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THE NAIL CLINCHED.

executed, and thus to have suffered the punishment of death for his crime.

But, if he was insane and innocent, surely the punishment of imprisonment for life, is false imprisonment of the most glaring absurdity; and deserves to be held up to the public glare, in the light, and under the ban of execration, as the baneful work of Infidelity, under the mask of modern pseudo philanthropy for the poor murderer.

VARIOUS PRINCIPLES UNITED.

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tion; all of which combined, have for their common centre, one point only, which is, supreme love to themselves. Of course, their principles will be based on any foundation, religious or moral, legal, philosophical or rational, which will best comport, with their own individual self-interest, and self-gratification.

Strange as it may appear, the various heterogeneous classes of the foregoing catalogue of principles, are generally found united in the ranks of advocates for the doctrine of commuting Capital Punishment, by expunging the penalty of death from the criminal code of human laws.

Hence, one class of mankind are opposed to Capital Punishment, and wish the penalty of death effaced from the criminal code, on the philosophical principle, that, the milder the punishments, the more popular will be the government; (directly the reverse of Draco's legal system, who punished idleness with death, the same as murder; whose laws "were said to be written in letters of blood; and whose POPULARITY was unrivalled.") Doubtless, on the improvement of the principle now in opposition to Capital Punishment, no punishments at all for any crime, would produce the superlative degree of most popular government; for every transgressor of law would extol the government, and all its public functionaries, that would allow the commission of any and every crime, with impunity.

Others are opposed to Capital Punishment on the principle of reform. The punishment of death for is any crime they conceive to be a barbarous custom of antiquity, which ought forever to be blotted out from the code of civil society. Therefore, say they, let the old barbarous law be repealed, and let the murderer De punished by imprisonment for life.

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SYMPATHETIC UNIVERSALISM.

Another class of mankind wish Capital Punishment expunged from the civil code, on the principle of pure, heart-felt sympathy. To see a man under a gallows! with a rope round his neck! strangling to death! for only killing somebody that he wished to kill;-who can bear the sight or the thought of it, without the deepest feelings of compassion for the poor sufferer?! Therefore, say they, pity, Oh pity the poor murderer! Pity his wife and children. Instead of hanging the poor creature to death! send him to the state prison, where his wife and rich friends can visit and comfort him, and perhaps be the means of his escape from that dismal place of hard labor, and suffering and disgrace; or, at least, devise some method to procure his pardon, when old Bible laws and doctrines shall get a little more out of fashion.

Another class wish Capital Punishment excluded from the civil code, on the principle, that the punishment of death for any crime whatever, seems to squint somewhat towards favoring the doctrine, that it would be right for God to punish some of mankind with eternal death after the day of judgment. And who, (they ask,) who can be made to believe that God is such a cruel and partial being?! Cruel to punish any human beings with endless misery for the sins of a finite existence! And partial, thus to punish some only of mankind, and save others, as bad by nature, (before they were converted,) as those were that are doomed. to a lake of burning. Such doctrines, say they, are incredible!! Therefore, (their doctrine is,) as God shows mercy to all men, and will save them all after punishing them in this world for their sins, as he ished the sinners of the old world, before the flood; and the sinners of Sodom, Gomorrah, and other cities of the plain; and Pharaoh and his hosts, and others, that

pun

MEN WISER NOW THAN FORMERLY.

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by their sufferings here, they might be delivered from the fear of the punishment of the torments of an endless hell hereafter; so, let the poor murderer find the merciful confinement of a state prison, his earthly punishment for the crime of murder, that his soul may be thus purified by his sufferings; the debt and condemnation of guilt be thus cancelled, and his precious soul and body be thus justified, and sanctified, and fitted for the glory that awaits all mankind after the dust returns again to its dust. So says the kindly, the merciful, loving, and tender-hearted Universalist, in perfect conformity with his principles and views of the plan of Gospel salvation, and the mildness of the Divine Government !!!

Another class of mankind are opposed to Capital Punishment on the rational principle: that the older the world grows, the more enlightened and wise the people are who inhabit it. Reason teaches us to believe, (say they,) that it is unreasonable to punish with death for murder now, by virtue of a law that was made four or five thousand years ago to do it. That law, (say they,) was only one of the old laws, of Moses! in old-fashioned times. But now, people are wiser, more enlightened, more refined, more influenced by sympathy and the tender feelings of humanity, and more disposed to be governed by reason in these latter ages of illumination. The glorious sun of enlightened reason shines now so clear that men, free from the shackles of priestcraft, can no longer be bound by an old law of an old book, that once required an "eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth." Let the murderer be sent to the state prison; for if he is hung, that will be killing the poor creature outright! and even the old law of the old book says "Thou shalt not kill." Now, what can be more clear,

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RATIONAL EXPOSITORS.

if the murderer is hung till he is dead, the hangman will kill him; and all who believe in Capital Punishment, will consent to the deed and be accomplices of the executioner, and will all be his murderers. So we understand the old book to mean now. Who, then, can help seeing that it would be better to pardon the murderer and give him his liberty, even if he should murder a thousand more, rather than for ten, fifteen, or twenty thousand to be guilty of killing him, contrary to an express command of the old book, by all consenting to see the hangman murder him!!!

Another rational objection is made to Capital Punishment, on the principle that the punishment of death is contrary to positive precepts of the New Testament, two of which will suffice to be mentioned. One passage says, "Recompense to no man evil for evil.” Rom. xii. 17. Now, (say they,) does not reason itself teach, that to punish a man with death because he had murdered somebody, would be doing evil for evil? Look at it! Because a man killed one man wilfully, he must be killed wilfully by a thousand more, besides the executioner. Evil for evil! Exactly a case like the old barbarous law of old times, where it is said in the old book, "Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed!" How cruel! Is it not reasonable, then, that to avoid such doing evil for .evil, the poor murderer should not be hung, but have his sentence commuted, and be sent to the state prison for life? So we understand the Bible to mean when it is explained by the rules of REASON, which every body must acknowledge is RATIONALISM, the only true principle of interpreting Scripture.

Another passage in the New Testament says, “As ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise." This is called the GOLDEN RULE Of