, 1873-03-23


to establish its anomalous sovereignty.
WIFE WHIPPING IN ILLINOIS.
Tho House Of Representatives of Illinois la
rejected.a bill which, perhaps, ought to have re
ceivcd different 1ato. Tho bill proposed t.
punish habitual wife-whipping by the summar
| process OF whipping the offender publicly upo1
| the baro back
Tho whippins-post is generally denominatcd
"relic Of barbarlsm," :" and this is perhaps th
reason why the bill was defeated. Tho objec
ton to whipping~post is, that the man who la!
once boon publicly logged is forever there
| after 80 degraded TINT ho may be considered
Us having lost his manhood. It is considered
ilizatioa. THIS punishment WAS opce general il
England and in this country for petty o1fenses
There WAS time, ind not SO very remote, when
forgery, larceny falao swearing, aud other crimes
woro punished by death. The whipping post,
tho pillory, and the stocks woro then tho punish
nlcnt for what was considered tho inferior class
Of crimes. In the mitigation Of punislments
for crimes, and when tho rcformntory principle
took the place of tho avcnging QUO, izarrison-
mcnt was substituted for hanging in I large c1ass
OF casca, and the vhipping-post, stocks, aud pill
lory we're abandoned. The lash, however, was
continued Tor long timo in the army and na:y,
mud it has not been quite twenty years since it
was abolished in tho American service. In sew
eral States tho punishment OF 1ogsng for petty
crimes was kept up as applied to negroes, or to
slaves, but at this time VIC do not believe it is in
fo.co as punishment for general crimes in my
State except Delaware and North Carolina Tho
momber Of the Legislature WHO prepared this
bill did not intend to reyvo the ,7lippins-post a.
general institution; ho proposed to con1ino
that mode OF punishment to tho one crime Of
habitua1 vifo-wbipping; for instance, that tho
man convicted for the third time Of whipping hia
wife, instoad Of being fined and imprisoned,
should be punished By ten blows upon LIS baro
oack administered with rnwhido It is uucs-
ionable whether the House OF Representatives
lid not err against humanity in rejecting this
ill.
There IS no c-no mora degrading and ill., |
'amous than TINT Of wife whipping. No ration |
i or decent man can inaaGin eny circum-
ship his wife, when it would not bo Just az law
:ul and proper for him to Whip or beat aay other
woman. As general rule, the man Who boats |
lis vito never beats any other person. He has |
III tho owl rropensities Of thor b1utes, but |
lacks the cou1age to try his hand when he might
get worstea-. :. When ho wants to beat rybody, |
Ind to gratny his rui1anly taste, Ao selects /
, woman, and that Woman his wife, WHO hcs 10
person to talo up her quarrel. Unable to resist !
iI,, she has to take whatever violence ho chooses
% infict and, when the wretch 1as sratiiod bis
nalgnity, he threatens her with another whip
7ing should she make any complaint What is
he womaato do: is general thing, those VIC
inns nre in humble circumstances, end have help
e65 children dependent Oh thom. Tho wages
u earnings Of the husband ere essential to their
upport. To dueand i1nprison him, is to provide
lin With home and wholesome food and COM
oEtablo lodging at the public cost, and reduce
AeA -asA AAio SAAA0lGa u ueat1iullO0 hnd wait !
he law doea not punish him ut all, but it
oes punish with want aud destitu:iou tho wife
tho appeals to it for protection agains: the lus-
and. In this State of the law vifo-yhinpinr
, encouraged tho victim Of the beating cndures
le whole penalty, while tho coward brute be-
ONES the guest Of tho public; is comfortably
'dged; "has his meals REGULAR has medical |
tendance, and enjors the benefit OF religious
.achlngs End tho pleasure OF well-Belected
bra1r. Whilo lo is thus cared for, tho vito
I'D her babes nro loft 10 suffer for want of food
ad shelter.
How would tho case bo if, instead Of & fire and
zty days III tho BridcWell, tho wife-whipper
as taken from the court into room
the station, and there given ten stripes on
% baro back. aud then sent back to his work. {
ID compelled to supper: the wife and family he J
I'd abused? What would DO tho effect On tho r
an? In the first place, justice would be yindi- t
ted, because the whole punishment would fall ]
tho guilty, and not on tho innocent, as now. b
ould the man be inhumaaly degraded7 What +
i 4A4 l4E4 A4sA44 HuD QEh19 lib WIG
10 man who iB shameless enough to stand up f
open court and eyow himself wife ~whlpper, t.
is willing to 20 to prison for ninety b
IS, that she aud his children may starvo +
the meantime, does not POSSESS that s
i'd of manly spirit and high-st7ung yalor that f
, be crushed or hunailated with rawlide
ch man has no respect for anything but Fl
ocrior violence no punishment but physical &
II has any terror for Lin aca, if he had to Ia
% ten welts upon his baro back each time ho VI
iprod his wifo, he would no more strike her 9:
n he would strike q man from whom he al
9w he would receive wholesome Il
aRhing. Punishment should not only DO te
portioned to tue crime but adapted to its III
vention. So long Is the Inv provides no tt
ctical punishment for wife-whipping, tho nj
ne Is encouraged, and, in providing penalty pl
t will be adequate md at the same time pre- At
tive, perhaps the Legislature could not do ca