Lynchburg daily Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1852-1861, 1855-10-04
Hanging ir old Times

4 CORE spondcnt of tho Boston Transcript
f,ives the following incidents:-While John Han.
cock wns governor Of the commonwealth, Rachel
Whnll was hung in Boston for highway robbery
Her offence consisted in twi,ohing from the hand
of another female bonnet, worth perhaps 75
cts. and running off with it. The most urgent
npplicntous for her pardon were unsuccessful
I mention this not 10 the dsparngemcnt OF the
Governor He doubtless acted from sense OF
futy--tbinking il best for the community that the
laws of the land however frghtiully severe
while they were laws--should be executed.
lad of ~ years of nge was hung IN salem Tor ar
son during the administration of Governor Strong
simnr appeals in his favor being considered and
overrnlpd Yet the intelligence and the homnni-
ty alike of the Executive and OF the Counenot-
withstanding the result arrived ut in both these
instances, were unquestionobe.
Within the same peri, d. gentleman OF this
city saw n girl of IL hung in London for stealing
n silver cronm pitcher Edward Vnle Brown
was hung in Boston for burglary committed in
the house of Captain Osins Goodwin, in Charter
street. aud stealing thereirom snndry articles
| nnee owned n set of the .pld Bailey Trials,
u775. Is25) embraced in series of perhaps 80
auarto volumes. The earliest of those Volumes
contains the details Of the trial o the unfortunate
DR.. Dodd, for forgery, whose touching appeal
for mercy, here recorded, was truiilessly entorc-
cd bv the splendid eloqnence of Johnson In
later volume long after the conmence ement Of the
present century. eight separate capital eonvc-
tons are recorded rs one days job OF single
tribunal the cuprits being all boys and girls be-
tween the aees Of ten aud sixteen, and their Of
ienens prttv thrfis.
One case remember OF peculiar judicial a
,roeity. A young girl of IL was indicted Tor
stenng roll of ribbon worth three shilllap,
The prosecutors testimony was to this efeci:-
Tho prisoner came into my shop and bought
some ribbon saw her secrc,e this piece also.
personally knew her, and was in the most
friendly aud sociablc terms with her. When she
left the shop accompanied her, and offered her
my arm, which she accepted. We cbatted togeth-
or. As we reached the corner of a street leading
Ia the Bow street office, turned toward IT. she
said she wns going in another diret ton, and bado
me good morning; said to her, 'Noi you are GO
ing with mel you stenl piece of my RIB
bon She Immediately impored me Tor Gods
snke to overlook il, aud restored to me the arti-
Gle | said 10 her that had lost many things in
this way mud was resolved to make her an exam
ple-thnt was determined to have her lfe'' and
he got it. can never forget how my blood boil
ed NJ reed the testimony of this cold hearted
wretch. In view of the Judgment of IA merciiul
God far rather. it seemed to me, would ! have
been in the place of that poor frail, errng grl,
oven on the seaflold, than in the place of her
hpartless accusor.
| rose from the perusal of these volumes, hor-
rar- struck with the continuous record of uncon-
ceivnhe legal cruelty. IL appears to me that
the 10000 hnngings in the reign of Henry VIII.
were matched by nm equally long list of persons
condemned To be hung in the reign of George
III. Since this time. much has been done IN
England by Romy Brougham, Mcintosh and
Sidney Smith. and ms much--perhaps more-by
kindred philunthropiss on this side Of the Attain
tie