The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1877-04-14
THE RIGHT OF RETRIEVE.

from the montpelier FREEMAN, called out
by our article of week ago on the right
to reprieve. In order to correct a slight
error of the freeman, it may be well to re.
call the history of the adoption Of the con-
stitutionsl provision referred to. In the
frst constitution, adopted in December,
1777, the clause, then part Of the eight
eonth section, read as follows "They"-
that is the governor and council-''Shall
" have power to grant pardons, and remit
" finest all cases whatsoever, except,cases
" of impeachment, and in cases OF treason
" and murder-shal have power to grant
" reprieves, but not to pardon, until the
{" end of the next session of the assembly
" but there shall be no remission or miti.
"gation of punishment on impeachment,
except by act of legislation"
As matter of history 1t may be inter.
esting to recall the fact that, under this
clause of the constitution, one reprieve was
granted. David Redding, tory and spy
had been convicted of "cnmical conduct,
before the special court for the shire of
Bennington, and had been sentenced to be
hung on the fourth of June, being the day
appointed for the meeting OF the legisla-
ture. On the morning of that day, appli-
cation was made to the governor and coun-
ell for new trial on the ground that Red
ding had been convicted by jury of only
six men, and the council being of the opin.
ion that he was entitled to jury of twelve
men, granted him the following reprieve
Bennington June 1873.
State of Vermont. In Council, date above.
To Benjamin Fay, Esq.,, Sheriff Of Tx
County Of Bennington.
This Council have taken into consider
alton this day the within petition of David
Redding now prisoner under a sentence
of Death, 81 do hereby in consequence, Re-
prieve him the said David Redding until
thursday next the nth Instant June pre-
cisely at the hour of Two O'clock in the az
ternoon of said day. You arc therefore
hereby ordered to Suspend his Execution
until that Time. BY order of Council,
THos. CnITTENDEN.
This reprieve was accompanied by an
explanatory letter, directed to Colonel
Herrick, closing as follows "This Coun-
g Gil do not doubt IN the least, but that the
" said Redding will have Justice done him
" to the satisfaction of the people" The
reprieve came ms suddenly and unexpec,-
eddy as that of Phair, for a large crowd of
people had assembled TO witness the exc
cution. Great was the dissatisfaction at
the delay, and threats of "lynching" him
ito use more modern expression-were
freely made, and would probably have been
carried into effect but that Ethan Allen,
mounting q stump, exclaiming "attention
''the whole, proceeded to explain the reas
ons of the delay, advising the people to
quietly disperse and return on the day men-
toned by the governor adding, with an
oath, "You shall then see somebody hung,
" for il Reddng is not hung, / will be
L" hung myself" Redding was retired,
June 9-this time by a jury of twelve men
was again convicted, and sentenced to be
hanged June IL, and was accordingly
hanged-not, however, by virtue of the
original death warrant and the governor
and councils reprivo, but upon an entirely
new warrant issued by the court. The
question, therefore, of how much
power the governor, under the constitution,
had to order the execution of sentence of
death after the day appointed by the court,
did not arise.
In 1875, this clause of thej constitution
was changed and the article numbered elev-
en-the number of the article and phraseol-
ogy being now unchanged after period of
over ninety years-and made to read az fol-
lows: "They shall have power to grant par
dons and remit fines, in all cases whatso-
ever, except in treason and murder, in
(which they shall have power to grant re-
prieves, but not to pardon, until after the
" end of the next session of assembly; and
except ia cases of impeachment, in which
there shall be no remission, or mitigation
" of punishment, but by act of legisla-
tion."
In 1902, the council of censors, proposed
an entirely new frame of government
among other things abolishing the council,
establishing senate, and placing the par
doning power in the hands Of the governor,
and proposed to substitute for that clause
another, as part of section three of chap
ter two, reading as follows; "He"-tha! is,
the governor-"shall have power to grant
"pardons, and remit fines, in all cases
60 yuhofaCNy in
land impeachment; in which cases only
" the legislature may grant pardons; but
the governor may grant reprieyes until the
. rising of the then next session of the leg
" islature.' The convention of 1893, how
ever, adopted only three or four of the
proposed amendments, leaving the frame
of government substantially unchanged,
and the pardoning clause entirely un-
changed.
To bring the history of the matter down
to the present day, and to show the loose
ness with which our present constitution
is thrown together, it is proper to state
that, in 1886, the council was abolished
and the powers conferred on the governor
and council by article eleven were given to
the governor alone by the following pro-
vision; "The supreme executive powor of
" the state shall be exercised by the gov
I" ernor who shall have all the
powers and perform all the duties vested
in and enjoined upon the governor and
" council, by the eleventh and twenty
" seventh sections of the constitution, as
" at present established, except that he
" shall not sit as judge, in case of i'm.
peachment, nor grant reprieve, or par
don, in any such case" Will some one
vcrsed in constitutional construction please
inform us the meaning of the italicised
words when taken in connection with the