New-York tribune., 1873-04-19
TIE Y1LUE OF LIEE-

The execution Of Fralich, which took place
at Syracuse yesterday, reminds us of the let
ter of a correspondent who writes to us upon
the subject of Capital Punishment, suggesting
doubts Of the jnstneSs of the estimate by which
it is usually held that human life is the most
sacred and priceless thing in the world" 1t
is certain that we receive accounts OF great
and sudden losses Of life, il not with equanim-
ity, at least with very brief wonder or terror.
The dreadful details of battle, the CHASTITY roll
of the killed or wounded, the numerical state
ment of a loss by shipwreck, the statistics
Of far away pestilenco or OF a foreign earth
quake are listened to or read of with no
sbrieks of horror and with no sobs of pity.
Again, it is much the same with murders.
When we were told the other morning that a
prominent citizen had been found killed in one
OF his own houses, it did very little to disturb
even our selfish sense Of security. The OppO-
nents Of the gallows have been trying for
years to provoke the indignation of the pub
lie against that instrument of justice, by re-
presenting how frightful 1t is to put man to
death in cold blood. The community does not
so seem to consider 1t. Thus we find that
though the fatality be wholesale OF only individ-
,ial the indifference of man to the departure of
man from the world is much the same. 1t is
the terror of the individual at the prospect of
his own death which shows how strong is the
natural love of life---it is the individual in
stnct of self-preservation which makes death
dreaded.
Yet Of the natural call OF society to do all
in its power to diminish the mortality Of it's
members, there can be no question. If
thousands of lives are really valueless to the
world, adding nothing to its production, and
thus adding nothing to its happiness, the duty
of society to render those lives valuable, and
thus to increase the sum of happiness, cannot
be gainsayed. Hence the imperative duty of
wise sanitary regulations, so often and so
strangely, and, we may add, so cruelty ne
elected. We have no right to cOnnive at, and
much less TO encourage wicked neglect of
wise precautions, when that neglect may infiict
needless and extreme pain, either moral OF
physical. The value of the individual to so
ciety may be small, because mankind has such
recuperative force, and SO easily repairs its
losses, except in very remarkable and excep-
tional cases but the value of the individual
to individuals may still be enormous and even
inestimable. The relation. for instance, of
father to his family, young and unprOyided
for, and dependent upon his personal exertiOns.
is such that it cannot usually be severed with
out the most dangerous consequences, either
moral or material. Therefore the loss of such
father by any act of violence, or 10y any social
neglect is really in itself to be deplored.
Again, it is necessary to remember that
whatever may be its relative value to society,
to every person, other things being equal, his
own life il the costliest of possessions In
poverty and sickness. in disgrace and dScOur-
agement, when the sngs and arrows of out
rageous fortune have done their worst, the
wretched object of all this disaster still,
as a rule. desires to live. And this is philo-
sophically wise, just rs suicide is philosophi- |
cay foolish; because, after all, this is a world
of many chances and of many changes, and |
daylight may come after the darkest night
What is usually called the sacredness of life !
can refer only to IA mau's original right TO !
its possession. II does not. however, by any |
means follow that this right n,ry not be for |
feited by the voluntary act of its possessor, |
or that many may not be justly called upon
to die that more may live in peace and hap
piness This, indeed, would be the only
justification of war waged in defense of the
liberties OF people The men OF Thermopyle.
in one sense committed suicide but the world |
has for thousands of years sung psans in their
honor. The Commonwealth has In all ages
claimed superior right 20 the lives of its
members; and its claim has always with
flial fidelity been allowed. II follows, there
fore, that whatever may be the value of life.
there is still value above it, so that IL it
can DO shown that capital punishment
tends 10 diminish tho number Of murderors.