New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1878-05-31
EYECETITE (LENENCR.

4 few days ago the Attorney General IN response
to an inquiry of the House of Representatives,. i'll
formed that body aud the country that Mr. Hayes,
m the first fourteen months of his tenn, had been
tossing paTdonS to criminals with uncommon pro-
fusion even for new President. Thereupon GER
tain Republican opponents of Nh Hayes felt called
mon to be critical because the enlarged criminals
were mainly Democrats and Ku-klux convicted for
violating election laws. but there has been gen.
erdl improvement of the occasion in the way
of protesting against the essential injustice
of clothing the Executive with the unlimited
power of pardon. Everybody knows how this
anomalous and unnatural scheme came TO be en-
grated on our political system. IL is direct inner
itance of the divine right theory, where royalty
stands above all law the of all authority,
dispensing justice and doing mercy the ylcege-
rent of God The monarch. of course, with his orig
iual and unde,egatcd power of pardon, has no place
in the republican; theory but 10y a singular con-
fusion of thought the Executive, servant of the
people, with expressly delegated powers, was made
by some fiction to take the place of the mon
arch in exercising this function and was authorized
by our Constitution exercise it IN the royal
way, unrestraiued by any limitations. without
assigning any justifying reason for his clemency.
without even notifying the courts which have con-
vctcl the criminal or the people whose laws he has
violated.
without doubt. the power of absolute pardon
should be- vested in some authority. Judges and
/ juIies are human. Even lawmakers not always
omul>gicn and if they were, the language they use
j. at best imperfect instrument, and this alone
would prevent any law from being ab,o-
lutrly and infallIbly perfect. Society too
and its relations to the individual. are
constantly shifting, 50 that will from time to
time occur when, to carry out the sentence egiti-
matry and honestly pronounced against criminal,
would be To Illustrate justice. But why should ono
man. because he Is appointed TO execute law, be
clothed with the irresponsible power of defeating
llw 10y aunuiling 1t Will the sentence of the courtsf
Around an accused man we throw every possible
safeguard against legal oppression We presume he
is innocent We give him the benefit of every doubt.
We give the fullest publicity 10 his tIal. The pros
ccuton i conducted under the most elaborate forms.
All the mnuie of carefully prescribed processes are
rightly adhered to. Why then. should man.
who has heard none of the evidence, or, what is
worse partial statement of the evidence.
be allowed, in secret. without revealing any
motive or assigning any cause. 10 undo
capricIcuSy all the results of the panstaking in-
qury of the courts. and turn convicted criminal
loose upon society without warning-without even
advising society of his most gracious exercise of
mercy until his Attorney General is moved to do
by "A resolution of Congress : The mere fact
that man has been elected Governor or
President for one year for four years certainly
does not qualify HIM for the uGquestoned exercise
of such imperial authority. On the contrary There
are many evident considerations why his very posi-
ton actually units him for the wisest and most
impartial acts of ccmcncy.
There is ITO need of rehearsing the well-kn0wn
catalogue of the evils which flow directly from this
arbitrary and irregular element i'll system of
ccuting justice. 1t SEES tuSSy amiables at the
work of generating morbid pity tor
called victims. Ii robs punishment of its
terror MS certainty and stimulates evildoers
with the hope of IMMUNITY. Worse than all, II is
constant menace Ia the supremacy of law over
chance. From every point of view. in what IL HIN
dcrs and what II encourages, the whole scheme of
irresponsible Executive clemency is calamity. lt
is fundamentally vicious. In the place of it. some
national court of pardons. similar to those already
devised IN some of the States, ought surely
tn be established; some authority which
would compel respect. and which could
not be brought under tho suspicion OF
weakness. And by all means il should be laid
down principle that the court which pardons
should br made to feel its accountability 10 public
opinion, just as the court which tries and conyicts
or acqults made to feel It, by holding its sessions
and conducting its proceedings in the presence OF
witnesses and reporters, in accordance with
established formalities and in the light.