An Enquiry into the Causes of the late Increase of Robbers/Section 11

SECT. XI.

Of the Manner of Execution.

But if every Hope which I have mentioned fails the Thief: If he hould be dicovered, apprehended, proecuted, convicted, and refued a Pardon; what is his Situation then? Surely mot gloomy and dreadful, without any Hope, and without any Comfort. This is, perhaps, the Cae with the les practied, les pirited, and les dangerous Rogues; but with thoe of a different Contitution it is far otherwie. No Hero ees Death as the Alternative which may attend his Undertaking with les Terror, nor meets it in the Field with more imaginary Glory. Pride, which is commonly the uppermot Pasion in both, is in both treated with equal Satifaction. The Day appointed by Law for the Thief's Shame is the Day of Glory in his own Opinion. His procesion to Tyburn, and his lat Moments there, are all triumphant; attended with the Compasion of the meek and tender-hearted, and with the Applaue, Admiration, and Envy of all the bold and hardened. His Behaviour in his preent Condition, not the Crimes, how atrocious oever, which brought him to it, are the Subject of Contemplation. And if he hath Sene enough to temper his Boldnes with any Degree of Decency, his Death is poke of by many with Honour, by mot with Pity, and by all with Approbation.

How far uch an Example is from being an Object of Terror, epecially to thoe for whoe Ue it is principally intended, I leave to the Conideration of every rational Man; whether uch Examples as I have decribed are proper to be exhibited mut be ubmitted to our Superiors.

The great Caue of this Evil is the Frequency of Executions: The Knowledge of Human Nature will prove this from Reaon; and the different Effects which Executions produce in the Minds of the Spectators in the Country where they are rare, and in London where they are common, will convince us by Experience. The Thief who is hanged to Day hath learnt his Intrepidity from the Example of his hanged Predecesors, as others are now taught to depie Death, and to bear it hereafter with Boldnes from what they ee to Day.

One way of preventing the Frequency of Executions is by removing the Evil I am complaining of: For this Effect in Time becomes a Caue; and greatly increaes that very Evil from which it firt aroe. The Deign of thoe who firt appointed Executions to be public, was to add the Punihment of Shame to that of Death; in order to make the Example an Object of greater Terror. But Experience hath hewn us that the Event is directly contrary to this Intention. Indeed a competent Knowledge of Human Nature might have foreeen the Conequence. To unite the Ideas of Death and Shame is not o eay as may be imagined. All Ideas of the latter being aborbed by the former. To prove this, I will appeal to any Man who hath een an Execution; let him tell me when he hath beheld a poor Wretch, bound in a Cart, jut on the Verge of Eternity, all pale and trembling with his approaching Fate, whether the Idea of Shame hath ever intruded on his Mind? Much les will the bold daring Rogue who glories in his preent Condition, inpire the Beholder with any uch Senation.

The Difficulty here will be eaily explained, if we have Recoure to the Poets; (for the good Poet and the good Politician do not differ o much as ome who know nothing of either Art affirm; nor would Homer or Milton have made the wort Legilators of their Times:) The great Buines is to raie Terror, and the Poet will tell you, that Admiration or Pity, or both, are very apt to attend whatever is the Object of Terror in the human Mind. This is very ueful to the Poet, but very hurtful on the preent Occaion to the Politician, whoe Art is to be here employed to raie an Object of Terror, and, at the ame time, as much as posible, to trip it of all Pity and all Admiration.

To effect this, it eems that the Execution hould be as oon as posible after the Commision and Conviction of the Crime; for if this be of an atrocious Kind, the Reentment of Mankind being warm, would purue the Criminal to his lat End, and all Pity for the Offender would be lot in Detetation of the Offence. Whereas, when Executions are delayed o long as they ometimes are, the Punihment and not the Crime is conidered; and no good Mind can avoid compasionating a Set of Wretches, who are put to Death we know not why, unles, as it almot appears, to make a Holiday for, and to entertain the Mob.

Secondly, It hould be in ome degree private. And here the Poets will again asit us. Foreigners have found fault with the Cruelty of the Englih Drama, in repreenting frequent Murders upon the Stage. In fact, this is not only cruel, but highly injudicious: A Murder behind the Scenes, if the Poet knows how to manage it, will affect the Audience with greater Terror than if it was acted before their Eyes. Of this we have an Intance in the Murder of the King in Macbeth, at which, when Garrick acts the Part, it is carce an Hyperbole to ay, I have een the Hair of the Audience tand an End. Terror hat, I believe, been carried higher by this ingle Intance, than by all the Blood which hath been pilt on the Stage.—To the Poets I may add the Priets, whoe Politics have never been doubted. Thoe of Egypt in particular, where the acred Myteries were firt devied, well knew the Ue of hiding from the Eyes of the Vulgar, what they intended hould inpire them with the greatet Awe and Dread. The Mind of Man is o much more capable of magnifying than his Eye, that I quetion whether every Object is not lesened by being looked upon; and this more epecially when the Pasions are concerned: for thee are ever apt to fancy much more Satifaction in thoe Objects which they affect, and much more of Michief in thoe which they abhor, than are really to be found in either.

