The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1850-07-13

duly ofiltc council "a receive and weigh lnN.
Jimmy Which ilts enntl nndar IH fixed nnd
necessary rules, cnnuni receive, ana ~ make
Honn discrimination ns o. ihe chnrnriGr ~
crimes nnd llir punirhmanf a. he ihiiicied
which The court cannot make.
l suppose Ha man will dnnhr HAT VI The
jury bad had hHiore them The view present.
Hd here m Dr.. Wehslefs slatemeui, niid W
mad boen subsihnimled hy evidence deeeinoG
admissible 10y the crsrl, md ihry hnd there
upon l~lloyed II more probable lhnn ihe OH
ef Theory, Or M pfdbhhlf, or uehrly ~ prpm'
hlc, the vrrdict would not have been murder,
nor the rouWncs drhth. Or, II the court,
constrained hy the rides of the common lnw,
had instructed The jury iIiaT TTey muTUur
adult lhhl view, bui nuHt imply the mHlire
which wns not disproyrd, aud Il lhay believe
eel The h0nlridr, Hust pronounce " hiurder
then would u uot have been reFnrdt1 on Fll
hHtds NJ proper case i'r rNrrUliyr feVirionY
TIE court, putrrnfd hy iie common lazy,
must nitfn call by tie rnfnu lianHe rruies ~
a. vsrt diAtrs.a u,urHl din, aud pf0uoUurr tho
rnnr srutrtire Upon criminals Of very dttirr-
eut degrees of moral runu. Ttis n ~ uorrr-
snry evil, nrisiug from the imposslbilny Of ~.
WhHhiug any general prnciplcs and rules,
tllHI sln'l apply with equal irsli'o 10 al The
particular cnses TO whlcli they tnust be nppll.
cd, u II Tor Tie executive io OItrpUFp uUt
correct. NJ ihr ~ prnrlirnlir, lhe practical m
cqpnlllos at punishment ilInl must thus nrirc
uudcr Ihr law. For ihiB purpose, II wdr
Discretionary power Is lodged somewhere in
every cntlizrd grv-rnui-n'. And lharu1g-4a
pdrs legitimate aud appropriate exercise ot
HAT discretion llnn 10 iuukc llr grnduutiuu
uf ibe punishment tnrfipr more pOrirrt ihHW
auy general Tuies Of law rhu uukr Ito nuke
moral discrniuntops which The judwlaN
cannot make, aud 30 approximate thc Hruhl
administration of he laws to ihc principles
of al,anlIc Justice
Ia regard 60 he punishment OF criminal
humicTte. II srems la lo q srlilrd Poim ~
tlr minds ul thr peulus, ,trd'm llta nctuAl ld-
ADMINISTRATION uf lhe law, tlihl tlir ronjrnco Uf
death, however often ihC Judiciary umy'lw,
conS.nlhcd 70 uward Il, sli,dl hc carrlrd into
-t-s-rtts,.,4s- Gzla in Mlicll II is proved
and believed tliut the murder Is deliberately
inleudcd, aud ihuj Ia all cases III. which This
deliberate inlcH,iutl !, wanting, or not made
ont, nor necessarily inferred, nunlher put
ishmont, less horrible, hHl mi severe aud
sufficient, shall he substituted. Vyir eSecu-
rive.
Ia this lnter l",si,ion. az | lciirye the caFe
Of DR.. Webster stands, I lirliete that ,he
prayer OF his petition ought To Ice granted,
my own name rcnpons which lahink should
move the Governor aud COUNSEL TO grant IT,
lam here out of my usual and appropriate
sphere, NOT To win case. bat to assist lb,
c1mHiJrCp III their Erurrif i''f iir,- teeth stllgH
ease. hnY no interest in the matter DIS
uuct from -Lut of the commonwealth. MN
-Sutu'ir- IN the rHrc nr- FIRST ipr truth and
issIicc, md second for DIR. Webster,
d. Webster does not pray for n fill pnr-
lou from Ihr ESocutigo. Ills friends aHpuni
CLAIM, It iur hiuL tie l- y gu,ily utrn. The
homicide lc has couuitrcd - not JuSllijuhlc.
tn" provocauuu, though great, was ouy IN
words and mruucc-, nud did NOT Justify the
-LInlXA.-- II MAs iAc riAilli of Esriuu which
hr admits De- ought ~. have mudor control,
Urr t0r tfs- - l.4e!. l.l.-.l lII.-
ly Responsible,
Moreover, his conduct Immediately after
the homicide nggrayatcs the original oiicnce.
Any man ota right moral lone, wlrh high
scutimcuis of principles, would have rushed
ont prompted within hy right Instinct or hy
ltiiriS rr:tzurgilp. amt ,irriarrtl What he had
d,ue, lt * against him thai he SAN only lhe
alternative which ic did sce aud net upou.
Ns Suou ~ he had once begun tu net upon
the necessity oi concealing the act and the
body, all the shockin details TINT iull0Mrd
became nee, r-ury, indeed, necessary. that r.,
upun the plan which lac thought himself
driven Ia udupt. That he could deviseruch
plan of di-posing the hody and hen 90
through 1t with all the h6rrid and disgusting
operations incident to IT,, has produced iu nh
minds n bad impression of his chnmcter.--
lie cannot complain that it. should Nothing
can ever remove Tint impressinG, ThGr Is
but one word ofuhnicmcntAud becuusc there
is other, il ought to t'' remembered, ll,,
namely, that TO nnn Of medical education,
-3ftrrys huruurr irrrrIy =ttFt-tlIl1ES
which II hus to others. TO him it Is mere
subject to hc hnnhlrd and ca, with no more
ave or seushilhy ilnp the butcher has IN
dealing with the meat OF the siamhles. So
the hpb1ue Of medical college. The pro
cess ut Acknowledgement j. nSsncintcd with
all tho Jokes aud lcyilies oiSsludeut life and
conversation. md cnn, never hc tn him NJ nil
the samc thing that jL-AIlald he to auulhrr
.i,ersou OF no ercncr4morul feeling or psnci.
lio.
HIS inkine possession Of frhruutrs wittr thr
sirnntures cruSetl--uutcs hrlnuging rot tu
lin, bat To the estate of the dcc"uSrd--ln~ q
bad look md gives bad look ro his wltnlV
rUFr. 1t ttrttt l.. ava -hecn done only Tor con
-rulnt-itt. aitti safety ~ l1e an IA Enr II nj
pears from his nwu statement, confirmed lty
one inportunt fact tthe drpuSiling of PCItce'S
check that hc did not conclude upon his
story of having paid money ill ~ least uwGn
" four hours iaicrhnd thsn,further, ,hu treated
the large note Just as lac did the small one,
he wns never TO preteH to have
paid IT, and could not so pretend His rec7+
nIlrcIions about The net uftnkiug and cancel
ling tie notes, rs given in his stntemdut, APP
pear diu aud confused; very likely his
Thoughts aboht it NJ that time were So, as
they might well be. But | cannot defend
this acr, and should bc very surry 10 pallt-
ate it too murh; no true and honest man
couid have done il. II would suffice to blast
his cfnuictelsfut rrohiiy, even if--i, were all