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In the Bible we find many laws which had their origin in the peculiar situation of those to whom they were given. Such laws are entirely different from that class of laws which had their origin in the nature of man. The former were temporary, and were repealed when the causes which required them were removed. The latter are eternal, and are binding upon all men, in all ages of the world. Of the former class were the laws of Moses respecting the infliction of death; and those who refer to them, as a proof of the necessity of Capital Punishment, show their entire ignorance of the character of his administration. Its peculiar rites and its civil laws were temporary.

The famous text in Genesis, which says "whoso sheddeth man's blood by man shall his blood be shed," on which the advocates of the gallows lay more stress than upon all others, contained a law suited to the people to whom it was given, and adapted to their circumstances. It was not a law founded upon the nature of man, or which had an eternal basis in the constitution of human society, any more than the law given at the same time, which required that a beast that had killed a man should be slain. Though there are some beasts that we might be compelled to kill, if they had made a fatal attack upon a human being, there are others which we could make secure, and which would be of great service to us. But Noah and his descendants were differently situated from what we are; they had not the means of securing a ferocious beast which we have; and consequently, it was better that any beast that was so ferocious as to kill a person, should be slain. The law then, relative to slaying a murderous beast, was not designed for all ages; it had its origin in the circumstances of those to whom it was given. The same is the case with regard to the law requiring that a murderer should be put to death. It was suited to the times in which it was given; but it was never designed for all ages of the world; it was a law which was based upon temporary circumstances, and not upon anything that was permanent in human nature or society. Our circumstances, as a nation, bear no resemblance to those in which the people were placed who survived the flood.

The Bible, then, does not sanction the gallows; and, of course, need not be put down in order to abolish it. Hence those who have cried, "Hang the Bible," are guilty of seeking the execution of that which is not only innocent, but exerting an almost omnipotent power in favor of justice and mercy.

ALL PENAL LAWS NOT TO BE ABOLISHED.

There is another class of men who labor unwisely against the gallows. I mean those who go against all punishments-who would not only break down the gallows, but all prisons. There are not a few such ultraists in the land. They are just as much opposed to imprisonment as to the infliction of death. They have a strange philosophy in relation to punishment. They think that jails and prisons and courts are the cause of crime; and that if these were abolished, there would be an end of crime. I have not read human nature in this way. The Bible says, that wars and fightings and murders come from the heart. And we know that it is so. We know that evil passion leads to violence, and we know with equal certainty, that evil passion is nurtured by habits of dissipation and a sinful indulgence. They are not nurtured only by unjust and oppressive laws, but by all the evil influences to which we are subject; by the seductive attractions of fashion, station, and wealth; by the demoralizing power of improper pleasures, and by the excitements of disputation and opposition. Against those evil passions, which be

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come so headstrong and furious as to break out in acts of wrong and violence, we must have some defence; otherwise they may sweep away everything which we hold sacred and good. Hence Paul says,—" the magistrate is the minister of God to man for good-a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil." We must, then, have penal laws; and if penal laws, modes of punishment. They serve as a bulwark by which society is defended against the invasions of those who do not control themselves.

I ask not therefore, to have all punishments abolished; and if I thought that asking for the abolition of the gallows would result in this, I would never ask it again. I prefer a less evil to a greater one. What I ask is, to have all unnecessary punishments abolished. I ask to have the law so changed, that the murderer may be sent for life to prison. I believe with that eminent man who said that the punishment of criminals should be of use; and that when a man is hanged he is good for nothing. I believe, too, with a writer who said, the worst use to which you can put a man is to hang him.

I ask, then, the abolition of the gallows, not from any false sympathy with the criminal; not because I would have crimes inadequately punished; not because we are to consult the welfare of the criminal to the neglect of the community in which he lives; but because I believe that it would do more for the prevention of crime and the safety of the people, than to inflict the punishment of death.

Great exertions are made by the advocates of the gallows, to fix upon the public mind the impression that its opposers have loose ideas of duty, that they are regardless of right, and that they have a sickly sympathy for the offender. They would make the world believe, that the contest in which they are engaged is against a theory which says, there is no distinction between right and wrong; and that if they fail, all government must be abandoned, and we be left to the prey of the lawless and violent.

