The Portland daily press., 1869-01-09

oSe. ihe appropriation they ask ior
seems 10 De demanded by the plan upon
friends OF Industrial Education generally an
prove. 1t will be for YOU to determine wheth-
er to carry out during the present wear all
that they propose, or such portion OF it as
may seem to you indispensable.
The Reform school, as you will learn from
the Report of its officers, in now in a most
satisfactory condition, and its management is
| worthy oil particular commentator. Instead
OF being % burden this Institution must be
regarded as saving and blessing to the
| State.
| The State Prison has shown great i'm
provements in its internal discipline, and gen.
eral management. The earnings have been
| greater than in any previous year, though for
sufficient reasons they do not quite meet the
| current expenses.
PARDoNs AND EXECUTIONS.
Pardons have been granted the past year
in perhaps unusual number still but very
small portion of the applications have been
favorably received Most of these cases are
OF soldiers who in the extravaganza OF salts
faction at their safe return home carried their
trolics to the extent of crime. Some OF these
upon examination it has been thought proper
to release. The results have vindicated the
clemency.
In accordance with my expressed intention
L
IN reference to convictS under sentence of
death. These cases have been thoroughly
considered. Wherever there has been NIT
lSating circumstance of any moment, the
convict has had the benefit of it. In two
cases the sentence has been commuted to
Imprisonment for life; in another not admit
| ting OF lenity, the prisoner died before the
warrant was to be issued; while in case of
peculiar atrocity and aggravation the SEN
hac nr6op f. hn 4 (.
cution.
should have contented myself with this
simple statement of my action without COM
nent; bpU as it has Pleased the Attorney Gen.
efalln his official Report to protest against this
execution, although candidly admitting that
it is the Governors duty to execute this law
| and as his careful official statement must be
| taken as the best expression OF dissent which
| can be made, l may be warranted in giving
you the reasons why | am not influenced by
| that kind OF argument.
1t is urged by the distinguished attorney,
| that Harris sh h'uld not be executed, because
| he "turneu States evidence" This means
| suppose-for it will not be pretended that
mere confession ofhis own guilt after arrest
comes within the meaning OF this term-that
there was some promise or obligation, express
ed or implied, that if Harris should succeed
in duplicating an accomplice, he should es-
cape Tue uuc peDdlJy OI nlS Cflmes
am not learned in the rules of evidence.
and remark upon this no further than to /.
| say that il any person can be convicted of a
| capital offence by evidence given under the
pressure OF this consummate hope of reward,
then the altar of ofjustice Is 10 longer the asy-
lum or innocence, and lite and liberty must
| seek some other defence. But if this was so
let those who make the promise keep it-let
them see that their witness has his reward
4 n 10 fl ,.a a.s -
the Attorney General avail himself OF his
privilege, and withdraw any portion OF the
indictment in token OF service rendered? Did
the jury OF their verdict, or the judge alter
/ sentence, recommend to the mercy OF the Ex-
ecutive? Nothing of the kind.
Now one OF two things: in turning States
evidence Harris must have implicated either
| guilty party or an Innocent one If an in
nocent, then he endeavored to add a third
murder to the former two; IL guilty, than in
afterwards contradcting the statement with
equal -vehemence he virtually shielded the
guilty from justice, in either case but adding
another to his horrible list OF crimes, and
crowning the whole with perjury. / fail TO
see the eAtenuating force OF any such States
| evidence as this.
1t is said that the facts of Harris early life
the degrading influences OF slavery. and the
| development OF his brutal passions alone,
W..
should have been considered. They were
considered, and at their full value. They
were a relieving element in the case; they
were ground OF gratitude that no man nurs Ell
OF woman was left TO do these horrors-and
OF congratulatlon that this precosity of guilt
was nipped in its illegal infancy" before its
blossom and iull fruits bad come. But they
did not appear sufficient to entitle him TO
special grace. Previous good character. Is
a N mi ~ ION hrRt 10. ,,la
yious bad character is novelty in jurispru-
dence.
A parallel is also drawn between the case of
Harris aud that of knight, the latter being a
more responsible person, and yet suffered to
remain unhung, while Harris is ordered 10
execution. The right and duty of the Gov
ernor to execute the law having been conced.
ed, the argument conveyed in this Illustration
| goes only to this effect: that KNIGHT also
| should have been hung-a conclusion to
which take no exception; although Knight
still protests his innoceuce while Harris
boasts OF his guilt But this case is not in
my hands. The law sautences murderer to
solitary confinement until sentence :of death
is executed upon him; ii he has been releas-
| ed and simply set at hard labor like any 9TH
er convict, that is to all :ntents and irposes
commutation OF sentence. Now Knight
has been at hard labor tor some twelve wears.
He was not sentenced to Imprisonment for
| his natural life, and hanging Virtually he
has been put upon the former sentence and
has actually served out considerable portion
| OF it. To me it appears very questionable
whether Governor has even right to take
out such convict after he has been serving
| on life sentence, and order him in addition
to that to be hanged by the neck just before
| he dies.
| 1t is also asserted, or intimated, that Har-
ris Was not the real criminal in this case, but
another party. With him have nothing to
do. II he were convicted and sentenced
| duty would arise in his case. But the Attor-
torney General was unwilling to put him on
| his trial (when new ore was ordered) and
| discharged him from custody: presumably,
because he could not convict him; if other
wise, then he did great wrong to Harris and
| to society and the cause OF justice Itself. The
| ar0ument does not appear to me a convinc-
| ing one that sentence should not be executed
upon Harris who confesses his guilt, because
| another is suspected to be more guilty whom
| even the earnest and ingenious ATTORNEY
| General believed he could not convict, but re-
leased and forever set Tree from peril ON this
| charge.
| shall enter into no defence of an official
act so plainly required by the constitution
and the law, and my solemn oath and which
| had beforehand so explicitly brought to the
attention of the Legislature. Neither my
own views of the death penalty nor the pres
ent state of public opinion, whatever thev
may be, affect in thelleast my duty to execute
the existing laws. Whether there has been
any recent change OF public sentiment on this
| subject have no means of knowing. The
1 only legitimate and deliberate expression OF
| public opinion of a recent Gate is the action of
| the last Legislature, which having before
them the announcement OF my views of duty
in this matter, and voting directly on the bill
to abolish capital punishment, refused so 10
abolish it by vote of nearly two to one. To
my mind, l am free TO say, this amounted to
reatfirmation of existing law. II the Legis-
lature upon mature consideration deemed il
unwise to abolish capital punishment, it
would be an extraordinary presumption in
me to take the responsibility of abolishing 1t
myself
| CAPITAL PUNISHMENT.
have heretofore advised that the death
penalty be either ensured or abolished. Not
that the law leaves it doubtful whether it is
the Governors duty to execute the sentence
at all-which would be manifest absurdity
but that in failing to fix limit within
which the warrant shall be issued, ii has left
a chance for the Executive to defer it indefi-
nite'y, and thus precedent had been estab-
lished too strong to be set aside without
bringing odium upon any Executive who
should do his duty. Now that this Prece-
dent has been broken, it may be best to IeaVe
the law as it is. Gases might arise wheie iew
would say that death was not the only aue-
quate penalty yet it might be desiraole to de-
Law the execution. while testing some partic-
mar theory. In .he case of Doyle, for iu-
stance nothing but the earnest conviction OF
his counsel that another party was the guilty