Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1850-1854, 1851-02-07
the crowd .hrong round the foot of the paows to

tie crowd shrong round the foot ofthe gaows to
CRAFTY, must be educated by such experience
How do you educate your intellect, except by
exercising it in stud y--how educate your rever-
ence except in acts of devotion-how educate
your eenevolence except by the study and prac-
tce OF benevolence-and how educate the vice
and depravity of your nature, except by attend
ing upon scenes of vice and depravity and expe-
riencing the emotions arising therefrom. Is it
not common history, that the foot of the galows
Is made the scene of all petty crimes, quarreling
drunkenness, theving, profane swearing and we
think the statistics Of the country will show that
where the gallows has been most often erected
there has it continued to be most required, indeed
it is no unusual thing for murder 10 be commit
ted in very Sight of the dead body suspended on
the galows.
Like begets like" in the moral as well as ply
steal world. You cannot gather figs from thistles,
and as you plant so must you reap. Now IT our
institutions are of character that appeal to and
educate the depraved passions of our nature, we
shall inevitably have corresponding fruits A man
commits murder-a very wrong thing no one de-
MES, but if you do corresponding act, are you al
laying the evil7 the contrary, are you not en-
couragng it, 1t is a most false and pernicious
idea that the be frightened out of vice by
terrible spectaees by the incubation of fear. The
only sure guard against vice is the presence of viz.
tue, and the only possible way of getting virtue in
to the human mind and heart is to educate it in
by the proper means And what are the proper
means? IT you wish to educate your child out of a
habit OF swearing, do you swear at him to accom-
plish the result? lfyou wish to educate him out of
habits ofharshness and cruelty would you use harsh
ness and cruelty to accomplish it, You know well
that you must practice in your person the very
opposite of the vices which possess him. then pray
tell us on what law you expect to get the vice of
murder out of the hnman heart by prac Using MIR
der, by doing yourself the very thing you wish to
eradicate. But then the motve-you murder from
good motive. Well, suppose you swear at your
child from good motive, will it make any differ
ence in the effect? or if you use brutality from a
good motive, will it any the less fail of making the
child correspondingly brutal. Your motive has no
put yCul act HIS, ana lIldl alone dHectS
and educates. The same with the gallows. Its
language is that of brutality and you may cover it
up with good motives, the effect will nevertheless
correspond with the teaching.
But, says this editor there is a class of men to-
tally unfit for human society, andwe had better re-.
Sort to the block an expeditions mode of Kidding
the earth of them Perhaps if the life of the often
der were the only consideration, this recommended
ton would be entitled to weight but if the princ-
pie we have laid down is correct the recommended
ton must be condemned. We should be careful
III all things, at all times, that We have something
better and more truthful on which to base our ac
tons, than ebuiiions Of feeling growing out of &C.
curing events and when such recommendations as
we quote, made let us ask ourselves what use1
what good? VIII it restore lost life? will it recon
struct burnt dwellings, will it right any wrong that
has been committed! No one expects it, Then
the only question remaining is, will it deter others
from the commission of the same offence? and this
question we have answered in what has air, adv
been said.
The article we quote at the commencement of
these remarks, will show the general feeling on
which the statute of capital punishmentrests: "The
scoundrel has done and so, and d-n him he
ought to be hung" That is it, nine times out CT
ten. lie has committed great crime, and to make
every thing right and square, he must have great
crime committed on him. 1t is time, that instead
of being the creatures of blind impulse and passion
we become the creatures of thought philosophy,
reason. What use?" let US ask ourselves on all
occasions. What is to be the ultimate end and eff
feet not whether it will crafty us for moment to
see poor wretch suffer the agonies that he in his
blind passion and depravity has inflicted en- others
If his crime be revolving one, let us in dealing
with him, initiate his offence in the least possible
degree. Father forgive them, they know not
what they do, the prayer Of the saviour, for his
murderers, and if the charity and bencvoence he
exercised was right in him, slight exhibition of it
is not too much to ask of his professed followers
Our legislators then, should view this question
on broad principles We have no doubt if the law
be repealed, that for time tie results will to
be bad. disease is always the worst just as it is
turning to health and the evil effects of the educa-
ton of the under this law, will most clearly
manifest themselves as we are turning to health
under better system. But we should not deter
mine forever to remain wrong-forever to live I'M
der wrong and pernicious institution for fear of
the crisis attendant upon change for the better
No, let make our laws and institutions human in
their character-aye, d;yine-would be better, and
We shall have hunaar beings growing up under their
influence.
II tlooks to us like very bad policy for those
opposed to banks, to oppose the submission of
the question to the people. No good reason can
be urged against such submission-it is right.
and democratic in itself, and of course, if the an
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