Now in order to see the gross injustice of such a representation, look at the character of those laboring against the gallows. Instead of being abandoned men-ruffians-blood-thirsty villians, they will compare in character, in moral worth, in regard for human rights, with any class in the land, not even excepting the clergy, who have taken the gallows under their especial care.

The Quakers, as a sect, are equal in character to any sect in Christendom; and they have ever been opposed to the gallows. Some of the most eminent statesmen, legislators and judges of the world, are opposed to the gallows. Look over the names of any petition sent to our legislature, and you will find that they are not drunkards, libertines, thieves, gamblers, who ask to have the death penalty repealed, but the sober, discreet, peace-loving, and justice-loving portion of our community. The most noisy and abusive antagonists that we have, may be found in bar-rooms and low groggeries, swearing over the intoxicating cup against what they call a mock philanthopy-a false justice. The cry of vengeance is not from the humane, the gentle, the kindly disposed; but from the brutal, or else the bigoted, who are so wedded to their old notions, that they will not admit of any change. Our opposition to the gallows then, springs not from looseness of character or of moral rules, but from conceptions of right and justice; from an earnest desire for public order and safety; from a full conviction that a milder punishment would he more beneficial. That the change we desire would be advantageous, we think is evident for many reasons, a few of which we will consider.

Dreadful Scenes.

THE following will give our readers a glimpse of some of the horrors of the prison house in this civilized and Christian land; and at the same time show the importance of such a society as the Prison Association. If such brutal outrages and cruelties do not demonstrate the need of reform, and plead with irresistible eloquence in favor of the humane labors of this noble society, then the evil is hopeless. Nothing can ever reach it. But, thank heaven, these awful revelations are doing their work, and rousing the public mind and heart to vigorous action in the way of removing the monstrous abominations. The facts may be found in the second Report of the Association, pp. 56-58.

"The relation of a few well authenticated cases will be sufficient to teach the desired lesson, while they will add to our report all the gloom which can well be afforded.

"On one occasion, some idle writing was discovered on a door in one of the work-shops, and the keeper in charge attempted to discover the author of it. After two or three futile attempts, he announced to his gang of about fifty men, that if the writing appeared again he would whip every man in his shop, until he found the guilty one. In a short time the writing did appear again, and he put his merciless threat into execution. One after another of the gang was brought up in the presence of the whole, stripped, and flogged his twelve lashes, until twentytwo of them received the infliction, when one of those yet untouched, innocent of the offence, with a generous devotion that would have immortalized him on the Rio Grande, confessed himself to be the offender, in order to arrest the progress of cruelty,' received his share of the punishment, and terminated this revolting scene.

"In another instance, a prisoner complained of want of food. He was an industrious, faithful fellow, and his immediate overseer, convinced that from weakness he could not do his day's work, after several vain efforts to procure more food for him, made a representation to the principal keeper. That officer spoke to the prisoner, while he was at work, with a hammer in his hand. As was usual, the convict raised his hand with a respectful salute to his officer. The keeper chose, however, to construe it into an assault upon him, and he struck the convict with his fist in his face, and with his foot in the groin. He then beat him over the head with a two-foot iron rule, till he broke it. He then struck him with the hard wood handle of a stone hammer, till, in his passion, it flew out of his hand. He next assaulted him with a heavy stone-axe, which, however, was wrested from his hand by the under-officer. He then caused the poor fellow to be stripped, and to receive thirty-six lashes on his bare back that day, and the same number the next day; and for weeks after the wretched man was confined to his bed in the hospital. "The following instance is related to us by an eye-witness, whose character and standing in society leave no doubt as to its accuracy:— "At a late hour, one evening, I had occasion to pass through the prison kitchen, which has a stone pavement, always cold and wet in the evening, being washed off just before closing the prison. This was in the Fall, or early part of the Winter. There I beheld a naked emaci

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ated lunatic, resembling very much an anatomical preparation, standing in the midst, on this cold pavement, near a large stone reservoir of cold spring water. The principal keeper, his son, and an assistant keeper, were making a last desperate effort upon the nervous stamina of this poor wretch, to satisfy themselves and others, whether or not he had been for several months feigning insanity to get rid of work, and during which time he had almost daily encountered some of these suspicious tormentors, with their whips, cold water, straight jackets, etc. etc. All to no purpose. He had never shown the least evidence of returning

reason.

