The Georgetown news., 1856-01-24
Hnnrfne In Old Times.


A correspondent of the Boston Tran
script gives the following Incidents While
John Hancock was governor of the Com
mOnwealth. Rachel Whall was hung in Bos-
ton for highway robbery. Her offence con
sisted in twitching from the hand of another
female bonnet worth perhaps 70 cents,
and running away with it. The most ur-
gent applications for her pardon were alike
unsuccessful. | mention this not to the
disparagement Of the Governor. He doubt
less acted from sense of duty, thinking it
best for the community that the laws of the
land, however trightfully severe, while they
were laws, should be executed. A lad of
Is years Of age was hung in Salem for az
son, during the administration of Governor
Strong, similar appeals in his favor being
considered and Oyerruled. Yet the intelll-
gence and the humanity alike of the Exec
utiye and of the Council, Notwithstanding
the result arrived at in both these instances,
were unquestionable.
Within the same period, gentleman of
this city saw girl Of II hung in London
for stealing silver cream pitcher. Ed
ward Vale Brown was hung in Boston for
Burglary committed in the house of Cap
tain 0sia Goodwin, in Charter ST., and
stealing therefrom sundry articles. | once
owned set Of the Old Baily Trials, Q775,
1929 embracing series of perhaps fifty
quarto volumes. The earliest of these vol
umes contained the details of the trial of
! DR.. DOdd, for forgery, whose touching ap-
| peal for mercy, here recorded, was fruitleSs-
ly enforced by the splendid eloquence of
johnson. In late volume, long after the
commencement Of the present century, eight
separate capital convictions are recorded as
one days job Of single tribunal, the cul-
prits being all boys and girls between the
ages of ten and sixteen and the offences
petty thefts.
One case [ remember Of peculiar judicial
atrocity, A young girl of IL was indicted
for stealing roll Of ribbon worth three
shillings. The prosecutors testimony was
to this effect: 'Ihe prisoner came to my
shop and bought some ribbon. L saw her
secrete this piece also. l personally knew
her, and was on the most friendly aud soci-
able terms with her. When she left the
shop [ accompanied her, and offered her my
arm, which she accepted. We chatted to-
gether. AS we reached the corner of a
street leading to the Bow street office, /
turned it. She said she was going in an
other direction, and bade me good morning
| said to her, No you are going with me
| saw you steal piece Of my ribbonp She
Immediately impIored me for Gods sake tC
overlook it, and restored to me the article
l said to her that l had lost many things il
this way, and was resolved to make her al
example, that / was determined 10 have hel
lifep And he got it. [ can never forget
how my blood boiled as | read the testimo
ny Of this cold-hearted wretch, in view o.
the Judgment of a merciful God, for rather
it seemed to me, would [ have been in the
place Of that poor, frail, erring girl, even OF
the scaffold, than in the place of her heart
less accUser.
| rose from the perusal of the volumes
horror struck with the continuous record O
mconceivable legal cruelty. 1t seemed tc
me that the 10000 hangngs in the reign o
Henry VIII, were matched by an 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 Romily
Brougham, Macintosh and Sidney Smith
and as much, perhaps more, by kindred phi
lanthropstS on this side of the Atlantic.