St. Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1845-1863, 1859-03-31

! then and there ready with pot Of red win.
. to give the said party drink after hs hand i,
so snitten of and the stump scared.
And the master-cook shall be also then and
there ready, and shall bring with him a drcs-
sing-kuife, and shall deliver the said knife at
at tho place of execution 10 the sericaut Of the
/ larder, WHO sliall bc also then and there really
ar'd hold uprigh. the said dressing-kuifc tlll
execution he done.
and tie ycoman Of the poultry shall b.
al10 then aui there ready '-ih a roc: ia III,
: mint i0T lie sargso" % CrIp al5m tfe san.
stump, wItea lie h1I.i shall be 81 smii4R o.1.
''And tie groom OF the salcery shall be then
and there ready with vinegar and cold water
70 a'Te attendance upon tie saii surgeon all
eXe-ut." y. .ie,S;
L. - ..tior {, lss:rg his Jglt hand, the ,rrr-
Fortunate criminal was imprisoned lire aui
this punishment fr striking IN tie kings pal
acc, or IN 4 court of jusiice--wicre, by impli-
cation Of law, the king WAS aiways personally
prcscut-coniiuucd to bc law from 1872 10
1929, period Of 2S5 years.
Setting IN the pi.ory' was probably the
most unjust mode Of punishment ever invent
cd. Its severity entirely depending upon the
public feeling. Men Of almost uncxceptiona-
bic character, who had the misfortune 10 pub
!lsh something distaSteful to the government
Of the dav, have been more than orcc very
nearly kiI!ei, where the feeling of the mob
was against them; while. on the other hand.
the vllest miscreants were oitca protected and
checred during their expo>arc
When William Parsons. in whose house
took place the affair Of the Cock k-laue-chost. ."
was polloricd, the mob formed ring round
the scaffuld, and not only preserved him from
the least mark Of indignltv but actually. mad.
! subscription for him amongst the thou-
Sli.ds collected to witness his punishment -
Not ualTcqucntly, indeed, the authorities
themselves acted in 4 similar manner: and
after 4 DR.. Shebbearc had been in the pillnrv
ior publishing political libel, the under
sheriff was fined $50, and imprisoned two
months, for allowing the doctor To he attended
Oh tic platform by servant in livery. who
held az umbrella over his head. ard for omit
ting - cOnine his head aud arms in the
piilory.
For numerous offences, burning in the
hand certain lrttors with a red-hot iron, in
addition I" imprisonment, WAS imposed; and
it being discovered that such marks could be
ohiteratcd from the hand, an act Of William
Ills reign ordered that they should be made
ION the left cheek, near the nose and 80 the
IN" COhtnued I'LL, lew years afterwards.
there was q removal of the branding back 10
it's oil place on the hand, in the Drawn Of the
thumb Burning on the hand continued
till 1920; and in tie docks Of many old as
size courts, there vet remain the post and
iron rings by which the sufferer was secured
while the operation was performed, as di-
rcctoi by law, in the open court.
But VIC have said cuoayh. and perhaps too
much, about such haruaritics They have
now, all Of them, been cxpungcd from the
statute book; and the wonder is. that they
should nave remained there so long. At the
present day. although, by the strict letter Of
English law, two or three offences IRE still
made capital, the punishment Of death is
Eevcr inflicted unless for wil.ful mur,ler-all
lesser crimes being visited with transportation.
penal scrvitudc, imprisonment with or without
hard labor, whipping, aud fines.
In certain European states, certain severe
penal inArctions are still in use, but thcy are
continually becoming l">s AMI less frequent.
and governments are daily giving proof of
their conviction that the careful prevention IF
crime is to he far more considered than the
severity Of its punishment. and that there are
mere certain means Of securing the safety of
the sovereign and the peaceful existence Of
the commodwcath, than the practice hither-
tn so common. Of writing the pages Of the
criminal law in letters Of blool-Iiu.cs.