Smyrna times., 1858-05-27
INTERESTING SKETCH.
BIO WIN AW AT.

The manner in which capital punshments
are inflicted, is almost as vailed as the manners
sHd customs of the various nations of the globe.
In England criminals are hanged, in France
they are gulllotincd, in Spain they arc CARROT
cd, in Italy or Austria they are shot or behead-
ed, in Russia they are broken on the wheel, in
Turkey they are bow-strung, in China they
are disposed of in many ways, amongst the
american lndia0s they tomahawkcd, and
in certain remote lands they are said to be some
times baked and eaten but in no country save
India, has the punishment of death from the
cannon's mouth ever been carried into elect
1t is one of the instltutions OF IIludusian; and
Like most others Of the land, is OarJarous and
Grsrrble.
Until the nI!dle of last year, this extreme
penalty was regarded rather tradition than
fact, although men with white bcarls some
times alluded to it as one ofthe sp9ctacles which
they had witness SD in their younger days. The
massacres of May and June, however, at lengt tn
restored this terrible Nemesan instrument Of
punishment, and 1t soon became familiar over
The length and breadth of India. AS far as the
ehortning Of physical agony is concerned, to be
blown away from the caunou's meuth must be
regarded as one Of the easiest methods Of pass
Ing into eternity. Pain can have no duration /;
and as the criminals who meet their death in
this form are mostly indifferent to their fate, its
abolition even upon grounds opposed to human
iy might be safely recommended. To men of
keen senslbilites the few minutes preceding
the execution must appear like cycles Of tor
ture; but to the brutes--lke the savages of
Cawnporc and DeluI-they can have few ter
Tors.
had for long time believed that Bombay
would have been spared the horrors Of such a
horrible spectacle; but about neon on the tif-
teenth of October, it became known in the gov
ernment Offices that there would be a military
execution that evening. Two Sepoys had been
detected in a conspiracy, aud a Court Martial
had sentenced them to be blown from the can
mons mouth.
was on the parade ground long before the
appointed hour to witness the terrible scene.
While the troops were assembling, ample
space was offered to the spectators for obscrva.
tIon and reflection; and perhaps never did the
eye of man rest on such a magnificent picture.
The sea, far as the eye could reach, lay calm
and still as an inland sea which had never felt
the ebb and flow of tides. The distants Ghauts
and the ad dacent hill were tinted with dies of
gold and purple. The island Of Bombay itself
seemed submerged in depths yellow radiance;
it lay, in fact, like speck of darkness in sea
of amber, so rich and mellow was the sunsets
glory. The far-of hills seemed robed in pur-
pie, and on every side the landscape was one of
repose and beauty. The gentle waves Of the
Arabian sea, as they rolled in broken murmers
on the yellow sands-the lofty palms as they
swayed to and fro, breathing music all their
own, and the hum of a city, numbering upwards
of seven hundred and fifty thousands souls
raised thoughts in the human heart wonderfully
at variance with the awful scene about to be
enacted.
About half past four o'clock the military be-
gan TO arrive. Gun after gun made its appear
ance and took up the position assigned to it,
Out fevery gateway from the fort, Europeans
and natives were pouring in to the esplanade il
hundreds, and from the native town, every al
ley, street and line were disgorging their thou
sand. All seemed anxious 10 behold two trai
tor Sepoys blown into dark eternity. The
crime was known and the stern and compressed
lips of every European present, told how wei
they deserved their doom. The manner il
which they had been detected in their nefari
Gus designs was subtle and complete, and re
fected much credit on the deputy comnissone
OF police and his assistants. Three times ha
merciful Providence defeated the plots of tn
mutineers by the timely arrival of European
troops from the remote colonies; and while tn
fourth plots was being brought to maturity, tn
criminals were seized. The times demande
that a terrible example should be made, and ih
Geom of the men was speedy. .fl.. ..