The Sun. — 1821-11-24 (London, England)

THE TIMES.] The execution of Cadigun and Ellis, for uttering forged notes, has occasioned so much conversation, that we are disposed to revert to the subject, however painful ; and to give our own Gipiiiion upon it. The observations we published were from xn able Correspondent, and as they  had in view the benevolent object of diminishing the number of capital punishments—au object for the attainment of which we are most sincerely anxious—we _ were willing that the_ reasoning should have what weight it might, and therefore affixed no comments of our own. We will now, however, say, frankly, that we do not think, if all that we have heard be true, that the argument against 'capital punishments derives much strength from Cadman's case. We have heard, and we, believe the tale, that Cadman was not a mere utterer of forged notes in the last stage, but that he was a dealer in them,—that he had previ,ously sold them to many who had suffered through his means the last °penalty of the law; and if so, we have no hesitation in saying that he was a murderer of the most atrocious and deliberate kind; and we are not sorry that he at last undertook that errand himself, upon which he had before .sent other unfortunate victims to their ruin. His wife is said to be oppressed with grief. We feel for her sorrow and respect her contrition ; and shonld do so yet more, if we could persuade ourselves that she was weeping for other deaths besides that of her husband. We would not be understood as arguing or endeavouring to argue against the abolition of capital punishments ; but we believe that the facts of Cadman's case, if really known, will be found to strengthen the enemies of the abolition rather than the friends. A word more upon the subject of these Bank prosecutions, and the manner of conducting them. That liberty taken by the prosecutor, of allowing the criminal acting under fear to choose the offence for which he will be punished, is as contrary to the nature and principles of equal law as can well be conceived but it must be remembered that the Bank is no enemy to capital punishments : it does not take that part which has been upheld by most wise men of every age and country upon this subject. Capital punishments are still the law of the land here, as we see too many proofs; and such being the case, and forgers having evidently, since the abolition of small notes, transferred their attention to those of a higher value, we are not surprised that the Bank now provokes the utmost severity of the law against what is really a new offence. We are not astonished that they try a fresh system. When we say we are not surprised, we must not be understood as conveying approbation. Their first step, we -think, should have been to render their notes more difficult of imitation. A man who leaves his stable door unlocked has no 'right to punish the stealer of his steed like one who secures his property with bolts and bars. The finer execution of the plate, united to the greater difficulty of throwing a rive than a onepound note into circulation, might have prevented the commission of the crime. However, to bring round our argument to the point from whence we started, we do think that there are much more crying sins under the present system than the hanging•of 'Cadman.  [