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•GRIME & PUNISHMENT; 
 
 OR THE ayESTION, 
 
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 PRACTICALLY CONSIDERED, 
 
 BY 
 
 .HOYENDEN. 
 
 OF 
 
 "The end of punishment is two{old-~-amendinent and example. In the 
 first of these, the reformation of criminals, little has ever been effected, and 
 little, I fear, is practicable. From every species of punishment that has 
 hitherto been devised, from imprisonment and exile, from pain and infamy, 
 malefactors return more hardened to their crimes, and more instructed (in 
 them.)" 
 
 Paley's Moral and Political Philosophy/. 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 CHARLES GILPIN, 5, BISHOPSGATE STREET WITHIN. 
 1849. 
 
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 ^(p^*^ 
 
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OF THE 
 
 i^NlVERSITY 
 
 Of 
 
 -INTRODUCTION. 
 
 The greater part of the following remarks have been long writ- 
 ten, and the first sheets some time in type. Recent events and 
 discussions have induced the writer to urge their completion, and 
 publication. But it must not be supposed that the object is to 
 discuss the question of punishment by death ; that, however im- 
 portant it may appear, is only a matter of minor detail, and will 
 not at all affect the great principle contended for: indeed, if 
 capital punishments were to be immediately abolished, consider- 
 able increased difficulty would present itself, and no where would 
 it be more apparent than among the abolitionists, it being 
 advocated by many of them, not so much on the ground of high 
 principles, as from a wish to introduce a more horrible, terrifying , 
 and protracted punishment ; these mistaken philosophers are at 
 once answered by the fact, that the present absurd mode is 
 infinitely more benevolent, and rational, than the object they 
 advocate. Every reasonable opponent to the abolition asks, ** What 
 should we do with the class we now blot out of existence?" To 
 which the opposite party are by no means agreed in their answer ; 
 it becomes us, therefore, to examine the principle which should 
 influence us, and temperately, but deeply, consider the important 
 question. What ought we to do with our criminals ? 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 The views of Crime and Punishment, here set forth, are not 
 produced as new, they are only alluded to as partially lost sight 
 of, or forgotten. Notwithstanding the question of the amount 
 or nature of punishment has largely occupied the attention of 
 mankind from the remotest periods, the right of men to punish, 
 either individually or by laws, and the policy of doing so, have 
 seldom lately been disputed on Scriptural grounds. That rightt 
 together with the policy of exercising it, are, however, denied in 
 the following pages. It is further asserted, if the New Testament 
 be attentively studied, it will be found to lead to a directly oppo- 
 site line of conduct to that of punishing our fellow-creatures, 
 under any circumstances : that its principles, if carried out, will 
 lead to infinitely higher, and more successful results, than can 
 be attained by the inconsistent and absurd machinery now in 
 existence, under the names of criminal law and justice. Revealed 
 religion is, indeed, of little value, if it does not teach something 
 radically effective on the important subjects of vice and virtue, 
 crime and its treatment, the conduct of the offended towards the 
 oflfender. 
 
 The writer has paid some attention to the treatment of juvenile 
 delinquency, as well as directed observation to matured, or what 
 are called, hardened offenders : the result of such observation and 
 attention is, that he believes them, for the most part, improperly 
 treated : he has seen the latter approached, addressed, and treated 
 in the true spirit of Christian truth — the better part of human 
 nature appealed toj he has seen their faces averted, as if in 
 
neglect, but in reality to conceal their tears : it is hard to say, 
 how He who knows the secrets of all hearts, " who knows our 
 frames, and remembers we are dust," received those tears ; it is 
 equally difficult for us to judge of the latent or future effect of 
 the feelings which caused them. 
 
 It must not be supposed that the principle contended for is 
 alone a pure, benevolent desire to promote the reformation or 
 well-being of the criminal or bad : it is a question of selfishness, 
 involving the advancement and well-being of society, as com- 
 pletely as any that can be propounded. It may be taken for 
 granted, that a community cannot act right towards a class, with- 
 out ultimately elevating itself; nor can it act wrong towards any 
 portion of its members, without perpetuating or promoting social 
 evils, perhaps the very evils it is anxious to eradicate. It is with 
 man collectively, as individually — no false step can be taken, or 
 improper line of conduct adopted, which will not ultimately pro- 
 duce results prejudicial to those who persevere therein. 
 
 The subject is not treated phrenologically, not that the writer 
 is opposed to phrenology as a science, but because he does not 
 see its primary value for the moral advancement of mankind, 
 while we have a positive law for the regulation of human conduct, 
 prescribed by Divine revelation, in reference to that object. Yet 
 phrenology, even if false, may prove itself of service to the 
 study of nature and morals, by leading men to the examination 
 of latent or forgotten principles, as alchymy has done to chemis- 
 try, thereby being of great service to mankind. Doubtless, 
 phrenologists are actuated by the best and purest intentions; but, 
 after all, they are taking a circuitous route to the maintenance of 
 principles aad practices, which, nearly two thousand years ago 
 were commanded by God through the Messiah, and by him com- 
 pletely and triumphantly practised. Mr. Combe's able work, 
 •* The constitution of man considered in relation to external 
 objects," is alluded to or quoted, not to disparage its reasonings, 
 or to under- value its conclusions, but to place some of the positions 
 
he has advanced, especially his sound views of punishment, upon 
 their right ground — the revealed law of God. 
 
 Allusion has been made to several other writers on the subject 
 of natural religion ; but nearly all who are quoted have been 
 respected champions of revealed truth, therefore their minds have 
 been imbued with its sacred principles, and they hence have drawn 
 very different practical conclusions from the study qf nature, from 
 those philosophers of old who have not had the divine light to 
 direct them, as well as from the contradictory conclusions of 
 those who have, in later times, written on the subject of natural 
 religion, but have denied revelation altogether. 
 
 The passages of Scripture quoted may be considered too nu- 
 merous. The writer, indeed, felt a difficulty upon this point ; for, 
 to have done the subject justice, he perhaps ought not to have made 
 a single quotation, but directed his fellow-christians to the New 
 Testament, saying, The whole of that book, its letter and spirit, 
 condemn the practice of punishing our brethren. We are called 
 upon, indeed, to ''warn," ** reprove," " rebuke, *' ''rebuke 
 sharply,'^ '* exhort," "entreat," " suffer long," but punish- 
 ments, as we now understand and practise them, are not only not 
 countenanced, but expressly forbidden. 
 
 It has pleased Divine Providence to shower profusely its 
 blessings on this land : it may not be too much to say, such 
 blessings are, either immediately or remotely, connected with the 
 liberality of our institutions. May we endeavour, therefore, to 
 go on towards perfection, by thinking deeply, and intending 
 seriously to adopt the treatment of our criminals — the vicious, 
 and the erring — according to the simple teaching and example of 
 the Messiah. The inquiry is a large one, and it cannot be justly 
 said to be deeply gone into in the following remarks ; but it is 
 presumed enough has been said, to show the importance and 
 necessity of deeply entertaining it. 
 
 It may also be asserted, that when the subject is treated humbly, 
 but with zeal, with anxiety to do the will of God, connected with 
 
full confidence in his promises, it will be found one of the most 
 interesting, practical, and benevolent, that has ever occupied the 
 attention of our race ; veins of moral wealth will be opened, " more 
 to be desired than gold, yea, than much fine gold,'' available 
 by every one anxious to participate in the ** depth of the riches, 
 both of the wisdom and knowledge of God,"' for it must be borne 
 in mind it is not a sectarian question, but immeasurably above 
 all such, it is one which calls forth the attention of every good or 
 reflective man, under whatever name, or in whatever section of 
 the Cfiurch he thinks proper to worship the God of his fathers. 
 
