The Portland daily press., 1864-01-09
The Address OF Gov. Cony.

1t was our privilege to listen to the address
of Gov. Cony, when delivered by him on
Thursday last. He was an hour and ten min
utes in reading it, and was several times inter
rupted by demonstrations of appreciation.
Once, while abiding to the Emancipation
Proclamation, the applause was very enthusl-
astic and prolonged, and at the conclusion
round after round of applause followed, show
ing the hearty endorsement of its leading doc
trines in the hearts of the people and their
representatives.
We commend this address to our readers
for the purity of its style, the clearness of its
statements, the cogency of its arguments and
the force of its logic, no less than for the pa
triotism the humanity and the generous heart
which evidently lay back of and inspired it,
The House complimented its author by Or
dering am unusual number printed for the use
Of the members. 1t should be read by every
citizen OF the State.
In brief paragraph yesterday we respect
fully expressed dissent on a single point, that
relating to capital Punishment; and we were
glad to find among the members a more gen.
eral dissent from the conclusions of the Gov
ernor on this point than we had anticipated.
No doubt there has been large increase of
crime in our State within the last few years,
and perhaps capital ofcnses have increased in
a greater ratio than others, but the cause
must be looked for elsewhere than in the prac-
tical abolition of the death penalty. In Mas
sachusetts, where this penalty is practically
enforced, the same state Of facts exists. Not
less than two wardens have been murdered
by conyicts in her State Prison. The recent
tragedy in Maiden at midday is an evidence
that the gallows is not representative of crime.
In Rhode Island, where absolute abolition of
the death penalty has been tried an effort was
made to reinstate the gallows, but facts and
statistics were brought forward to show that
the overthrow of the hangman and his Office
had not worked mischievously for the State,
but benefcially, and that the new order of
things was being attended by the most saluta-
~ results.
In Michigan capital punishment has been
abolished for quarter of century, and it is
the boast Of her people that they have as few
heinous crimes as any State In the Union, if
not less in proportion to their population. In
at least one other of the great Northwestern
States this fearful mode Of punishment has been
set aside, and no disposition has been mani
tested to restore it. Gov. Andrew, notwith-
standing the members already referred to in
the pententiary of his State, has repeatedly
urged the abolition Of the death penalty as I'M
tl.u of tta afvfii I'm nd
above all the christianity of the nineteenth
century. We should be sorry to see the index
finger set back upon the moral dial plate of
our own State by restoration Of the custom
referred to. As a military necessity we submits
sively bow to the fearful and summary extin-
guishment of life which God only can give;
which man may take away but can never re-
store; but as an adjunct Of our civil code We
would gladly see 1t wiped out forever.
We are quite sure Gov. Cony labors under
a slight mistake in relation to the object of the
present form of the law that it was to give
one year for repentance and correction of
mistakes. We are informed that when the
law was enacted in 1885, or thereabouts, the
absolute abolition Of the death penalty was
very extensively asked for In the petitions
which flooded the legislature; that the CON-
mittee to whom they were referred were in
favor of granting the prayer, but as the aboli-
ton of capital punishment would reduce muir
der TO bailable oiiense in the absence of an
alteration Of the Constitution, the present law
was hit upon as an expedient by which to
reach practical result, avoiding the necessity
of changing the constitution and the danger
Of giving to the bfood-stained murderer the
advantages of bail. AT any rate, this was
the effect of the law, for since the execution
Of Sager in Augusta, in the winter OF lS34-5,
the soil OF Maine has not been moistened by
human blood coolly and deliberately she'd by
State authority. God save us from any ne
cessty that shall ever require such an act.