The daily gazette., 1877-04-30
THE PUNISHMENT OF, CRIME,
Opinion Of Chief Justice Comecys ON
the Penal Code OF Delaware. u

| = Shsssh OOue OI delaware.
| The charge of Chief Justice Gomez ys
uen vered TO the Grand Jury at the open
ing of the Kent County Court. YVES an
able defense of the admirable and effee-
i've penal code of this State. He said :.
uenuen,en Of the Grand Jury: Unit
Wltnin few years past, it hiss been usu9l
| Ior the Court, at the Spring session In
| eacD county, to deliver to the Grand .Ju.
| y, aIeer bhey were sworn,la heightened
cnarge or address, setting forth not only
.ne oeties Incumbent upon them by rea-
son OF Their office, but also defini Ions OF
al, OF most of the different Ends OF
criminal calender. And this course was
pursued, becarse it rs ely happened that
az the terms, some one or more of the
| hlgner grade of offences or atrocious
crimes was not submitted to the Grand
jury Tor their investigator But of late
years, this custom has not ALWAYS been
observed, and this, because, either from
the influence of more general education
OF Gltiuslon of knowledge, or as many
" oT'Hk i from wise restriction upon the sale
of intoxicating drip'-s, the comm ON
OF crime has become more frequent Ger
Is'n III Is, That from one or the other, or
| 9otn OF the causes combined, and un-
uouDtedly a'so from the more general
spread OF the refining and elevatiflo pre-
cepts OF Christianity through the increase
OF houses of public worship, and also the
WIDE influence of one among the best if
not the very best of all civilized infiu-
ences, the Sunday school, there has been
q very marked d 'minut on of crime in
thls State; and we are safe in saving. thar
such offences IS are committed, are, in
tne main, small larceniC1, or misdemean-
ors hardly worGhy of public motto were
Z. ~ not tnat the greatest security to society
from crimes consists in sitting it wheh
committed, with certain punishment ad
equate to It's degree. And 1t is that vely
adequacy to Its degree which marks the
PeIai eode OF Delaware as one founded
in ,i Tue nighest wisdom and the most en-
quality of punishment to be awarded to
p9ohc offences. Where the character of
onences Is OF degrading kind, the law
Justly assumes that those who commit
uhem are OF deg faded and depraved ma
ture; and awards to them that des scription
OF pubic ch3stlsement which seems most
appropriate to them, that the offender
may bimse'f receive adequate punish
nleuI IN MS own person, and by the exo
anpie made OF him others may be deter
[eu Irom the commission of like offence.
Our laws proceed rather upon the theory
OF punishment and example than of re-
fo.m OF the culprit; and now well such
wisdom IS justified of the public immupi-
ty from feloniors chimes, every intelI
gent man can answer for himself We
o.! know how much our system of pun
ishment for such has been made the sub.
Ject of animadversion by sentimental
writer's, scribblers for newspapers, and
other self-elected censors OF our criminal
code, but we have SO far withstood all the
obloquy and ruproach that have been
heaped upon US. And we shall probably
contlnne our present system indefinitely,
Tor the great fact remains, notwithstand-
ing all which has been urged again our
corporal punishment, that there is abso-
lutely less crime in Delaware than n any
other part of the country according to
population-which alone is argument |
enough why it should not be abandoned. |
We are none of Us insensl BILE of course,
to the effect of such punishment upon /
the individual receivingit; we all feel for |
hlm the more keenlv, because generally |
when once it has been inflicted, he is |
always, but if his degradation |
secures the community against the COM
of offences ike his own las we
assume it does more than any other penal !
yet lDtiictesi) and is safe warning to |
others of naturally depraved mind and
heart, surely. society is fully justified in
lnfilcting; for it hes the right to protect
itself against crime in the most efficient
way consistent with human reason. And
In the face all of that has been said to the
contrary of our system of pun, shine
Felonious crimes not capital, some of the
most enlightened .jurists in the country,
on and off the bench, are coming to con- !
'ider it the best after all for the class
IF offenders.to which we apply it-those
telonious crimes, which denote in him
who commits them a wicked, dsprayed
heart, abandoned to the commission of 1.
svil. Under other, aud what are called
more humane and enlightened systems,
t is certain that crime is deplorably on !
he increase, which can hardly be ac-
counted, for, save upon the grounds of {
nadequacy OF punishment, for their {
avs for the repression of vice, and their
whole educational system, both secular
ind religious, are Treated by them as !
,eing far in advance of our own.
Your duties, gentlemen, as members of
he Grand Jury, are very important and !
for you have to deal with !
public wrongs, or offences-that is, those {
matters of evil action that affect the COM /
nuDity at large. The latter are such as II
fleet some merely private rights or in Z
!lvidual prosperity and are redressible by r
he agency of suits at law between party !
md party, wherein satisfaction is had by
he verdict of jury for debt claimed, l
4
iquidatsd demand. The former are such t
. concern the whole community or So
iety at large, and are those with which I
he Courts of criminal jurisdiction have | h
o deal-the first in the prosecution of =
which begins with you.
n II u
With this brief address to you, you are
ow directed to retire to your chamber
nd prepare for the consideration of q
lch business as may be submitted to +
ou; and we remind you, respectfully, of !.
our oath: that the counsel of the State,
our own and your fellows you keep o
eep secret. By this is meant-that you
re, under no circumstances, to reveal j
nything which passes in your delibera- u
ons, or relates to the performance of
our duties. 4
ON MOLTKE AND BISMARCK IN !,
ACCORD.
LONDON, April 27.-The correspondent
the Times at Berlin telegraphs as fol.
ws: 81 may mention that when Count r
ON MOltke some time auo directad tha II