If Executions therefore were o contrived, that few could be preent at them, they would be much more hocking and terrible to the Crowd without Doors than at preent, as well much more dreadful to the Criminals themelves, who would thus die in the Preence only of their Enemies; and where the boldet of them would find no Cordial to keep up his Spirits, nor any Breath to flatter his Ambition.

3dly, The Execution hould be in the highet degree olemn. It is not the Esence of the Thing itelf, but the Dres and Apparatus of it, which make an Impresion on the Mind, epecially on the Minds of the Multitude to whom Beauty in Rags is never a deirable, nor Deformity in Embroidery a diagreeable Object.

Montagne, who, of all Men, except only Aritotle, eems bet to have undertood Human Nature, enquiring into the Caues why Death appears more terrible to the better Sort of People than to the meaner, expreses himelf thus: 'I do verily believe, that it is thoe terrible Ceremonies and Preparations wherewith we et it out, that more terrify us than the Thing itelf; a new and contrary Way of Living, the Cries of Mothers, Wives and Children, the Viits of atonihed and afflicted Friends, the Attendance of pale and blubbered Servants, a dark Room et round with burning Tapers, our Beds environed with Phyicians and Divines; in fine, nothing but Ghatlines and Horror round about us, render it o formidable, that a Man almot fancies himelf dead and buried already .'

'If the Image of Death, ays the ame Author, was to appear thus dreadful to an Army, they would be an Army of whining Milk-sops; and where is the Difference but in the Apparatus? Thus in the Field (I may add, at the Gallows) what is encountered with Gaiety and Unconcern, in a Sickbed becomes the mot dreadful of all Objects.'

In Holland, the Executions (which are very rare) are incredibly olemn. They are performed in the Area before the Stadthoue, and attended by all the Magitrates. The Effect of this Solemnity is inconceivable to thoe who have not oberved it in others, or felt it in themelves; and to this, perhaps more than to any other Caue, the Rarenes of Executions in that Country is owing. Now the following Method, which I hall venture to precribe, as it would include all the three Particulars of Celerity, Privacy, and Solemnity, o would it, I think, effectually remove all the Evils complained of, and which at preent attend the manner of inflicting capital Punihment.

Suppoe then, that the Court at the Old Baily was, at the End of the Trials, to be adjourned during four Days; that, againt the Adjournment-day, a Gallows was erected in the Area before the Court; that the Criminals were all brought down on that Day to receive Sentence; and that this was executed the very Moment after it was pronounced, in the Sight and Preence of the Judges.

Nothing can, I think, be imagined (not even Torture, which I am an enemy to the very Thought of admitting) more terrible than uch an Execution; and I leave it to any Man to reolve himelf upon Reflection, whether uch a Day at the Old Baily, or a Holiday at Tyburn, would make the tronget Impresion on the Minds of every one.

Thus I have, as well as I am able, finihed the Tak which I propoed, have endeavoured to trace the Evil from the very Fountain-head, and to hew whence it originally prings, as well as all the Supplies it receives, till it becomes a Torrent, which at preent threatens to bear down all before it.

And here I mut again oberve, that if the former Part of this Treatie hould raie any Attention in the Legilature, o as effectually to put a Stop to the Luxury of the lower People, to force the Poor to Indutry, and to provide for them when indutrious, the latter Part of my Labour would be of very little Ue; and indeed all the Pains which can be taken in this latter Part, and all the Remedies which can be devied, without applying a Cure to the former, will be only of the palliative Kind, which may patch up the Dieae, and lesen the bad Effects, but never can totally remove it.

Nor, in plain Truth, will the utmot Severity to Offenders be jutifiable, unles we take every posible Method of preventing the Offence. Nemo ad upplicia exigenda provenit, nii qui remedia conumpit, ays Seneca, where he repreents the Governors of Kingdoms in the amiable Light of Parents. The Subject, as well as the Child, hould be left without Excue before he is punihed: for in that Cae alone, the Rod becomes the Hand either of the Parent or the Magitrate.

All Temptations therefore are to be carefully removed out of the Way; much les is the Plea of Necesity to be left in the Mouth of any. This Plea of Necesity is never admitted in our Law; but the Reaon of that is, ays Lord Hale, becaue it is o difficult to dicover the Truth. Indeed that it is not always certainly fale, is a ufficient Scandal to our Polity; for what can be more hocking than to ee an indutrious poor Creature, who is able and willing to labour, forced by mere Want into Dihonety, and that in a Nation of uch Trade and Opulence.

Upon the whole, omething hould be, nay mut be done, or much wore Conequences than have hitherto happened, are very oon to be apprehended. Nay, as the Matter now tands, not only Care for the Public Safety, but common Humanity, exacts our Concern on this Occaion; for that many Cart-loads of our Fellow-creatures are once in ix Weeks carried to Slaughter, is a dreadful Conideration; and this is greatly heightened by reflecting, that, with proper Care and proper Regulations, much the greater Part of thee Wretches might have been made not only happy in themelves, but very ueful Members of the Society, which they now o greatly dihonour in the Sight of all Chritendom.

FINIS.