Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (4th ed, 1770, vol IV).djvu/30

18 yet that magitrate mut be eteemed both a weak and a cruel urgeon, who cuts off every limb, which through ignorance or indolence he will not attempt to cure. It has been therefore ingeniouly propoed, that in every tate a cale of crimes hould be formed, with a correponding cale of punihments, decending from the greatet to the leat : but, if that be too romantic an idea, yet at leat a wie legilator will mark the principal diviions, and not aign penalties of the firt degree to offences of an inferior rank. Where men ee no ditinction made in the nature and gradations of punihment, the generality will be led to conclude there is no ditinction in the guilt. Thus in France the punihment of robbery, either with or without murder, is the ame : hence it is, that though perhaps they are therefore ubject to fewer robberies, yet they never rob but they alo murder. In China murderers are cut to pieces, and robbers not : hence in that country they never murder on the highway, though they often rob. And in England, beides the additional terrors of a peedy execution, and a ubequent expoure or diection, robbers have a hope of tranportation, which eldom is extended to murderers. This has the ame effect here as in China ; in preventing frequent aaination and laughter.

though in this tance we may glory in the widom of the Englih law, we hall find it more difficult to jutify the frequency of capital punihment to be found therein ; inflicted (perhaps inattentively) by a multitude of ucceive independent tatutes, upon crimes very different in their natures. It is a melancholy truth, that among the variety of actions which men are daily liable to commit, no les than an hundred and ixty have been declared by act of parliament to be felonies without benefit of clergy ; or, in other words, to be worthy of intant death. So dreadful a lit, intead of diminihing, increaes the number of Rh