New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1852-01-31
KILN. fer Eisiing.

indlS, now 0eSce nus 70 ftplf Win uItdutct
and Golefulest cont0rtions Of pOintless hui
nor to our argument that capital punish'
ment exercises a demoralizing influence
upon the community. Here is speciaen:
It rTxe 7riJ,el is fine oolnoisseur ia the theory
Of lDficfing death and all minor punishmsnts. II Is
curious In nice differences between TIE halter, the
cell the lash the shower bath II ehtsTtaiRs dirt
tante notions as to the bes! methods OF - oc!Ins
the relative gracefulness Of pastures the geaerd
getting Up OF the thing consider ed as choice pup
lie exhibition which ought to be conducted as 10
enable fond parents to lead their children thlther
without exciting single shudcer Of disgust In
short The Tribune has nice sense Of the prophecies
in the science OF sus. per COL
But abandoning this vein of Wit, our
beiehbor enters upon his exposition Of the
philosophy Of hanging, as follows
The THINE ought 70 know tina. no punishment is
inflicted as a vIncIc'ive measure and that the gal
lows Goes not teach auy such lesson Iae Ter "a l.
Onis-the Law of an eye for an eye, as y existed In
the Je with economyis entirely dlsavo we'd By more
modern legislators on whom the hunanlzing lnfl-
eIces or Christianity have rested lac penalty
is regarded IS exemplary, Lot exp.a!ory. And #
any hold it differently they Go not properly repre-
sent the cause they advocate. The Iri1n'e Is par
TALLY espOnsble for the mlSconcepiion any exists
for IN TIE paragraph quo;ej,n recognizes Oul t"o'
ana iney iai.aCICus principles, reformation ana re-
talsilun ard Is obvIousl ignorant OF the true one,
e,aut.e Suprosils every witness OF inflicted
punlsnmert shares TIE IT4bU.eS Ignorance OF an
exemplary object. he cannot but consider II IN
iIdIctive point Of view. He has no other eXplana-
ton. Wee he tod that \. is hung to-day no, as an
expiatiCn for a wrOAg committed YESTERDAY, out 10
prevent the multiplied commissions OF TIE same
yropg 10 morrow, the erroneous notion Of ven
eeance would be instantly eliminated. Thus we
arIige at re.staemeAt Of the whole issue, an
issue The Tribune Is un"l Ing 10 meet me Penai,
ty, and The ibfiction Of II, are solely designed
10 deter oilers from the ofenSe. Ihat pen
atty viii, therefore, be most ehectual, Wmsh
serves as the greatest plopoitlons'e terror At
the moment when Temptation presents itself We
r.uerate these as our positions and repeat our viii
lugness 70 discuss them with The 7fbHas; bd! mus!
dec.ue fuitheT dIspu.Ig about tastes
Death is the chief AMI instructive Object OF human
dread ard Ia the adaptation OF consequences to ac-
tiOI S most net airy pfopOrOned 70 the crime 81 muir
DER Lie imprisonment is no. so, because lts nor-
rors are only actnalized byexperence Besides, be-
levers in future state sill look with equal horror
1T punishment which destroys the body, and one
that ctstroys the mind and vii find no humane
considerations baanc Ig IN favor ofsohtary conhne-
meI'.
Our readers will note that The Times
continues TO regard the brutalizing influence
eff hanging upon the community as mere
question of taste, upon which its horror Of
silly sentimentaiity' forbids it to enter.
But if the killing of men for crime be
not a demoralizing practice, why has it
been found advisable to have it performed In
private? If the example Of murderer
strung up by the law have tendency to
prevent murder, Why restrict the benefit of
that example to a favored few, and those
not selected from the class OF persons moe.
ia need Of the improving influence Ac-
cordng to our neighbours reasoning, public
executions ought at once to be restored,
with the simple addition of sufficient
number of agents on the field OF death to
proclaim to every gloating beholder that
the Individual there suspended is not pun
tshed because he has committed a crime, but
merely hung by way Of example The Times
owes it to his own convictions TO set about
the advocacy of this reform. He should
begin by aboishing the current phrase
capital punishment" for that does con-
yey an idea of vindictiveness, which he
cannot abide.
The sole object of punishment is exam
pie, according to The Times, without re-
gard to any duty which humanity imposes
either toward the criminal or the members
Of society who are not yet so. Whether
the former be reformed or not, or the latter
demoralized or not, is of no consequence.
The sole aim ia treating offenders should
be to strike terror and awaken human
dread. No matter if the germs of crime
be thereby planted in the boscms Of thou
sands, so that the noxiOus seeds are at
tended by an awful frightening. The thing
is to create the greatest proporuonate
terror y for service hereafter at the mo-
ment of temptation. All else Is silly
sentimensality" and 1.-The bogus of alec
tation."
History shows us that the progress of
mankind has been attended By a gradual
abandonment of this principle Of terroEiza-
ton, whether it be called yindictive or ex-
emplary. The sweet and blessed infuen-
ces Of humanity and of the religion of
brotherhood have revealed an irrefragable
tie of duty toward the most degraded
outcast; hence the idea of reformation as
connected with our treatment of criminals.
The same Influences have produced the kin.
dred idea of cutting off the causes of crime
by freeing society from savage and brutal
customs aid laws which nurture the spirit Of
crime more than thew awe the vie;ously in
clined from its performance. Thus.
breaking on the wheel, quartering, impaling,
hanging in chains, all of which were once
supposed necessary to terrify the people
into virtue, have al been abandoned, not
merely because they were inhuman in
themselves, but because their exhibition