 On looking over the production as a whole, an apology is 
 required for the defective character of its style, as well as the 
 tautology which is apparent, but when it is explained that it was 
 composed during engagements in business, and that business by 
 no means of a literary character, it is hoped the importance of the 
 subject will atone for the imperfect manner in which it is treated. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I.— CRIME. 
 
 Importance of the question — Machinery for treatment of crime — 
 Varieties of its character — Disease — Is the depravity of our nature 
 a cause ? — Ignorance — Rich and poor — Questions to the virtuous 
 — Crime in children — How to treat it illustrated — Crime useful in 
 the hands of God — Crime in adults to be watched by the commu- 
 nity — Importance of treating it right — Drunkenness, its indirect 
 eiTects — Sudden appearance of crime — Accident — Innocent con- 
 victions-~ Virtue, difficulty of justly rewarding it — Cases of great 
 criminals — Eugene Aram contrasted with another criminal — 
 Different notions of crime — Rush, his case considered — Sympathy 
 case, illustrative of — Combe on drunkenness — Its effect illustrated 
 
 — Domestic irregularity Popular excitement alluded to — 
 
 Gleeson Wilson, his circumstances — Bristol murderess, her cir- 
 cumstances — Causes of her state of mind — Her confession— Sanity 
 and insanity — Punishpaents hinted at — Inequality of legal oper- 
 ations — Education, ^defectiveness of — Report of the Rev. J. 
 Kingsmill — Great knowledge not necessary to goodness — Chan- 
 ning on sin — Concluding questions. 
 
 CHAPTER II.— CRIME SCRIPTURALLY 
 CONSIDERED. 
 
 Butler on sin — Scripture view of the character of God — Sin of 
 Adam considered — Foreknown and provided for by God — Scrip- 
 turally proved to be so — Crime, in God's dealings, leads to good 
 results — Joseph and his brethren— Their guilt and his virtue — -His 
 
forgiveness — Consequences — Case of Pharaoh — Death of the Mes- 
 siah arranged by God — Sin an agent — Mr. Thorn on sin — Cain's 
 sin referred to — Abraham's intent to kill his son not sin — Moses a 
 homicide — Man to obey God — Punisliment to be left to God — 
 He will treat crime perfectly, by making it subservient to his 
 government. 
 
 CHAPTER III.-^NATURAL LAWS. 
 
 Locke on different actions of communities — Blackstone on 
 natural laws — Justinian mistakes revealed for natural law — Differ- 
 ences of mankind in their interpretation of natural law — China — 
 England — Simplicity of revealed law of God — Departed from by 
 its professors, called back to first truths by revelation — Jews, cor- 
 ruption of — Greek and Roman practices — Case of Socrates — Mr. 
 Locke on Mahometan and other practices — Inconsistency of En- 
 glish law — Infant criminals — Absurdity of ancient modes of trial 
 — Ordeal — Fire and water — No natural laws can direct man aright 
 in morals — Trial by jury hinted at — Blackstone on the necessity 
 of revelation — Inconsistency of writers on natural laws — Paine and 
 Blackstone — God's government and laws fixed — Difference between 
 Combe and Blackstone — Mistakes of religious teachers alluded 
 to by Mr. Combe — His view of cerebral development not suffi- 
 cient to produce virtue — Proper means hinted at — Effects cannot 
 be instantaneous — Real mistakes of religious teachers — Differ- 
 ences of religious professors, causes of — Punishment of witch- 
 craft — True nature of the propositions of the natural and moral 
 laws — True difference between natural and revealed laws stated — 
 Inference — Superiority of revelation. 
 
 ^ CHAPTER IV.— PUNISHMENT. 
 
 Woolaston on punishment — Blackstone on the object of them — 
 Allusion to the evils in our adoption of it — Instances — Results of 
 prosecutions — Case of a lady — Immunity of the rich from punish- 
 ment — Consequences — Depraved seek punishment — Mr. Pearson 
 
on punishment — Prevention of crime should be sought — Higher mo- 
 tive than fear of punishment should be adopted — Quite practicable 
 — Criminals require friendship — Ingenuity of criminals — Diseased 
 minds made worse by contemplating punishment — Gleeson Wilson, 
 his execution — Great crimes committed together — Punishment a 
 cause of laxity of principle — Folly of punishment for debt— - 
 Alarming increase of crime — Necessity of inquiry into the cause of 
 — Reparation to offended — Inefficiency of our present criminal ju- 
 risprudence hinted at — Necessity of a higher mode of treatment — 
 Necessity for moral instructors — Insufficiency of schoolmasters and 
 divines — Punishment does not meet much delinquency — Drunken- 
 ness — Prostitution — Suicide — Seduction — Gaming — Legal robber- 
 ies — Vices cannot be abolished — Consequences of not punishing — 
 Proper mode of treating crime alluded to — Blackstone in favour of 
 merciful laws and few punishments — Comparative mildness of the 
 Jewish law — Marquis Beccaria — Difficulties of writers upon pun- 
 ishment — Blackstone — Paley — Inferences — Summary. 
 
 CHAPTER v.— THE LAW OF GOD. 
 
 Miraculous, if true — Laws of Moses abrogated — Their nature 
 — Lex Talionis — Decalogue, the law of God — Circumstances 
 of its delivery — Messiah's commentary on it — No punishment 
 commanded — Absurd attempts of man to add them — Ob- 
 jection anticipated — The Messiah's command, love our enemies 
 — Mote and the beam — Office of Christ — Our own characters to 
 be considered — Offences to be prevented, how ? — How often shall 
 my brother sin ? — Repentance — Parable of the two debtors — 
 Rejection of Jesus by the Samaritans — Mode of treating offenders 
 — Summary of the Messiah's teaching — Paul's commands to 
 Romans — To Corinthians — Incestuous person, how treated — 
 Results — Locke on punishment — Galatians vi. 1, Mr. Combe 
 in accordance therewith — Many passages cited to prove full for- 
 giveness commanded — Reproof a duty — Vengeance belongs alone 
 
Xll 
 
 to God. Section 2nd. Example of Jesus — Woman taken in 
 adultery — Authenticity of the narrative — Peter's dehnquency, 
 how treated — Jesus sought the depraved — Parable of the prodigal 
 son — Judas, his repentance — Treatment of the disciples, ultimate 
 success of — Prayer of Jesus for his enemies — Appearance to Paul, • 
 and treatment of him — Paul and Onesimus, a conclusive case — 
 Objection again noticed — The spirit of Christianity to be attended 
 to — Its superiority. Conclusion. — Liturgy referred to — Shows 
 the inconsistency of our conduct — Litany quoted— Spirit of the 
 Collects against our practice — Our responsibility— Fearful conse- 
 quences of not acting right — Practicability of the Divine law — 
 Duelling, principle of— What we ought to do— Important question 
 — Inferences. 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 ON CRIME. 
 
 By mercy and truth iniquity is purged ; and by the feai* of tlie 
 Lord men depart from evil. When a man's ways please the 
 Lord, he maketh even his enemies be at peace with him. — Prov. 
 ?ivi. 4, 7. 
 
 O Lord, who iiast taught us that all our doings, without charity, 
 are nothing worth, send thy Holy Spirit and pour into our hearts 
 that most eikCeilent gilt of charity, the very bond of peace and of 
 all virtues, without which, whosoever liveth is counted dead before 
 thee. — Collect for Quinquagesima Sunday. 
 
 Before we enter upon the subject of punish- 
 ment, it is i\ecessary we should examine and 
 endeavour to determine what crime is : and con- 
 sidering the amount of space which is occupied 
 by it and its concomitants in the present constitution 
 of civihzed society, and its intimate connexion, 
 more or less, with all the institutions and relations 
 of mankind at the jDi'esent period, it becomes a 
 matter of inquiry, whether we understand its nature ', 
 if we are dealing with it aright, and whether we 
 might not adopt a higher and a much more effective 
 stand than the common consent mankind has 
 hitherto taken towards it. 
 
