The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1888-05-03
Written for the BANNER.
PILLORY, STOCKS, AND WHIP
PING-POST,
BY GEORGE W. HARTMAN.

In your issue of April 10, 1888, is a
letter dated, Washington, D. c., March
90, 1888, in which the writer says 81
was prepared to answer off hand, but
have made diligent enquiry and investi.
CATION, and am confirmed in my impress
sion, that the Pillory or Whipping. Post
never existed as legal methods of pun
ishment in Vermont and consequently
were never abolished by law. In fact
they were never in use, except that it is
related that the beech withe was applied
in its Colonial days as a means of intim-
idation and repulsion to invaders" The
fair meaning of which is that, punish
ment by pillory or whipping never by
law existed IN Vermont, were never in
use therein, and that the beech sesl''
was applied only during Colonial days.
Let us see about all that.
After the grants by royal charters Of
the territory lying south of the forty
fifth degree Of north latitude, that por-
ton thereof now forming the State OF
Vermont was claimed in whole or in
part by each of the colonies of New
Hampshire, New York and Massachu-
sets, and in fact constituted an integral
part of one or more of those coloniesi
of which of them it is at this time I'M
necessary to enquire. And while this
| NoIon;oI CEata aviotaI tho famOna Nnn.
stroversy between the inhabitants of the
New Hampshire Grants and the Colony
of New York, arose, during the contin
uance of which, hagellation, facetiously
ter,ned the beech 0euI WAC inflicted upon
the obnoxious Workers" in two or three
instances; the last and most famous be-
ing that of Benjamin Hough, who re-
ceived severe castigation, on the 3Oth
of January, 1775. So far as supreme
civil authority or any sembance of il
convention, committee of safety OF
improvised court-existed, those pun
ishments were inflicted by its command
or sanction. We shall see, further on,
what was done in this direction, after
the territory became State.
AT a convention of delegates and rep
resentatives from the several towns on
the New Hampshire Grants held al
Westminster on the 18th, 10Th, and 17tt
days of January, 1777, it was ordained
that the district of territory, compre'
bending and usually known by the
name and description of the New Hamp
shire Grants of right ought to be, and
is hereby declared forever hereafter tc
be considered, as free and independent
Jurisdiction, or State -
A constitution having been formed
under 1.-The legislature held session al
Bennington, on the 18th Of February
1779, and passed substantially system
of laws, which were commended to the
notice of the people aud their compli-
ance Herewith enjoined, by the Govern
or's proclamation dated the 23d of Feb
ruary, 1873.
By the laws passed at that session
fourteen or more offences were made
punishable by whipping. All of the en-
actments were not worded precisely
alike, but embraced within their range
"be publicly whipped on the naked body
or back
And at the June session, same year
the offence of accepting, holding, or eX
ercisng any office, civil or military I'M
der any authority, not derived from this
State-the crime for the like of which
Hough had been whipped-was made
punishable by fine; or to be whipped on
the naked body; or to have the right eal
nailed to a post and cut off, and be
branded in the forehead with the capita
letter G.
At the February session, by severa
acts, for at least five different offences,
the criminal was to ''sit in the stocks
not to exceed"-in some two" and IL
others, three hours" And for forgery
the convict "shall stand in the plllory
three several days Of public meeting, moi
exceeding two hours each day" Anc
for perjury the offender shall be set il
the pillory by the space of two hours
And it was also enacted, that every
town in this State shall make and main
tain, at their own charge, good pair Of
stocks, with lock and key sufficient t
hold and secure such offenders as shall
be sentenced to sit therein; which stock'
shall be set in the most public place IL
each respective town. And in the SAINT
place there shall be sign-post erected
and set up, at the charge of said town
and maintained in sufficient repair; OF
which sign post, all notifications, war
rants, etc. for meeting, etc. shall be Sc
up, under a penalty for non compli'
ance.
1t will be seen that no pillory or whip
ping-post, go nonine, was provided for
Those laws, though at first, temporary
we're continued from time to time unit
1887; when they were substantially re-
enacted, the form of the punitive claus
variously reading, "shall be set in tn
stocks"-''shall be set in tn
pillory"-"by sitting in the pill
lory !" or ''shall stand in the pillory.
The Significance of these several form
OF expression will become more apparen
when the instrument Of punishment
comes to be described. And the Law
thus remained until after 1907.
On the 9th of November, 1908, an &C
was passed relating to certain capita
and other high crimes and misdemean
ors," authorizing tho higher courts,'il
certain cases to dispense with the pill
lor and whipping" and in others Il
"omit the pillory and whipping" And
finally, on the 9th of Nov. 1916, anothe
act was passed depriving justices of tn
peace of the authority to sentence am
person ito be whipped" Thus sweep
ing from the statute the last vestige o
corporal punishment.
The authority for all the foregoint
statements of law and fact may be fount
in SHADES vermont State Papers"-Has
, wells Statutes of Vermont" 1901
Wright's Laws of Vermont" 1903
Fays Laws of Vermont" 1S17-Slade'
Laws of Vermont" 1s24-and Hall
early History of Vermont"
And having thus shown that punish
mania nv Pillnrv StnckR and Whinnini