The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1883-09-06
Capital Punishment In England.

William the Conqueror, notwithstand.
ing the ruthless, savage nature of the
man, disliked the punishment of death
in cold blood, and substituted mutila-
ton for it. Mutilation is punishment
mentioned in the assizes of Clarendon
and Northampton in the time of Henry
II. In the reigns of Richard l., Henry
Ill, and Edward l., death was the pen
atty inflicted. In the two last mentioned
reigns it was the common punishment
for felony. 1t continued to be SO, as to
treason and nearly all felonles, down to
the year 1927, until public opinion re.
volted, and an era set in of mercy. But
ages before public sentiment rose in
rebellion against the system of barbar.
Gus severity, the English people had, in
their own practical, unsystematic way,
managed to great extent to elude it.
First Of all the clergy successfully as.
serted claim to be free from the juris-
diction of secular courts, to be subject
to the ecclesiastical courts only, which
merely enjoined q clerk to purge himself
of his offense, probably by some mode
of fasting and penace.
In early times clerk was delivered up
to the ordinary as soon as he was i'm
prisoned on suspicion of any crime what
ever. The Norman kings, especially
Henry H., might struggle against this
claim as much as they pleased. They
failed, and the clerk in holy orders
possessed immunity from civil punish
ment. Later on, in Edward Is time,
this immunity began to be disputed, and
q clerk was not allowed to claim his
clergy until after he was convicted. The
next step was that the courts might de.
liver him up obsque purgatione, in which
case he was to be imprisoned in the
bishops prison for life. But restric-
ton on privilege. which originally
was confined to the tonsured
clergy, was followed by a wide
extension of its application. In 1850 it
was enacted that all manner of clerks,
as well secular as religious, should
thenceforth enjoy the privileges of
Holy Church. In constituting this stat
ute the courts. ever except in the time of
the Stuarts, on the alert in favor of lib
erty and against tyranny, extended the
privilege to every one who could read
whether he had the clerical dress and
tonsure or not. All women, however,
except professional nuns. were for CEN
turtles excluded from the benefit of cler-
gy, as it was called. Another grotesque
exception was that bigamus-not biga-
mist in our sense of the word, but man
who hath married two wives or one
widow"-was also excluded.
In 1547 statute was passed which
gave every peer realm, although he could
not read, a privilege of similar, kind.
1t thus happened that, though all fell
onies we're capital offenses. large pro-
portion Of offenders escaped scot free.
They we're entitled to the benefit of
clergy and could not be punished at all.
At the beginning of the eighteenth GEN.
fury, women and those who could not
read we're admitted to benefit of clergy,
and then every one charged with clergy
able felony became liable to slight pun
isbment in lieu Of death. The benefit
had always consisted in being excused
from capital punishment. and at one
time man who could read could9 om-
NIT as many murders as he pleased with
impun'ty. Later, man who claimed it
was branded on the thumb, unless he
was peer or clerk in orders, and was
not allowed to claim his privilege o sec.
ond time. The effects of such Q clumsy
observation-disclosures severity on the one
side, hand in hand with capricious ex-
emption from all punishment whatever
was as bad as possible. Yet benefit of
clergy was recognized privilege until
1877.