 The first thing which strikes the mind, is the 
 machinery in existence, and that which is con- 
 
stantly being invented for its punishment, restraint, 
 or cure, which, if only contemplated under the 
 heads of police, jurisprudence, and prisons, are of 
 a vast and expensive character ; and these are only 
 what force themselves upon the mind : there is 
 besides an immense amount of expense and anxiety 
 appreciable only by reflective men ; and yet, after 
 all, crime goes on increasing, and the culprit \ 
 laughs at these things in array against him^ courts 
 the risk of evading them, and when overtaken, 
 frequently cheerfully submits to the punishment 
 and notoriety, considering himself thereby justified, 
 and only even with society. 
 
 Crime is an offence against the laws or usages 
 of society; but if we look closely at the subject, 
 it will appear that society materially modifies 
 its views of crime : what is crime in one state 
 of society is scarcely considered so in another. 
 Those who have been treated as the greatest crimi- 
 nals at one period, have, at a succeeding time, been 
 considered martyrs and benefactors to mankind, 
 and this is more especially true of those who have 
 suffered for the propagation of their opinions. 
 Some crimes are visited with death or mutilation 
 under some circumstances, which under others are 
 treated lightly and almost tenderly ; but it appears 
 that whether these crimes are slightly or heavily 
 punished, they still exist. Some criminals are 
 remarkable for their good characters in society pre- 
 vious to their conviction ; some have been equally 
 notorious for their deplorable conduct : some crimi- 
 nals have occupied the highest posts in the com • 
 munity ; and others have existed in the lowest 
 grades : crime, therefore, is liable to overtake all, 
 no state or condition can claim exemption from it, 
 and our inquiry branches in two directions, namely, 
 
how is it produced; and does society treat it properly? 
 Some modern philosophers assert " that every 
 crime proceeds from an abuse of some faculty or 
 other/'* thereby resolving all crime^ properly so 
 called^ into disease of some faculty or tendency of 
 the mind; this position demands the most serious 
 attention, for, should they be right, it is obvious 
 that by placing a man with a disease of the mind 
 under circumstances of affliction to the body, we 
 err as signally as we should by treating a man 
 for a diseased or broken limb, by only endea- 
 voring to inform or improve his mind. 
 
 Is crime the result of the inherent depravity of 
 our nature ? If our nature be so depraved, what 
 is the source of goodness in mankind ? How 
 does goodness preponderate ? It is clear it does 
 so by all the institution&-of society being founded 
 upon a desire to impel men in the path of duty. 
 Laws are instituted for the preservation and ameHo- 
 ration of the social state, and even punishments 
 themselves are supposed to have a beneficial ten- 
 dency, and are instituted for that object, and, 
 therefore, we perceive that goodness springs even 
 more powerfully from the same nature; and the 
 question is opened to us, cannot we, by some 
 hitherto untried process, more completely subjugate 
 the evil, or lower tendencies of our nature and 
 constitution, to those that are higher and good ? 
 
 Is crime the result of ignorance ? If so, how is 
 it we find the informed and the intellectual fre- 
 quently committing it. And although knowledge 
 is making rapid strides, the development of crime 
 keeps rather more than pace with it, notwithstand- 
 ing the increased facilities such information gives 
 for its concealment. If crime be the result of 
 * Coombe on the Constitution of Man, Edinburgh edition, p. 260, 
 
^iiorance, we sliould find all ignorant men nece^- 
 
 irily vicious or criminal, a proposition, 1 believe, 
 
 few will assent to, and wliicli is contradicted by 
 
 experience ; but if so, we are driven to find another 
 
 cause for crime in the informed and enlightened. 
 
 In attending to the causes of crime, it is 
 instructing to view it as it develops itself under 
 different circumstances : for instance, let us observe 
 the poor emaciated and half-starved creature, with 
 others probably dependent on her or him for 
 support, stealing an article of food; it will be at 
 once attributed to poverty, the pressure of cir- 
 cumstances, and when detected, distress and all 
 its concomitants are pleaded in extenuation ; but if 
 watched and not arrested, the same object will 
 frequently take any other article of an edible 
 nature or not, as it presents itself, and will con- 
 vert it into money with all possible speed, probably 
 for the gratification of some other vice, already 
 immoderately indulged in . Let us compare this with 
 the lady who steps from her carriage, and secretes 
 from the draper or jeweller, as the case may be, 
 the article which can be most conveniently ab- 
 stracted; and ask. Does crime arise from the 
 same cause in these cases ? with a view to deter- 
 mine whether it sliould be alike treated in both ; 
 at all events, if crime does so exist in the rich and 
 the poor, it will be found that crime as much tends to 
 poverty, as poverty to crime ; and hence the 
 question how to treat it in all cases. 
 
 We might go over every state and modification 
 of human existence, and we shall find crime no 
 where exempt. All states and conditions of our 
 natui'e are liable to guilt, and I would further 
 appeal to every man who has reflected at all, and 
 ask him what has been his own experience; and 
 
more especially to the best of men I should say. 
 Have you never experienced great temptation ( 
 Have yon not had reason nearly thrown off its 
 balance ? Have you not contemplated an act, or acts, 
 which circumstances, over which you had no con- 
 trol, prevented you from completing ? Have you 
 not, in youth especially, done things, which in 
 others have been the first steps in crime, but in 
 the continuance of which you have been fortu- 
 nately prevented or arrested ?* And, follow it out 
 further, had your delinquency been detected, and 
 yourself degraded as youthful criminals are now, 
 would you not probably have been lost to virtu- 
 ous society? 
 
 Before we decide upon the cause of crime, it 
 will not be amiss to examine it as it frequently 
 develops itself; for instance, a child before his 
 mind is informed, and therefore incapable of fully 
 understanding the nature of right and wrong, com- 
 mits some predatory act: we will suppose Imn 
 detected, and his parent or perceptor, with the 
 greatest kindness, takes occasion to secretly explain 
 to him what is right and wrong, with respect to 
 the laws of property, as far as he is capable of 
 understanding them, taking care not to surfeit him, 
 and, especially to preserve the utmost aflfection in 
 the mode of dealing with him, letting him know 
 and feel that love for him is at the root of the 
 effort to instruct him, and impress upon him it 
 is a mistaken action, great, indeed, in its conse- 
 quences if it become a habit ; but at the same time, 
 
 -^* How would you be, 
 
 If He, which is the top of judgment, should 
 But judge you as you are ? O think of that, 
 \nd mercy then will breathe within your lips, 
 Like mnn new made "/"'— Shaksprre, 
 
taking care to preserve as large an amount of self- 
 respect as can be possessed by a cliild^ and making 
 the action, as far as he is concerned, the ground of 
 as much instruction as he is capable of. There is 
 every is reason to believe, that if a similar line of 
 conduct were pursued, and judiciously persevered 
 in, the child's crime, faidt, or mistake, would be 
 made a blessing; and instead of leading to a 
 vicious state of character, would be the first lesson 
 in soKd virtue.* 
 
 Let us take another child of the same age, 
 similarly detected, his parent or friend deals witS 
 him angrily, perhaps assuming more anger than Ke 
 feels, he punishes him severely, calls him a bad 
 and vicious child, labours this upon him; the 
 child perhaps believe:^ him, but as no reasoning 
 takes place, he imperfectly understands it, loses hi» 
 self-respect, and knows he has lost it with others, 
 and it is likely the foundation is laid for future 
 vice and crime, and his fears of his preceptor will 
 add deceit and hypocrisy, thinking them his best 
 aids, and the first step is taken to harden the 
 character. We may rely upon it, the great Creator 
 has caused nothing in vain, and if the view of youth- 
 ful or even infant faults here taken be correct, they 
 may be made a source of instruction and improve- 
 ment, but if indiscreetly and improperly treated, it 
 is difiicult to predict how bad the consequences 
 may be. Whence the incorrigible characters of 
 young thieves ; are they not treated, when detected, 
 as an inferior order of beings ; are any pains taken 
 
 * It is related of Dr. Priestley, that his first lesson upon the 
 rights of property was taught him by his father, to whom he 
 brought home a pin, whicli he picked up at a neighbour's door ; 
 his father took him by the hand to where he found it, and in- 
 structed him to leave it there, explaining to him, as far as his 
 infant mind could bear, the rights of property. 
 
to elevate them? They do not understand the 
 consequences of their own conduct, and that they 
 have within their own power the means of making 
 themselves good and useful members of society. 
 
