The Sun. — 1868-04-22 (London, England)

LONDON, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22, 18G8.  The House of Commons had yesterday I o consider  the subject of Capital Punishment, and Mr. GILPIN moved a resolution in favour of its total abolition, which he supported by the usual arguments that are made in this case ; but we believe that the public will endorse the opinion of the House in rejecting it by a large majority. This question has over and over again engaged the attention of the Legislature, and many zealous advocates have taken up the matter with more energy than discretion ; but the general feeling of the House has been against total abolition, and very justly so, for if put into practice the principle would not answer the ends of justice. Nothing short of extreme measures can be found sufficient to deter criminals from carrying out their deadly schemes, or if even with the fearful penalty that now hangs over them they persist in their evil efforts, it is not likely that the safety of the community could be properly protected if this law was abolished. Of course there was something to be said in defence of the resolution as there is on all similar propositions, but the arguments will not stand investigation, and if we come to consider them we shall see that they do not rest on a sure and solid basis. Mr. GILPIN performed his part of advocate very creditably, but whatever he could urge was more than answered by those who opposed him. Mr. GREGORY spoke very truly when ho said that " the question was not one of reforming the heart or saving the soul of the murderer, but of preventing the QUEEN'S subjects from being murdered." Many instances were given by the hon. member to show that the retention of capital punishment exercised a most deterrent influence on the most hardened criminals, and the police officers who were examined before the Commission all agreed in declaring that many more murders would have been committed had it not been that the offenders feared the penalty of death following on their crimes. Besides, there is another thing to consider —that if the punishment of death be abolished, there will be no hold on those who are confined in convict prisons, for they could gratify theirrage and passion without scruple if they once thought they could not be worse off than they were.  So far as saying that imprisonment for life is as bad or nearly so as capital punishment, the best way of getting over that is to mention that if any one can see a chance of bringing in insanity to excuse a criminal they always do so, and the friends and advisers of the accused are always eager to have the extreme sentence commuted into one of perpetual imprisonment, anything in short rather than that the culprit should be hanged. " A witty French writer said some years ago," concluded Mr. GREGORY, " that he would not mind doing away with capital punishment if `Messieurs les Assassins' would only set the example," and this is a very correct way of putting the question, for the best-intentioned people seem to forget in their arguments that there is the case of the murderers to consider, and in their eagerness to do away with the awful penalty of the law being inflicted, they overlook the fact that the still more awful crime of murder has to be checked by the authorities, and put down so far as human efforts can effect it with a strong hand and a determined will. Mr. MILL spoke very forcibly on the subject, and said that he was always sorry when he had to go against the views of the philanthropists, whose exertions had effected so much for the good of society in many respects, but he could not agree with them in this instance. He said very truly that we must not call the punishment of death a failure, or measure it by its effects on those who