"The assistant keeper stood before him, holding a bucket of cold water inclined and resting on his knee. With the other hand he was throwing water with a pint cup into the convict's face, with all the force and dexterity in his power. The poor wretch was gasping and struggling violently for breath, and turning his face from side to side to gain, if possible, a brief space to inhale a breath. In this, however, he was often thwarted by the dexterous side throws of this fiend of hell. He was so nearly suffocated that his face and neck became purple, or a kind of lead color, and his eye-balls were forced from their sockets to a frightful extent. From the other two of this trio he occasionally received a full bucket of this cold water dashed over his whole body, his whole frame shaking violently from the chill; but the poor creature could utter no complaint; it was not in his power to send forth even a shriek, much less to speak. I interceded, and after a few moments they desisted, put on him his tattered shirt, and stowed him away under the stairs, enveloped in two or three half wet old blankets, to enjoy the re-action, if indeed there was enough of vital heat left in his mortal body to produce it. I believe the poor fellow received no farther punishment for the crime of being deprived of his reason, but he was soon after taken to the hospital, in an incurable stage of the consumption, where he lingered a few months, and died an idiot. He was a youth of about twentyone years of age, and was the only son of a widowed mother.

"The Committee will not attempt to disguise the exquisite pain it inflicts upon them to be obliged, in the discharge of their duty, to dwell even for a moment on such incidents, and willingly would they forego the task of recording them. But they have occurred in our own State, at no distant period, and are but single instances out of many of a similar character which have already happened, and may happen again."

PROVERBS.-All the honesty is in the parting.
Almost and very nigh, save many a lie.

A man may hold his tongue in an ill time.

An hour in the morning is worth two in the afternoon.
An oak is not felled with one blow.

An obedient wife commands her husband.
Antiquity is not always a mark of verity.

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
A fool and his money are soon parted.

A quiet conscience sleeps in thunder.

A single fact is worth a ship-load of argument.
A smart reproof is better than smooth deceit.
A wager is a fool's argument.

A word before is worth two behind.

A guilty conscience needs no accuser.

BY C. W. CUTTER.

Could I embody and unbosom now

That which is most within me-could I wreak

My thoughts upon expression, and thus throw

Soul, heart, mind, passions, feelings, strong or weak,

All that I would have sought, and all I seek,

Bear, know, feel, and yet breathe-into one word,

And that one word were LIGHTNING. I would speak.-[BYRON.

AWAY, away through the sightless air-
Stretch forth your iron thread;

For I would not dim my sandals fair
With the dust ye tamely tread;

Aye, rear it up on its million piers-
Let it reach the world around,

And the journey ye make in a hundred years
I'll clear at a single bound!

Tho' I cannot toil like the groaning slave
Ye have fettered with iron skill,

To ferry you over the boundless wave,
Or grind in the noisy mill:

Let him sing his giant strength and speed:
Why, a single shaft of mine

Would give that monster a flight, indeed,
To the depths of the ocean brine.

No, no! I'm the spirit of light and love,
To my unseen hand 'tis given

To pencil the ambient clouds above,
And polish the stars of heaven.

I scatter the golden rays of fire

On the horizon far below

And deck the skies where storms expire,
With my red and dazzling glow.

The deepest recesses of earth are mine-
I traverse its silent core;
Around me the starry diamonds shine,
And the sparkling fields of ore;
And oft I leap from my throne on high
To the depths of the ocean's caves,
Where the fade less forests of coral lie,
Far under the world of waves.

My being is like a lovely thought

That dwells in a sinless breast:
A tone of music that ne'er was caught-
A word that was ne'er expressed.
I burn in the bright and burnished halls,
Where the fountains of sunlight play-
Where the curtain of gold and opal falls,
O'er the scenes of the dying day.

With a glance I cleave the sky in twain,
I light it with a glare,

When fall the boding drops of rain,
Through the darkly curtained air;
The rock-built towers, the turrets gray,

The piles of a thousand years,

Have not the strength of potter's clay,
Before my glittering spears.

From the Alps' or the highest Andes' crag,

From the peaks of eternal snow,

The dazzling folds of my fiery flag

Gleam o'er the world below;

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