 Let us look at crime as it is developed in after 
 life, as exemplified in the following case. A man, 
 about thirty-five years of age, by trade a compo- 
 sitor, of good abilities and some education, refused 
 to obtain work, and resolved to become chargeable 
 to his parish ; the authorities, on the other hand, 
 resolutely refused to support him, he broke the 
 workhouse windows to obtain admission, was taken 
 before the magistrate, and had a few weeks imprison- 
 ment ; he presented himself again for admission, 
 appeared sullen and determined, the ofiicers de- 
 clared they feared mischief from him, and he was 
 examined by the medical man, who decided there 
 was no symptom of insanity about him, and he 
 was allowed to remain ; his perverseness, de- 
 structive acts and insubordination, however, in- 
 creased so much, that no alternative was left but to 
 confine him with the insane. Now let us suppose 
 this unfortunate creature, as was feared, had 
 maimed or killed one of the officers, here would 
 have been a crime committed, and, in all proba- 
 bihty, his life would have been sacrificed, and the 
 the murdered man lost to society, which might 
 have been averted by an early attention to the 
 cause, and the development of crime, under its 
 peculiar circumstances. 
 
 It is admitted by all moralists that a man cannot 
 too closely guard against incipient error in his own 
 mind and character ; and by analogy of reasoning, 
 the tendency to, or beginning of, crime cannot be too 
 closely watched and provided against by the com- 
 munity, as much for the sake of its active agents 
 
.; Avell as its passive victims. In the early stages 
 oi* crime, the tender and delicate structure of the) 
 ] I am an mind lias to be dealt with : it is certain that 
 the mass of mankind are not competent to deal with 
 it, and it is very doubtful whether there is any 
 class of men now in existence who have paid 
 sufficient attention to the subject as to deal success- 
 fully with so delicate a fabric, especially in its 
 deviation from a healthy and moral condition, 
 as to restore it to a sound and sanitary state. 
 The majority of our criminals are now delivered 
 over to the gaoler and the prison chaplain for a 
 fixed period, and society is satisfied with the fact 
 that the victim has been punished; surely there 
 is, there must be, a higher, a nobler object to be 
 adopted towards our erring fellow-creatures than 
 this ; certainly one must be found more elevating 
 and more useful, both to society and the culprit, 
 than such a stolid and useless result. 
 
 One of the most fruitful causes of crime is con- 
 sidered to be drunkenness. It is doubtless a fertilc^ 
 source, but if it be examined, it mil generally 
 be found to act secondarily only, namely, by weak- 
 ening the moral powers and perceptions, leading 
 to a loss of self-respect, tending to low and degrad- 
 ing society, and, finally, inducing poverty and 
 its additional temptations to crime, temptations ^ 
 be it remembered, all the more strong, as the mind 
 so reduced has not been habituated and inured 
 to them, as in a man who has been brought up or 
 educated in poverty ; but, as already observed, it 
 acts indirectly; an habitual drunkard may not be 
 led to commit crime himself, but he causes an 
 immoral atmosphere, and if he be the father of a 
 family, instils a poison into his children, which 
 mav be hidden even from themselves as well as 
 
from him ; but they insensibly imbibe the seeds of* 
 crime^ and, sooner or later, there is a danger of 
 their development ; it is vain to *say they are dis- 
 gusted and annoyed at the example, they probably 
 are so for a long time, and during many acts, but 
 when the habit is established, it gives rise to a very 
 different class of feelings; his vices, must be en- 
 dured and tolerated, and when that is the case 
 with any vice, we are ready to tremble for the 
 result. 
 
 In the development of crime, we are frequently 
 surprised by its appearance in a quarter in which 
 we least expect it. A man known and respected, 
 honest in his avocation, trustworthy and trusted, is 
 detected in a guilty or criminal act ; he is a good 
 father, husband, and friend, respected by his 
 fellow-men, and has done even good in his sphere, 
 it is all destroyed by this one act, although his 
 penitence before God and man may be vsincere and 
 deeply felt; a man remarkable for his kindness 
 and benevolence, will inflict a wound which may 
 cause death ; perhaps, former hasty expressions will 
 form circumstances to prove malice, and he is a 
 murderer, and is lost to society. Do we, in judging 
 of crime, distinguish sufficiently between the act 
 and the habit, and if this distinction be attended 
 to, may it not very materially assist us in our 
 judgment of crime and its treatment? Independently 
 of the mind or will, may not accident sometimes 
 concur to the perpetration of crime? A youth 
 once found an article of dress in his box, which 
 belonged to his employer, which he himself had 
 accidently placed there, he w^as so paralysed at the 
 discovery, and the fear that the charge of theft 
 should be brought against him, that he began to 
 pick the mark out of it that it should not be 
 
10 
 
 known; fortunately, before he had completed doing 
 so, his judgment overtook him and prompted him to 
 take the proper course, by giving the article to its 
 owner. But let us suppose him detected, how 
 could he have justified himself, how could he have 
 made out a case for only the merciful consideration 
 of an angry, a vindictive, or even an ordinary 
 man ! Truth might have been, would have been, in 
 the sight of God, his best friend, but in the esti- 
 mation of man, in the eye of the law, he would 
 have been guilty ; he would have been, (and ac- 
 cording to our present fallacious mode of dealing 
 with criminals, he ought to have been,) punished, 
 his character lost and depraved, and himself, in all 
 probability, permanently degraded. Crime is 
 more frequently generated by accident, or com- 
 mitted under an unreflecting, rather than a guilty 
 impulse, than is generally supposed ; early crime 
 originates, in all cases, from the natural and 
 necessary weakness of infant and untrained minds ; 
 and when it develops itself, their minds should be 
 strengthened, informed, enlarged, trained to under- 
 stand the consequences of their conduct, and 
 kindly instructed, but never, as it frequently is, 
 hastily, angrily, and revengefully punished. 
 
 The truth is, criminals are not always vicious 
 men, although detected in crime, and it is an 
 important fact, although convicted of it, are not 
 necessarily guilty. About twenty years ago, a 
 young man was accused of shoplifting, and 
 tried at the Old Bailey, on three several indict- 
 ments, but was acquitted by the jury without 
 hesitation; being again tried by the same jury 
 upon another indictment, and a lady in respectable 
 life being quite sure of his person, swore positively 
 to him, and he was found guilty. A very short 
 
11 
 
 time after, another man was detected in the same 
 crime, and the two being placed side by side, one 
 could not be distinguished from the other. About 
 thirty-five years ago, three poor Irishmen were 
 taken from their stand, where they were waiting 
 to be hired as bricklayers' labourers, and set to 
 work, by means of an interpreter, to colour coun- 
 feit coin ; while so engaged, they were detected, 
 and it was discovered in time to save them from 
 punishment (then capital), that they had been 
 employed to be detected for the sake of the reward, 
 then considerable, for the apprehension of that 
 class of criminals ; and there is every reason to 
 believe thatmany have been so detected and hanged ; 
 but it is unnecessary to go far back for doubtful or 
 erroneous convictions, later times furnish too 
 many examples, leading us to pause, not only in 
 the treatment of criminals, but to examine whether 
 we have even got a criminal, much less a bad or 
 degraded member of the community, to treat with, 
 condemn, or punish. 
 
