The Portland daily press., 1883-01-29


hung. 1875-Wagner and Gordon hung. Average
per cent 5.1.
These facts ought to convince every though
full man that while the death penalty has not
eradicated crime, mild er punishment will di-
ninish it.
Mr. Thacher argued further in support of
Imprisonment for life, that society is as secure
with the murderer incarcerated in prison as it
would be if the wretch were hung The pun
iShment of every offender is much more Gel
tain than in those States where the death PEN
atty prevails Jurors will not consign men to
DEATH In Massachusetts in 1881. out of 27
indictments for murder there was only one case
where the jury found guilty of murder in the
first degree, and only three where murder in
second degree was found: nine were found
guilty of manslaughter, two of which were in
dcted for manslaughter, two of which were in
dicted for murder. These facts substantiate
the statement of Chief Justice Appleton OF
Bangor, that murderers "can't be hung. In
niLe cases out of ten, jurors will not agree on
conviction. and SO the guilty goes free"
But there are other objections. AS followers
of Him who came "to seek and save the lost,
you are bound to extend his forgving spirit
where there is hearty contrition. Ought we to
kill our brother or reform him? Another OBJ
lection is the difficulty of deciding whether
murderer is insane or not. But the strongest
argument against capital punishment iS that
it forever excludes the opportunity of revers-
ing wrong decisions when new evidence is pre-
duced TO prove the innocence of the accused,
Innocent men have been frequently hung on
chain of circumstantial evidence.
Gentlemen of the Legislature, entreat you
by all that is most sacred, by the meanings and
tears of families robbed of an noffensive men,
ber, by the agony of the broken hearted wife
ano walls of the poor, desolate children, by the
gratitude of the innocent you may save, and of
the guilty you may reform, stand apart from
all attempts to restore this relic of barbaTOus
vindictiveness.
BUSINESS BEFORE THE LEGISLATURE.
-Four weeks Of the session have elapsed, and
comparatively little has been accomplished
| Wise old stagers are beginning to predict that
an adjournment will not be reached until the
middle of March. The time for the reception
of petitions for private and special legislation
expires by limitation tomorrow, but will prob
ably be extended two weeks. Work is ac-
cumulating before the committees, and the
committee on the judiciary now has a hundred
entries on its docket. Apportioning the State
for representatives to Congress promises to lead
to an acrimonious discussion in the committee
room tomorrow night, where a session is to be
held with closed doors, and to heated debates
in the House when the reports are submitted.
There will be two, and possibly three, reports.
LUCKLEss LEXINGTON.
The little town of Lexington in Somerset
| county has applied to the Legislature for relief,
and the committee on legal affairs now has its
| petition under consideration Lexington has
| had remarkable and pitiful experience 1t
was incorporated town in 1888, and now has a
| population of 322 and a valuation of S58, ,421.
1t is heavily in debt. Surrounded by planta-
tions, ever since it was incorporated town 1t
has been cursed with paupers who have drifted
to it for support In 1869 its pauper expenses
were $1O0.9-10; in 1877, $794.21; /; in 1S79 $622-
SO; while the amount for the present year is
estimated a. $102,5.50 The crushing weight
of this burden may be seen by comparing the
pauper bills of Lexington with those of Jther
towns in the county. Skowhegan, With a
population of over 1000 and a valuation of ST.
053. .S1S, last year paid out $2,4o4 on this ac-
count, and Norrdgewock with population of
149l, and valuation of $641 1882 but $780, One
family of paupers gained residence in Lex
ington half century ago. and the children
and grand children have grown up to be
paupers, and burden to the town. Computing
interest on the money expended on their ac-
count, this one family has cost the town $780,
600. 1t is believed that there is not a parallel
case in the country. The town applies to the
Legislature for the privilege of relinquishing
its charter, that 1t once more become planta-
ton, and .thus escape the ruin which new
stares it in the face.