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was inflicted upon robbers. By the Saxons the adulteress was compelled to hang herself. She was then thrown upon a funeral pile over which was suspended the body of her paramour. At Rome it was contrary to law to strangle virgins. The scrupulous Tiberius in his horror of illegality ordered them to be pre viously violated by hangmen and then to be consigned to the cord. Any reformer who tried to check capri cious innovations of these laws was compel led to remain in public with a rope around the neck until the people formally decided upon its acceptance or rejection. In the

latter case the rope was tightened until the reformer was strangled. Nowadays it is difficult to realise the wholesale way in which our forefathers in flicted death for the most trivial offenses, in the early punishments of England. Now that there are only a few offenses for which death is the penalty people are indifferent. They say that as it affects so few people it is of little or no importance. Hangings in olden times in England, as may be seen in the illustration accom panying this article, were attended by enor mous throngs of the people, who journeyed far and wide to attend a scene of execution.

SIBERIAN PRISONS. THE Rev. Dr. Lansdell publicly stated, after a thorough visit to Siberia, that should he ever have to change from clerical to convict life, he would choose Siberia and not Milbank or any other English prison, as the scene of labor. I have no hesitancy to say that personally I prefer prison life in Siberia to Sing Sing; and to set the stamp of my approval upon the prison, following the kindly invitations of the chief of police, I was about to transfer my baggage from the hotel of the rich Chinaman to the jail. How ever, though the prison tempted me by its superior comfort, better food, and bath-tubs, I had to give up the project. Interesting things were to be seen in the town and upon the great river every minute of the day, so I remained with Tai Phoon-Tai, only visiting the prison for my tub every day. As upon my first visit, I was always allowed to walk about the place and visit all the prisoners, and I saw nothing to change my opinion of the cleanliness and the humane condition under which they lived. As we passed along the corridor the pris oners, hearing our footsteps, gathered round

the grated door, and when the chief of po lice and the chief warden came in sight, would give the military salute, and shout, "Good-morning, your lordships." Then the chief of police and the warden would look them over, the warden telling his chief ex actly what the men had been doing, and what report of their conduct he had to make since the last visit of inspection. For almost every one of his fellows, as he called them, the kindly warden had something pleasant or nothing at all to say, whereupon the chief would draw himself up, and say, turning to the prisoners, " Well, my little brothers, it is well; I am glad to hear good reports of you." And they would invariably reply, in a loud, cheerful chorus, " We are always very happy when your lordship is pleased with us." As we walked along the corridor we came to an other and a larger room. The" Good-morn ing, your lordships," which rang out towards us from this room had a more cheerful ring — a something which cannot be counter feited or disguised. Before I came to the door and saw that the men who spoke them no longer wore che prison stripes, I knew