 Is crime the result of an abuse of our faculties 
 or dispositions, the capability of which abuse is a 
 necessary part of our constitution, and without 
 such capability, morality or virtue could not exist ? 
 If so, how should we treat the criminal, seeing 
 that he demonstrates the consequences in his own 
 person of a result of such abuse. Let us take the 
 converse ; how do we act towards a man who has 
 acted on a higher and more moral ground ? Society 
 leaves him alone, no means are taken legally to 
 reward him, large establishments are not founded 
 to nurse his virtues ; rewards, indeed, flow to him, 
 which demonstrate the desirableness of honesty, 
 truth, chastity, benevolence, and all other virtues, 
 but society does not interfere, either individually 
 
!' collectively, beyond the necessary results, which 
 • onfidence,, esteem, attachment, and res]3ect, al- 
 v\'ays impart to the mind of a man of a virtuous 
 character; it may be a man may act heroically 
 in a given case ; and let us suppose him triumph- 
 antly cairried off, and placed in circumstances 
 of high sensual gratification, and only w^ith. re- 
 ference to that fact, without any regard to 
 his general character;* all men would see the 
 absurdity of this proceeding at once, and some 
 Avould probably see there might in truth be 
 very little virtue in the act, it might be there 
 was selfishness at the bottom of the motive ; 
 > is even possible the object might be bad which 
 ( motely led to the result, and which secretly 
 uluced the action, but he would be scarcely 
 i)le to trace such motives and objects to his 
 \vn mind ; but how deceived he would be if 
 he should suppose himself good on account of 
 the general testimony of mankind, although ac- 
 companied with such marked and pleasant attes- 
 tations to his conduct, by rewards thus legally 
 imposed and provided; but suppose he felt he 
 had, unknown to the world at large, practised 
 many crimes, and during his life neglected many 
 of its ordinary duties, and, unknown to others, 
 v,Tought much misery, what would be the effect 
 upon his mind, with respect to the efficiency of 
 society or its laws, to reward and encourage 
 virtue ; he would, he must, feel, if not contempt 
 for such human institutions, an internal conviction 
 
 * As if to mock human deductions in the matter of the amount 
 of guilt in convicted persons, it has hitherto been held, a previous 
 good character should weigh in its determination : but at a trial, at 
 the Middlesex Sessions, August, 1849, it was decided by the 
 hulge, that the previous good charactei" of a criminal was an 
 
 -rr-Vr^tion of his crime or guilt. 
 
1^ 
 
 of their utter uselessness to promote tlie end in view. 
 Let us go back to the criminal, equally conscious 
 that although he has been surprised, perhaps 
 ensnared into crime, he may have been a good 
 cliild, or an exemplary parent; he may have pri- 
 vately submitted to many acts of privation in good 
 causes, he may have been even useful in society^ 
 and for one act, the causes and motives of which 
 he can scarcely account, he is to be submitted to 
 ignominy and reproach, to corporeal suffering, and 
 to be classed among the habitually criminal, and 
 to suiier and spend his time among them, would 
 he respect the laws ; would his punishment have 
 an elevating effect upon his mind, upon his 
 family, his connection, or upon the community ? 
 
 If crime be, as before hinted at, the result oi' 
 disease, or a defect of the moral perceptions, or a 
 disorder of the mind, sometimes so very much 
 like insanity, as to be scarcely distinguished 
 from it (and this has been frequently the case) we 
 shall perceive it developing itself exactly as we 
 might expect. Let us take any great criminal, 
 Eugene Aram for instance, he was induced to 
 commit a crime of the greatest magnitude ; he left 
 the scene of his crime, and for many years led, to 
 all outward appearance, an exemplary life : pro • 
 bably immediately after the committal of the 
 act, the shock and novelty of his situation pro- 
 duced a tendency to even active virtue, in order, 
 if possible, to wipe the stain from his con- 
 science, and to atone for his sin ; his was evidently 
 a mind of a high kind, and as far as his history 
 has come down to us, but for his one crime, an 
 exemplary man; he appears to have wanted no 
 helps to convince him of the enormity of his guilt, 
 hnd proba1)ly no advisers to induce him to amend 
 
14 
 
 his life : it appears, both before and after his crime, 
 he was at least a respectable member of society, 
 but with a remarkable inconsistency, frequently 
 observable in human beings ; he associated with 
 two low companions, one his victim,* the other 
 his accomplice in crime ; and it appears by his 
 confession, he lived unhappily with his wife, and 
 jealousy was the cause of his committing himself 
 as he did. 
 
 As far as we can judge of the circumstances of 
 this affair, there is much to reflect upon, and 
 although nearly a century since, the outline of the 
 case affords subject for thought : he married 
 young and imprudently, and, although pursuing 
 learning with the greatest avidity, was breathing 
 an immoral atmosphere in the society in which he 
 placed himself; he deeply fell; he quitted the 
 scene of his degredation, and for thirteen years led 
 an exemplary life in one locality : let us reflect upon 
 the workings of his mja^d during the time he con- 
 templated his crime, let us ask. Did he incite his 
 accomplice, or his accomplice incite him? How 
 could such a^man, with such qualities of mind, be 
 an active or a passive agent in such circumstances ? 
 He who formed the human mind, and alone 
 directs its workings, can only answer. We are in 
 possession of the facts ; he was a criminal, but 
 it is unquestionable he was a useful member 
 of society before he committed the crime, and 
 thirteen years after. Did this act spring from a 
 depraved state of mind and feelings ? If so, his 
 after habits appear to have been of another kind. 
 Did he, at the time, labour under an uncontrolable 
 
 * It is a remarkable fact, that very many victims of crime have 
 disposed themselves to it, by some immoral, or at least, impru- 
 dent act of their own, or by bad associates. 
 
15 
 
 state of moral infirmity, and which^ in his case^ 
 without assistance^ he afterwards treated properly 
 and successfully ? But he was executed. 
 
 Let us contrast this character and his crime 
 with another, which some years ago made some 
 noise. A man was taken up on the charge of 
 cutting off a child's head, under circumstances of 
 peculiar atrocity; he was tried and acquitted 
 under some technical informality, such as the 
 name of the child being improperly spelt in the 
 indictment ; now this man has been before the 
 public repeatedly for his irregularites, so much so 
 that it is scarcely possible but to admit he must be 
 a much more intractable man in character and dis- 
 position than the other, yet he goes free. These 
 cases are cited for the purpose of stimulating 
 inquiry, and of inducing reflection upon the sub- 
 ject. Can it be stated that society is acting right 
 in dealing with men and acts as above referred to, 
 ought not a better mode of action to be attempted ? 
 
 The motives to crime are also as varied as can 
 be well conceived, at least, as far as they can be 
 discovered. Some culprits tell us they cannot 
 account for the impulses which actuated them ; some 
 have committed murder from fear the victim 
 should become evidence against them, some from 
 motives of jealousy, some from revenge, some 
 because the victim has stood in the way of another 
 crime being committed ; some men steal from love 
 of dress, some from love of drink, some from love 
 of company, others from the passion for gaming ; 
 some, when actuated by these motives, would 
 shrink from the ^rst crime, as a theft, intending 
 to return the articles or amount they have mis- 
 appropriated. 
 
