd That where NE taken ~ 40 INC Viooe ~ sou
se estrens necessity 10 Inc only usi5csoni and be
esn stsnd excused 10 bs eoIscetce nor be- exoneHied
h..
nonstrstd And te7eOre ibst Society before It enScss
laws ir the f1cloa Of the ID esh reoay should prove
a. Bcs.Oue declares by aui indisP1tAbe demon
rrsuon" necessity Of sucn onacnent FOR ths defense
of tho lives Of ils ctiIehs
Re.olgei That The extreme penalty o! death has never
been demonstrated By "e.ear and noisyuGoie demonse
oo" necessity for the aefsnse Cf The lives OF onzens
but that the contrary whenever and wherever imPfs.
oBmsrt lie has besn substituted FOR the extreme tpd
swf penalty ofdesh II hiss proved 10 be sgnhly efficient
in tho preservation Of property Of liberty sud Of he ana
thefefirs that the wesrs OF society and humanity
aud Christianity mznd thai imprisonment for life Tree OF
any benefit q paon should be substituted 10 the penalty
ola cdrnes nov punishable by death.
Resspe5 Tbsi this Society derives peculiar qualification
ffoa The that has been spilled 10 by IN ESec1uye OF
The stats 10 respond 70 an apphcai on made by Govern
neu Of Great Britain for nfHson ard statistics bearing
The important SUBJECT VI Cnpitz PUuishmouf-R1d tnAi
we feel ourselses bOuored By ihe Information transmitted
70 US through Mnisisr that Court thai The documents
which W. bsge urnshed IN reply 10 that application have
been much eseemed
Mr. Titus, in explanation Of the last resolution,
stated the circumstances connected with the Gp-
plicatOn on the part OF the Governor Of the State
~ the Society for reply b list Of queries which
had been transmitted through our Minister ct the
Court OF ST. James-aBd alsO gave the particulars
of correspondence which had taken place be-
tween him and Hon. ABBOTT LAwREScE On the
subject, and mentioned the substance II a note
from Sir GEORGE GRAY, Secretary of the Home
Department addressed TO our Minister which he
bad kindly enclosed in his late latter 10 Mr.. Titus
IMr. CHAs G. BvsLEIcE, well known a. one CT the
nbest champions Of abolition Of The Desh Penalty took
the stand and had been speaking time when Re
porter arrived hat bis noles Of the speech nscessa
lily imperfect
Mr. Burleigh could find no warrant for taking the
lie o. tie murderer. As means Of selfprotec
ton it was entirely unnecessary Men dis
armed imprisoned, chained, before they are brought
70 the scaflOd, and therefore unable to commit
further violence. What would be thought of the
man who should dsarm and capture the robber who
had attempted his life, or who had actually taken
A. g al han fnlix mi apI
entirely helpless, should deliberately stay him He
would certainly be considered murderer-thelaw
and public opinlon would SO regard him Yet
wherein does the case supposed diiier from the
practice under our present Judicial code. Mr.
Burleigh then proceeded TO take up the argument
of those who contend for capital punishment as
an example 10 deter others from taking life,
md demonstrated, by logic and figures that illegal
slaug hters not diminished but rather increased,
by the perpetratiOn Of legal ones The real object
al the present code, he cOntended, was revenge.
There was al least one able champion OF the gal
lows who was bold ootspoken man, and he ad-
mired him for his ifankness II for nothing more
that gentleman was Mr.. Thomas Carlyle. He
would not hang a man 10 prevent murders, 10 pro
tect Society, nor for the good OF the culprit-bat
saws to him, Caitif, we hate-we despise-we
loathe you IN our hearts, and for that reason we
will stranee YOU to death" II the American adj
vocates OF blood for blood aud life for life would
speak out their honest sentiments after the man
ner OF this Enelishmsn, Mr. b. would know where
20 find and now to meet them They would hang
men, they say, that murders may not be commit
ted--kill the murderer for fear that he may hill
somebody else II this principle be correct why not
execute ali who would be likely TO commit muir
der under certain circumstances There are some
individuals in almost all communities, OF whom II
NAV be safely said, that they not only may commit
murder but wond be very likely to do so under
strong inducement or provocation. Whist say
the gallows champions, hang man who has done
no murder atrocious Then is the principle
atrocious which says you may hasg murderer
because he may murder again. The advocates Of
the calows dwell much on the efficacy Of their
code as preventive of murder generally, but here
they are at issue with the history OF the past We
al see and know that it is not effeciual Where
the laws are most stringent murder stalks through
the land within the shadow of the gallows tree,
blackening its base with the blood OF the slain.
The Penalty for any crime is etectusl IL proper
ton to the certainty of its infection rather thar its
severity. Jurors are not willing to convict a fell
low beng where loss of life is the penaty-they
hesitate in the discharge OF their terrible duty. As
the law now stands the Jurors conscience weighs
in one side Of the balance and his benevolence in
the other and the guilty frequently escape convic
ton where they would not but for the severity Of
the code.
Mr.. B. believed code which should be Just and
vet merciiu could be easily devised. The outline
of such code had been given to the world more
than 1900 years ago. Ii requires OF man that he
shall love bis brother as himself. and return good
for evil-do unto others as we would that others
should do unto him. When men are physically
sick. ia all Christian Countries good men exert all
their energies and faculties to heal and save them
10 should we do with those who are morally sick.
Indeed we should desl more sedulouslv more care
fully, with the sin sick brother, whose disease is of
the soul-whose insanity 10 OF the hesrt-in pro-
portion as his case 10 worse than that Of the phys
cally sick Put him where he can do no harm, and
then il we cannot cure him and restore him to man
hood. TO himself letn try at least TO mitigate his
condition.
The object Of our Neutrality-suspicious. from
their works-seems thus far to have been to frame
crmiaa code cont aiming the least possible amount
OF the Christian element, and they have exercised
more than gold bestsrs skill in their work. Bat
k.o, sr.A