The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1852-10-26
PgsIsa.xsr or sLArxs.-Ia Virginia, the

slaves io1 cfihc whipping, transportation,
and death. Transportation has become TO be
generally esteemed as very trivial punish
| ment. or as scarcely any punishment at all; and
| hence there may be said to exist but two modes
| OF punishment for the save-the lesser grade
| OF whipping, and the extreme grade of death;
and TO this fact is to be attributed the difficulty
| often experienced by courts in adjudgiBg the
punishment proper to be affixed as penalty
for certain offences; and also the fact that it has
become too often necessary to throw upon the
| Executive the delicate and responsible duty of
| judging between two extremes-lfe and death
Or, in other words, between transportation
(now supposed to be a mere nominal punish
ment and the extreme and severe penalty of
death. medium punishment, between whip
ping and the taking of life, is therefore demand
ed. What can be fixed as medium, or as
substitute for transportation, has for sometime
been question of discussion and some per-
plexity. The Court of efferson County, in
this State, a few days ag o, had case in point.
A slave was found guilty of a violent assault
upon white man, with an intent to kill. The
Justices composing the Court, were divided in
regard to the proper punishment. All were
opposed to transportation, because of its ina
dequacy asa penalty for the crime, while they
were about equally divided on the question of
death as punishment. In this dilemma, the
Court was obliged to put its wits to work to
find medium punishment; and finally, it Or
dered fire hundred lashes, 80 to be given at
time, and the convict to remain in prison I'M
til the whole number shall have been inflicted
This, supposing about 80 lashes to be given
weekly, would add an imprisonment of, and
| extend the punishment to three months. This
exhibits mode of punishment which we do
not remember to have seen before adopted in
our State And where the intent to kill was
evident. as it was, we learn in thiS case, we
for the offence would have 10 be affixed by the
Governor. Lashes, to the amount fixed by the
law of Moses, (thirty-nine are daily given;
but it has been seldom that more than that
number have been given for single offence.
We regard the punishment resorted to by the
Court of Jefferson as a very severe one,
greatly exceeding that of transportation and as
one only second below that Of death. And, in
this case, our Courts have an example which
may serve to relieve them Of embarrassment
| arising from the want of proper substitute for
transportation or death. For very good rea-
sons, slaves cannot be allowed TO be mprison-
ed in the Penientiary; but, it appears to US,
| if the jails of the Commonwealth were proyi-
ded with cells for solitary confinement, where
slaves could be confined for crime, and pun
ished in the mode adopted by the Jefferson
Court, it would probably prove good substi-
| tute for transportation or death, if not the best
medium punishment to be found. Nothing is
more terrible to a slave than solitary confne-
| ment; and as to lashes, on bare hide. to the
amount of 500, we think there are but few who
will not agree with us that the agonies of such
| an inhiction could scarcely be less than death
| ITSELF One thing is certain: Courts where the
crime has been committed, and where they are
placed in possession of all the facts and Cir
cumstances by the evidence and proceedings
of trial, and it may be, have personal know
ledge Of the parties implicated and the merits
Of the case, are better able to judge of the pro-
per punishment than the Governor, who is a
stranger comparatively to the facts and merits of
the case, and who is always liable to be inn
posed upon by sxparte statements. If, there
fore, the courts Of the commonwealth general
ly, as in the case of the Jefferson Court can
find proper punishment between the two ex-
tremes of transportation and death, we think
it their duty to do it. They need not, then, be
continually involved in the absurdity of cons
demning criminals to die, and in the same
BREATH signing a petition to the Governor to
save their life.