 In contemplating the dispositions and situations 
 
16 
 
 of crlmliiak, it may not be uninteresting to 
 reflect upon the character and circumstances of 
 James Bloomlield Eush^ whose whole character 
 2)resents, perhaps, as deplorable a picture as can be 
 well imagined ; his schemes were deeply laid ; he 
 appears to have made every thing a matter of 
 calculation ; his crimes took a varied turn, and a 
 shew of reUgion was interwoven in the midst, and, 
 we have every right to assume it was the grossest 
 hypocrisy, although we are not even certain of 
 • that ; and in the midst of all his art, how strange, 
 that while he most successfully concealed the 
 Weapon with which he perpetrated his crimes, he 
 should take particular cai-e to preserve the mask, 
 more remarkable, and therefore more identical, in 
 which he committed them ; and who is there that 
 can read his defence without feeling that, however 
 artfully his movements were arranged, there was a 
 deficiency or disorganization of his intellect; it 
 would be very difficult to unravel the workings 
 of his mind, and to trace his motives, or to un- 
 derstand all he proposed to himself, but it is quite 
 clear to the most simple but healthy mind, that 
 no advantages he could gain by his career, inde- 
 pendently of any future self-condemnation, would 
 be worth the pains and risk he took to procure 
 them. 
 
 One source of crime, although but little hitherto 
 attended to or treated as such, deserves attention, 
 namely, sympathy. We can scarcely understand 
 how dispositions and feelings are sometimes com- 
 municated, by contact or example, by surrounding 
 circumstances and individuals ; let us illustrate it 
 by the following case : in a family, consisting of 
 several children, the ofi'spring of vicious parents ; 
 the eldest, a boy about thirteen years of age. 
 
17 
 
 apparently healthy, was playing on a chair and 
 received some hurt, for which he was medically 
 treated, when he suddenly became furious, mani- 
 festing the most violent dislike to his brother, and, 
 to use the medical gentleman's statement, acted 
 towards him like a dog in a rabid state : the brother 
 was next similarly seized, and they became so 
 violent, that it was necessary to part them,* as 
 mischief was fully expected ; and after they were 
 parted, another of the children was seized with the 
 same malady, but in a milder form, and subse- 
 quently the eldest boy became, under the treatment 
 referred to, much better, but still, when irritated, 
 acted in a similar but milder manner. 
 
 We all know the force of example and circum- 
 stances, in forming the human character, and we 
 all feel the contagious nature of anger, yet but few, 
 if any, can define how these things act in produ- 
 cing certain results, but we ought to be better 
 acquainted with them in determining the amount 
 of moral guilt, either in the crime or the criminal, 
 as well as in our mode of operation towards 
 effecting a cure, and in preventing society from 
 being disturbed by the moral aberrations of in- 
 dividuals. Let us suppose, in the case just referred 
 to, one of these children had committed an inju- 
 rious act upon the other, he would have been 
 considered guilty of crime, and probably would 
 have been treated for it instead of disease, but 
 still his treatment would have led him, in all proba- 
 bility, to conceal his dispositions, and they would 
 have broken out in some future period of his life, 
 
 * If sympathy is a source of crime, instead of ])lacing criminals 
 in prisons and with each other, it involves the necessity of se))a- 
 rating them, as much as possible, and, as far as is practicable 
 and safe, distributing them among the stronger minded and good. 
 
 C 
 
18 
 
 with a matured judgment, and increased tendency 
 to commit crime ; and made him the calculating, 
 cautious, yet determined criminal. 
 
 By the author already referred to,* one vice, or 
 evil tendency, is laid down as a disease, namely, 
 drunkenness, and medical means are actually pre- 
 scribed for its treatment and cure; but he even 
 goes further, and intimates, apparently with good 
 reason, that it is hereditary, without insisting too 
 strongly upon any theory : should not this doc- 
 trine be examined, and if found true of one vice or 
 infirmity, may it not be true of others ? We have 
 already noticed (page 8) the impure and immoral 
 atmosphere created by drunkenness ; let us see how 
 crime is frequently promoted under its influence. 
 At Wainfleet, a small farmer's son violently 
 attempted the chastity of the female servant, 
 having previously offered to marry her ; the girl 
 was induced, by presents from his mother, to 
 overlook his conduct, and remain in their service. 
 In the absence of his mother, who was at a neigh- 
 bour's, and of his father, who was at a beer-house, 
 he again attempted the girl and accomplished his 
 object; and when his mother returned, he was 
 reproved, but said in reply, " I shall kill myself, or 
 some one else ;" she taunted him, and soon after, 
 while she (his mother) was sitting by the fire, he shot 
 her through the head ; he remained upon the spot 
 with apparent unconcern, but told the girl if she 
 made any alarm he would kill her; and he admitted 
 it was his intention to kill her, and his father, and 
 then himself. Now this unfortunate man was 
 matured and lived in the most impure moral 
 atmosphere ; his father was a drunkard, and lived 
 on the most miserable terms with his wife, and 
 * Combe, p. 355. 
 
19 
 
 domestic unhappiness is rarely other\vise than the 
 promoter of irregularity, and frequently of crime. 
 
 This case is valuable for the remarks which are 
 made in relation to it, by the editor of one of the 
 newspapers which chronicle it. — ^^ We regret to 
 find that, in accordance with the morbid feeling of 
 the day, an attempt is being already made to sug- 
 gest the prisoner's insanity. We have, however, 
 made strict inquiries among his neighbours, some 
 of whom have known him from his childhood, and 
 they declare there is no ground for this plea. He 
 was of a savage and revengeful nature, but, in all 
 matters of business, collected and well-behaved. 
 We cannot refrain from remarking on the social 
 danger of admitting such an excuse for crime 
 excepting in well- approved instances ; undoubtedly, 
 as a general rule, no great crime can be committed 
 by a human being unless previously wrought by 
 passion or long cogitation to a state of mind mo- 
 mentarily insane or unhealthy ; but if the plea is 
 to be promiscuously admitted in extenuation of 
 guilt, or mitigation of punishment, life will never 
 be safe." — Boston Her aid, Tuesday, April 17, 1849. 
 
 Thus the neighbours, highly excited, and doubt- 
 less in a vindictive state of mind towards the 
 culprit, are to be the judges of the sound or 
 unsound organization of the mind of this poor 
 fellow-creature ; under these circumstances, that 
 tender and delicate structure, the human mind, is 
 thus summarily excluded, at least, from their 
 examination and inquiry ; and why so ? Principally 
 because he was in '^ all matters of business collected 
 and well-behaved." 
 
 A man, recently executed at Liverpool, took a 
 lodging and murdered a whole family: here is 
 his history, as recorded in a local newspaper. 
 
20 
 
 " The real name of the prisoner is Mauiice Glesson 
 Wilson. He is the son of David Glesson Wilson, 
 and was born at the village or townland, as it is 
 called, of Brurie, nine miles from Limerick. He has 
 three brothers younger than himself, and two sisters. 
 The father is a blacksmith by trade, but has done 
 little or no work for some time. He is dissipated 
 and idle, and the whole family have been noted for 
 their idleness and vicious propensities. The father 
 is now in receipt of out-door relief from the parish. 
 The prisoner, who worked a little with his father 
 as a blacksmith, left home more than two years ago, 
 in consequence of having been charged with a 
 robbery, although the crime was not clearly proved 
 against him. Since he left his father's house, 
 Honorah, one of his sisters, has been transported 
 for ten years. The prisoner went from Ireland to 
 Plymouth, where he worked for a few months in 
 a foundry, as a striker. From Plymouth he went 
 to London, and lived for some time in Limehouse. 
 About ten months ago he came to Liverpool, and 
 took lodgings at the house in Sparling-street, kept 
 by his present mfe, whom, as we before stated, he 
 married at the end of last year. Since he came to 
 Liverpool he has never been known to do a day's 
 work, but the head constable has now ample 
 evidence as to his pursuits and mode of living. 
 The prisoner himself gave Mr. Dowling particulars, 
 similar to the above, before he was removed to 
 Kirkdale, and they have since been confirmed by 
 unquestionable authority." 
 
