The Portland daily press., 1864-06-24
Capital Punishment.

capital punishment.
B., Wednesdays Courier, in brief paper
upon capit-l punishment, abiding to the
approaching execution of Spencer thus que
ries:
But after all we wonder II the worthy
Chief Magistrate OF the State, by whose order
the unfortunate man is to be launched into
Eternity, will have no little unseen twinges OF
conscience between the hours of twelve ana
one O'Clock next Friday, when he thinks that
human being is deprived OF life by his in
strumentality."
Why should he have twlnges of conscience,
seen or unseen, for indicating, as his official
duty required, the day when the sentence Of
the law should be performed, any more than
the officer who executed the sentence, the
Judge who pronounced ii, the jury who found
the verdict, or he and and every citizen who
constituted the magistrate, the judge and the
jury, and imposed upon them by solemn law
the functions, which for us they proceed to
perform precisely as they have sworn to
do?
The man now ordered to his death has been
guilty of the unprovoked murder of the Off
Ger appointed to take care of him In the
prison, to which he was consigned for a pre-
vious crime. He has made a place designed
to effect his reformation the theatre OF new
offence of such grade that it excites the APP
prehensions OF society and disturbs the easy
going theories of philanthropy. When Spen-
Ger struck at the throat of the late prison.
warden, he struck at the tenure by which
dozen murderers hold their forfeited lives
he scuttled their ark Of safety-perpetual i'm
prisonment, the miserable resource cow
ardly instinct accepts instead of a decent
death.
Still seeking to find weak spot in the
heart of the Governor, b. proceeds:
But will no unbidden thought intrude it.
self upon his inner self that alter all it may
be that the human law conflicts with the d.
vine, and the command engraved upon the
tablet of stone ages since, Thou shalt net
KILL applies with as much force TO States and
| communities as to indiyiduals?'
This quotation from the Hebrew law right
| ly understood, is yindcation and not con-
domination OF the procedure. The progress of
| 5000 years has not made mankind more inhu-
man. Our sternest modern codes are vastly
milder than this ancient one. Whether the
command, Thou shalt not kiti," applies with
as much force to States and communities as
to individuals, is to be determined by examin-
ing in detail the system of laws from which it
is taken. From such examination il bee ONES
obvious that the Judicial killing OF men was
not intended to be prohibited by Moses, but
was especially enjoined. L" The murderer
shall surely be put 10 death" More than
this, private, as we'll as judicial vengeance,
even TO the taking OF life, was especially
| sanctioned. The murderer was to be slain,
not By the officers OF the law, but by the
"drenger Of blood" and even the man who
had accidentally slain his neighbor might be
killed by his friend anywhere outside Of six
established cities Of refuge.
B. is probably right in saying that the pub
lie will pay but little attention to this execu-
ton. When thousands of lives, made noble
by intelligence, probity and affection, and
crowned now with the glory Of selfsaeri1c-
ing patriotism, that belitiles in the compari-
son our common styles of virtue, are almost
daily ,ehiged away before batteries beching
sheets of mingled fame aud iron, will the ag
onized people stop to weigh the unappreciable
loss OF a single wretch whose traits belied hui
man nature, and only known for every right
minded man to regret that he had ever exist
ed. Surely Nature, teeming with a fecundity
shat deies the waste of war and disease, has
not so sparingly created the molds of human
souls. as to compel US to cherish like divini-
ties the broken aud abnormal types of hu-
manity, whose natural instincts develop In the
direction OF homicide and murder.
Let Carlyle, in his rough and savage rheior-
ic, albeit no Reformer, nor even the meekest
kind of Christian, utter q few words OF
studded sense:
"If had commonwealth TO reform or to
| govern, certainly it should not be the Devils
regiments of the line that would first Of all
concentrate my attention on. With them l
should be-apt 10 make rather brief work TO
them one would apply the bosom, try to sweep
| them with some rapidity into the dust-bin, ana
| well out OF ones road, should rather say
] Fill your lhreshng-door with docks, rag
weeds, may-worlhs, and ply your fail upon
| them,-that Is not the method TO obtain sacks
OF wheat. Away, you. begone swiftly 10
regiments of the line, in the name of God,
| and of His poor struggling servants, sore put
myself OF you with some degree Of bre7ity.
10 feed you in palaces, 10 hire captains and
| schoolmasters, and the choicest spiritual and
material artiiicers to expend their industries
on you,-no, by the Eternal have quite
other work for that class of artists; seven
aud twenty millions, who have not yet de-
clared for the Devil. Mark it, my diabolic
friends, mean TO lay leather on the backs OF
| you, collars round the necks OF you; and will
teach you after the example Of the gods, that
this world is not your Inheritance or glad TO
see you In Ii. You, ye diabolic caRditle,
what has Governor much TO do with you?
You, think, he will rather swiftly dismiss
from his thoughts-which have the whole &C.
lestial and terrestrial for their scope and not
the subterranean of scoundreldom alone"
If our mild Chief Magistrate is not kept in
counienancs by such counsels, let the grim
philosopher accost the caitif we expect him
to rid us OF further, as follows:
"We, not to be partakers in thy destructive
adventure of defying God and all the Uni
verse, dare not allow thee to continue longer
among us. As palpable deserter from The
ranks where all men at their eternal peril are
bound to be; palpable deserter taken with
the red hand lighting thus against the whole
Universe and lis Laws, we-send thee hack
into the whole Universe, solennly expel thee
from our community; and will, Ia the name
Of God not with JOY and exulLation, but with
sorrow stern as thy own, hang thee on Friday
next, and so end"
Another Opposition Blunder
We did suppose the democratic members of
Congress would exhibit more policy. il not
more principle, than they did In their recent