Delaware Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1843-1874, 1873-02-17

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, ip England for utterIng forged rank notes
| and the body was delivered to his friends, ant
what was the effect the example upon them
| Why, with the corpse lying upon the bed be
| fore them they were themselves seized In tn,
act of again uttering forged bank notes. 1t i
unhappily certain that some have suffered
death for actions VIII st they never committed. A
persons were put to death by being hanged, o
whom it was after ward discovered that they
were intirely Innocent.
A deplorabls instance Is given by DR.. Smol
| lett. A great outrage and murder was perpe
trated upon an unfortunate woman in the
neighborhood of London, and an innocen
| man suffered death from this complicated out
rage, while the real criminal assisted at his sx
| ecution, heard him appeal to Heaven for his
Innocence, and in the character Of friend ac-
\ tually embraced him while he stood OH the
! brink Of eternity. Others equally innocent
J have doubtless shared the same fate.
! These are tremendous considerations and
ought to make men solcmnly pause before they
| take away the life which God has given and
| which they cannot restore.
| Elizabeth Fry says of "Capital Convicts'
that they pacfy their conscience with the dan
gerous and most fallacious notion, that the vio'
| lent death which awaits them will serve as a
full atom ment for all their sins.
| It's their passport to felicity--the purchase
money Of Heaven.
You execute man, then In order to save the
| lives of others and the effect would seem to be
| you add new inducements to take the lives Of
| Others.
| If this be true, and we are told again and
| again "that the great sinner has been forgiven,
has made his peace with his God, and only
awaits the hour to be launched Into bllssfu
eternity"
Then just at the time he Is best fitted to live
4 Ii Al. LII
man who has come out of the depths OF degra-
dation aud wickeiness, and whose heart is
now filled with all the loving attributes to ht
him for shuing light for his fellows 70 follow,
he Is gibbeted. He that individually commit t.
, ted The awful crime of violating Gods express
command, "rhou shalt not Kill" which Is posi-
tive and absolute, and cannot be tortured into
meanings, we In collective capacity COM
mitted the very deed upon him, Of deliberate
murder, which he In an angry or reyengeful
passion perpetrated upon another. Who IL the
greater violater of this absolute command Of
"rhou shalt not Kill" He who does 1t In shot
blood" In the heat of passion, Or those who
violate it in collective capacity, In cool sys-
tematicmanner.
We see the effect in both instances Is the
same to Kill.
On the other hand, should We find the cul-
prit unredeemed, still in all his wickedness,
with his soul polluted ,and dyed IN this deep
aud awful sin, like young Ware, with curses
on his lips, what tremendous responsibility
do we take npon us in sehding that soul lnto
eternity with this damming sin staining it,
We would suppose that none In cool blood
could be found willing to bs the actor, none
willing to do such deed.
If what we have said has satisfied any minds
Of its truthfnnes' let them be faithful in COLI
demning this lawas it Is only by individual faill-
fulness, that not only the moral but the rellg-
ious character of society Is elevated.
See what wonderful effect for good was produc
ed upon the vicious and profigate Of tho prisons
by that 'School mistress of Newgate," as she
was called, Elizabeth Fry.
She commenced her work under extreme
difficulty and discouraging surroundings.
Tie Reverend ordinary admired her intrepid
devotion, but assured her that her designs
,oodd inecitatly fat. by her faithful labors,
the testimony is, when', foi merly among the
poor, degraded creatures, there was "tumult,
tilth and licentiousness," that "sti small voice
was awakened from sleep almost like death,
until it was declared by the attending visitor,
"rhat the prison had ceased to bea nurse
ry of crime, lis cells no longer resound with
the laugh Of women, dead to hope and shame,
the bitter imprecations, and the scoff of hard
ened hearts had died away, and peace, clcauli-
ness and order reigned under the influence of
this true sister of charity"
In some further testimony upon the subject
We lave treated tins evening" ii is declared
that Elizabeth Fry often visited the cells of
condemned criminals on the day or night be-
fore their execution, she saw the agony Of soul
endured by some, the insolent bravado mani
Tested by others, and observed that death pun
ishnent generally produced an oblucracy in
il, victims, Which reacted on the criminal OBJ
ser, ers, or those who came TO gaze on the last
scene ofall.
How often do we see criminal pronounced
not guilty. and thrown loose upon society, even
under the clearest evidence of guilt to those
who have heard the testimony, because II is
very d ult to find Il jury willing to take away
a human life, often feeling utterly repuguant to
50 doias, and will give the shadow Of doubt in
favor Of the cal prit.
Iherwill b. but liulel llihculty i'll protecting
the community in these mot guilty" cases, II
we place the poor sinner in solitary coniiue-
inrit Leave him with Ills God who alone has
power over the soul AMI in his own good time
will take away the life which lie gave.
No one can doubt that these precepts are
pure and were given for wise and good pur-
pose, and if truly followed would add greatly 70
our present app,n 81, ami be "a fore:asta ofthat
joy we SO ardenly desire when time to us shall
, be no more. NER.TAs.