 It will be at once said these cases prove the 
 culprits and their connexions to be bad, and that they 
 ought to be punished ; they certainly prove great 
 evil exists, but will the punishment cure it? 
 They all know that punishment awaits them, but 
 
21 
 
 in the face of this knowledge, and of this punish- 
 ment, these crimes are committed ; there is not a 
 practised thief in existence but knows the possible 
 legal result of his crimes, but this knowledge has 
 no effect upon him, and certainly the fear of the 
 consequences does not deter him, and it is quite 
 clear if we would act successfully, we must adopt 
 more powerful means than the fear of punishment, 
 however mild or severe in its application. 
 
 A girl at Bristol was recently executed for the 
 murder of her mistress, who appears herself to 
 have been a violent woman. Let us take the 
 culprit's account of the affair : ^^ Two days before 
 the murder was committed. Miss Jefferies called 
 me up to her bed-room and attempted to strike 
 me. She also locked me in the kitchen during 
 the whole of the night. At five o'clock in the 
 morning she unbolted the door, and told me to 
 make a fire in her room : 1 thought then to have 
 struck her, but did not do so. On the following 
 night I slept in her room, but did not contemplate 
 murdering her till between five and six o'clock in 
 the morning, when I got up, went down stairs, 
 and returned with a stone, with which, while 
 Miss Jefferies was asleep, I struck her on the 
 head three times. Between the second and third 
 blow she made some sort of a noise, and the last 
 words I heard her say were, ' Christ, God !' I 
 then dressed myself, robbed the house, flung the 
 dog down the privy, locked up the house, and 
 went home. I committed the murder and robbed 
 the house with my own hands, and no one else 
 had anything whatever to do with it ; neither did 
 I mention having done so to any person. I regret 
 exceedingly having committed so horrid a crime, 
 and I pray to the Almighty God for forgiveness. 
 
22 
 
 I never should have committed so dreadful a crime 
 had Miss Jefferies' conduct been less provoking. 
 After Miss Jefferies had died, I remained in the 
 room for more than an hour. I then went home, 
 and did not return till about nine o'clock in the 
 evening, when I went for two boxes, but did not 
 go into mistress's room. On leaving the house, I 
 saw a strange man standing opposite, who carried 
 my boxes as far as the Infirmary, for which I gave 
 him nine-pence. I then took a fly and went home." 
 It would appear, according to this statement, that 
 the mistress herself was an important agent in 
 producing the lamentable circumstances which 
 caused her death ; and here is a proof that 
 dealing angrily, violently, and vindictively toM^ards 
 an inferior fellow-creature, is not likely to lead to 
 a beneficial result : and there can be little doubt 
 that if, in every-day life, an unconciliatory tem- 
 perament and desire to punish actuate us, we 
 are more likely to degrade and precipitate the 
 character of an inferior, than to improve and 
 elevate it: our own want of judgment may 
 remotely be the cause of the greatest crimes. 
 
 In many criminals, the circumstances in which 
 they have been placed will fully account for their 
 early and progressive career of crime : and when 
 a child or youth is placed in such circumstances 
 as have been just alluded to, it can scarcely be 
 otherwise than that he will descend in the scale of 
 responsible beings, until he becomes so lost to his 
 proper condition and object in society, as to 
 render the question an open one, whether he 
 ought to be considered and treated as an ac- 
 countable being ; and if the question be carefully 
 considered, it will be found just to entertain it 
 upon other grounds, independently of the question 
 
of sanity or insanity : he may be shrewd and 
 calculating in matters of business ; he may be 
 adroit and clever in his vocation ; he may even 
 use consummate art in his arrangements for the 
 commission of crime, and dispose circumstances 
 so as to completely evade detection ; he may even 
 never commit another crime; but it is question- 
 able whether, when he committed his crime, he 
 was in a state of mind which would justify us in 
 considering him responsible : but if he is justly 
 considered a responsible being, of what use is 
 punishment, except it be that incurred during 
 the process of endeavouring to effect his cure ? 
 Should not crime be classified, not only in its 
 varied genus and species, but also in relation to 
 the circumstances in and under which it develops 
 itself? A crime may be very different in its moral 
 turpitude in one person, to what it is in another ; 
 thus, the child who commits a small predatory act, 
 if culpable at all, is much less so than the man 
 who steals to the same amount ; and the man who 
 has been brought up under circumstances of guilt 
 or ignorance, having committed any criminal act, 
 is much less blameable than he who has had 
 the benefit of good example, and judicious and 
 enlightened teaching. A youth may have had 
 the advantage of virtuous friends, but the disad- 
 vantage of bad teaching ; and the contrary : a 
 youth's temperament may be such as to cause 
 him to yield on the first temptation, and another 
 may resist successfully a long time, or not 
 give way at all: a man may be so constituted, 
 as not to be tempted by what to another is 
 irresistible ; and all these things considered, is it 
 right a given crime shall be treated alike in all? 
 If punishment is dealt out without reference to 
 
24 
 
 any thing, but tlie fact of a certain act having been 
 committed, is such punishment Just, or likely to 
 be beneficial in its effects i It may be well to say 
 the law is offended, and justice must be satisfied; 
 but we ought to look to the effect upon the 
 criminal and upon society, and ask. Is this the 
 highest view that can be taken, and the best 
 object that can be attained? At all events, dis- 
 eases of the body are treated differently; they 
 are traced, if possible, to their causes, and they 
 are, if practicable, removed ; and if they cannot 
 be removed, the pain is, very frequently, modified 
 and relieved : and why should it not be so with 
 diseases of the mind — the source of crimes ? And 
 our laws do so, to a large extent, in their civil 
 relation to the individual : let us instance minors ; 
 they cannot do many things legally ; and why 
 so! because their judgment is not supposed to be 
 matured. A youth cannot purchase an estate ; 
 but he may subject himself to imprisonment ! He 
 cannot be bound by a promise of marriage ; but he 
 can be amenable to capital punishment ! Without 
 (enlarging upon this view of the su^bject here, as 
 it will be alluded to hereafter, is this a just and 
 equal operation of the laws ? and do they consider 
 the mind and capabilities of the individual? 
 Ought they to do so in one case, and not in 
 the other ? and would it not be a benefit if they 
 did so in all cases, with a view to the moral 
 treatment of offenders ? 
 
 In further noticing the nature or causes of 
 crime, it is necessary to allude to the too fre- 
 quent absence of education ; among all classes of 
 society, the meaning of the term is almost for- 
 gotten ; among the higher or middle classes, when 
 a young person commits a crime, or manifests a 
 
25 
 
 bad disposition, it is usual to hear the remark, 
 *' Pie or she has had an excellent education," and 
 not unfrequently the cost is stated, and is generally 
 enormous ; but if the large majority of these 
 cases be analysed, it will be found, the real 
 education, — proper moral training, has been very 
 bad, and the state of character the direct result 
 of the very education or treatment referred to : 
 the accomplishments may have been studied and 
 perfected, but the character wofully neglected; 
 the machinery for forming the talents may be 
 perfect, but. the moral atmosphere dreadfully 
 impure ; the precept may be good, and frequently 
 impressed, but the example tainted, perhaps bad ; 
 the head may be studied, but the heart neglected ; 
 the body may be improved, but the seeds sowti 
 for the destruction of the soul ; indeed, every 
 thing may, on the part of the teacher, be good, 
 — associates, intentions, character, system ; but all 
 these will not avail, unless the character, capa- 
 bilities, tendencies, faults, dispositions, probable 
 condition, and even virtues of the child, be 
 carefully considered, and the instruction applied 
 to his particular case. Those who are spending, 
 with the most benevolent intentions, a large 
 amount of time and money in the education of 
 the poor, will do well to consider these things ; 
 and if they are disappointed in the results, let 
 them remember, the probability is, that the fault 
 rests in a great measure with themselves ; . and 
 before a criminal is denounced, let those who 
 condemn him reflect they might have done more 
 to prevent, if they have done nothing indirectly 
 to promote, his criminality; and although they 
 have taught him reading, writing, geography, 
 music, and all accomplishments, if they have not 
 
