The Portland daily press., 1868-11-12
Capital Punishment.

81 On Monday two queer things happened, con.
sdering the places Where they happened.
In Madrid, the capital OF Spain, so the cable
tells us, the population made great dem on
stration against the penalty of death. After
several speeches, the crowd marched to the
public square and burned the scaffold as a pro-
test against Spanish jurisprudence in all penal
questions After that they withdrew peace
fully and everything went on in perfect order
without trouble or DIVISION"
In New York, on the same day, Kate John
son tcas sentenced to be h,lngl
So popular sentiment in Spain is more en-
lightened than in New York.
Thank heaven, the fair fame of our own
State is not likely ever again to be furnished
by the spectacle of idiots and lunatics hang
ing from scaffolds with dislocated necks. The
execution of Mrs. Surratt, justified as it was
by indubitable proof of her participation in the
=, greatest of crime and by contemporary public
sentiment, is so unpleasant thing to remem-
Der, that most of the States have amended or
will amend their laws so as to render the re-
currence OF such thing an impossibility The
whole subject of the treatment of criminals is
undergoing rigid scrutiny 1t is not impos-
sible that it may be found that no line can be
drawn between the lunacy that makes mouths
and utters inarticulate sounds, and that which
prompts its victim to steal money or shoot hu-
man beings Theoretically. such line is drawn.
to be sure, but in practice the distinction is so
clumsily made that mailman or a fool is a
little more likely to find himself with a rome
around his neck than persons who, according
to existing rules, are regarded as of sound
mind.
But whether "the devil is fool" or not. all
society claims the right to do with criminals is
TO protect itself against them, SO that capital
punishment is an anomaly at best No one
contends that it is necessary to send man
out of the world in order to escape from him.
To hang man is not only weak and coward
~, fostering beastly tastes in the minds of spec
tators and famiiarizing the public with scenes
OF violence, but it is murder.
our etate Prison contains large number of
persons VINO are under sentence of death anv
one of whom may be sent to the gallovs ~ tha
discretion of the Governor. The nroso,,. IT,,
was no doubt intended practically 70 oIol;aI
the death penalty, it being supposed that NO
Governor would ever go out of his way to in.
fict the extreme penalty of the law, while all
the moral effect of the death penalty upon the
minds of criminals might be retained by keep
ing it on the statute book. But so much dis
cussion has arisen as to the duty of the Exec
utive in these cases, that the Legislature will
no doubt heed the wise and humane success
tons of Gov Chamberlain which are to he
found in his messages and remove the great
blot on the statute books of Maine.
Since writing the above we are surprised and
shocked to hear a rumor thai Gov. Cbamber.
lain is about to issue his warrant for the execp
ton of Harris, the Auburn murderer For his
own sake and for the sake of the fair fame of
the State, we trust that Gov. Chamberlain will
forbear to take this action.