The Sun. — 1839-06-13 (London, England)

THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.  SlR—The above paragraph, which 1 have taken from your paper of Tuesday, the 4th of June, induces me to request of you a small space, that I may assist, as far as I am able, in promoting your views, as well as those of the most humane part of the creation, by endeavouring to make it apparent that the depriving a criminal of life, even for the atrocious barbarity of a cold-blooded mur der, does not tend to lessen that most horrible of all wicked acts.  Punishment, to be of any avail, should have a tenency to deter the depraved from the commission of The philanthropist will, I believe, admit that Le fear of death had no efEct on the mind of George  Time.  Willis, when be determined on taking away the life of his fellow-being and brother soldier, William Shepperd. There requires no further proof of the non-effect produced on the dissolute by public strangulation ; but numerous are the proofs of how much it hardens, and how reckless and callous it makes those who are inured to crime. With such of our fellow-creatures as feel a repugnance to deprive a human being of life, under any circumstances, it has a tendency to create a sensitive feeling towards a wretch for whom no pity would be excited were his life spared. _  To deter from the commission of acts, contrary to the laws of nature, as well as the laws of our country, punishments should be unalterable, yet not crud— sufficient, however, to deter from that greatest of all crimes—murder. The man who can be so void of feeling for the rights of hi; fellow-beings, as to take away life, deserves not any sympathy; he should be treated as a wild beast, and, like the poor'l unfortunate maniac, deprived of the. power of further injuring his fellow-man, but be made to labour for the remainder of his He, the produce of whose labour should be appropriated towards the support of that family which he has deprived of one of its members, perhaps its chief supporter.To deter the badly-disposed from the commission of a similarly horrible offence, the malefactor should be compelled to hard labour, within view of the populace, but at such a distance as to render communication impossible, and that the stranger may be made fully aware of the cause of so (I admit) cruel a punishment, FOR MURDER should be painted in large letters, and placed over the criminal. To prevent that savage mode of seeking satisfaction for some fancied offence, which would easily be explained, were the pretendedly honourable only something like rational be inn,, I would award the same ptinishment to the wretch, who coolly goes to add to the crime he may perhaps have already committed, by attempting, and perhaps succeeding, in taking away the life of a human being, by what is falsely called, honourable satisfaction : and to render it impossible for any hut fools or madmen to be engaged in so vile a •practice, the law should make it a transportable offence against both the seconds, and also the surgeons. I hope to see the day when those who profess Christianity, will blush to advocate the sanguinary laws of this country ; but unfortunately none are more cruel, none more vindictive, and none more persecuting than the teachers and pretended disciples of a religion which requires of them to be mediators, instead of prosecutors, as I have, so much to my cost, always found them to be. JOHN DR&KARD, Late of Stamford, Lincolnshire. Ripley, Yorkshire, 6th June, 1839,  t