26 
 
 taken some pains to fit him for his probable 
 occupation in life, especially if his condition is 
 an humble one, they are as likely to be laying the 
 foundation for vice as for virtue. It is not true 
 that poverty is unfavorable to education: no 
 greater or more dangerous fallacy can be spread 
 in society ; a poor person can as completely and as 
 successfully educate his child, as the rich man * 
 Society have to unlearn the growing prejudice, 
 that schools and expence are essential to educa- 
 tion : they are only the means whereby some useful 
 
 * Since the above was written, the Seventh Report of the Com- 
 missioners for the government of the Pentonvillfe Prison has been 
 published, from which is taken the following remarkably pointed ob- 
 servations. ** The Rev. Joseph Kingsmill.Head Chaplain to the Pen- 
 tonville Prison, observing that the proportion of the educated to the 
 uneducated convicts is fully as high as that which exists between 
 those classes in the general population, is led to inquire wherein 
 the popular education is defective, seeing that intellectual culti- 
 vation must greatly conduce to the well-being of society, and to 
 individual happiness and virtue ;" he proceeds to assert that the 
 education received by prisoners is generally deficient in two most 
 important particulars, viz., religious example and moral training. 
 Religious training in the hands of an ungodly schoolmaster, or of 
 parents, whose professed creed is unsupported by practical piety, 
 amounts to little or nothing. Were he (Mr. K.) invited to state 
 the comparative value which experience had induced him to assign 
 to the different sorts of education in their bearings on religious or 
 merely social obligations, he would begin by that which is received 
 at the knees of a pious mother, and from the lips of a godly and 
 sensible father, who inculcates around the domestic hearth, by 
 example and cheerful discourse, lessons of wisdom and truth, 
 until an impression is made on the minds of the children, that 
 hard working honesty is better than riches without right, advance- 
 ment in life without fitness, or any thing ivithout God. Next in 
 value is the instruction given at the Sunday Schools, miserably 
 deficient as it is ; and so on descending from religious and 
 moral teaching, to what the worthy chaplain pleases to call secon- 
 dary educational instruction. On these grounds Mr. Kingsmill 
 attaches the greatest importance to the moral and religious educa- 
 tion of the prisoners, as of the highest value in effecting the work 
 of reformation. 
 
n 
 
 mechanical arts are taught, and some branches of 
 knowledge instilled; but a child can be most 
 successfully educated by his parents, who are, or 
 ought to be, best acquinted with his individuality 
 and particular tendency ; and until this great 
 truth be acted upon in society, a large portion of 
 our youth will be left as they are now, without any 
 real education at all* As to the primary import- 
 ance of the higher branches of knowledge, and 
 their being necessary to a high or proper state of 
 character, an allusion to one fact in the Scripture 
 history ought to be sufficient to dispel this opinion : 
 it was the learned and the important among the 
 Jews who openly and determinately opposed the 
 Saviour, while it is emphatically declared, ^^ the 
 common people heard him gladly," (Mark xii. 87,) 
 and it was to them he especially addressed him- 
 self, and from among them he selected his 
 disciples. 
 
 In viewing crime, therefore, under all circum- 
 stances, in analyzing its nature, and in tracing its 
 causes, the questions come irresistibly upon us. 
 Do we understand it sufficiently well to deal with 
 it advantageously? Have we taken means to do 
 
 * Mankind in infancy should be trained to know, *'That our 
 discontents and anxieties have their origin in moral evil. The 
 lines of suffering, on almost every human countenance, have been 
 traced there by unfaithfulness to conscience, by departures from 
 duty. To do wrong is the surest way to bring suffering : no 
 wrong did ever fail to bring it. Those sins which are followed by 
 no palpable pain, are yet terribly avenged even in this life. They 
 abridge our capacity of happiness, impair our relish for innocent 
 pleasure, and increase our sensibility to suffering. They spoil us 
 of the armour of a pure conscience, and of trust in God, without 
 which we are naked amidst a host of foes, and are vulnerable by 
 all the changes of life. Thus, to do wrong is to inflict the surest 
 injury on our own peace. No enemy can do us equal harm with 
 what we do ourselves, whenever or however we violate any moral 
 or religious obligation." — Dr. Channing on the Evil of Sin. 
 
so? Ought not the subject to be deeply and 
 anxiously entertained ? And^ seeing that many 
 criminals are made so by circumstances over which 
 they have had no control^ is punishment in 
 principle applicable, and likely to be beneficial to 
 them, or to the community ? Are we acting right, 
 or have we not, in effect, personified a principle 
 like our heathen forefathers, and are sacrificing 
 the liberties, the characters, the capabilities of 
 future well-being and usefulness, and even the 
 lives of our really, or supposed, wicked fellow- 
 creatures, to ^^ ofiended justice ?" 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 CRIME SCRIPTURALLY CONSIDERED. 
 
 *' As in the scheme of the natural world, no ends appear to be 
 accomplished without means, so we find that means very undesi- 
 rable, often conduce to bring about ends in such a measure 
 desirable, as greatly to overbalance the disagreeableness of the 
 means. And in cases where such means are conducive to such 
 ends, it is not reason but e.vperiencey which shows us that they 
 are thus conducive. Experience also shows many means to be 
 conducive and necessary to accomplish ends, which means, before 
 experience, we should have thought would have had even a 
 contrary tendency. Now, from these observations relating to the 
 natural scheme of the world, the moral being supposed analogous 
 to it, arises a great credibility, that the putting our misery in each 
 others power to the degree it is, and making men liable to vice in 
 the degree we are ; and, in general, that those things, which are 
 objected against the moral scheme of Providence, may be, vpon 
 the whole, friendly and assistant to virtue, and productive ot an 
 over balance of happiness: i. e., the things objected against, may 
 be means, by which an over balance of good, will in the end, be 
 produced. And from the same observations, it appears to be no 
 presumption against this, that we do not, if indeed we do not, see 
 those means to have any such tendency, or that they seem to us to 
 have a contrary one. Thus those things which we call irregu- 
 larities, may not be so at all, because they may be the means of 
 accomplishing wise and good ends more considerable. And, it 
 may be added as above, that they may also be the only means by 
 which these wise and good ends are capable of being accom- 
 plished." — Butler's Analogy, part 1, chap. vii. 
 
 It will be necessary briefly to inquire what sin 
 or crime is, according to what the Scriptures teach 
 and narrate in relation to it, as well as what they 
 
30 
 
 declare concerning the attributes and government 
 of God; and here we have truth, authority, and 
 fixed principles, on which to found our investi- 
 gation. The Scriptures declare God to be^^infinitely 
 powerful,* wise,t just,J and good,|| that he is the 
 Creator — the cause of all things — therefore no hum- 
 ble and s crip tur ally taught mind will allow there 
 are secondary causes over which he has not perfect 
 control, but will refer all things direct to Him. 
 If God is omniscient, all events must have been 
 foreknown by him; and if omnipotent, what is to 
 him objectionable could have been prevented. We 
 are commanded to believe all moral, as well as 
 natural events are caused by Him;§ and, therefore, 
 sin and crime must be a part of his agency. Let us 
 illustrate this by the first crime or sin recorded in 
 the Scriptures — the sin of Adam ; and it is of the 
 utmost importance we should not draw unjusti- 
 fiable inferences from this fact; it is an important 
 one, not only from the circumstance itself, but from 
 the conclusions generally drawn from it, the prin- 
 cipal one being, that he involved all his posterity 
 in his guilt, and entailed misery upon them. A 
 little reflection and knowledge of the Scriptures will 
 show that this sin, whatever may have been its nature 
 and consequences, was foreknown to God, and pro- 
 vided for by him ; this is proved by Peter, (1st 
 Epistle, i. 20.) who represents Jesus to be the lamb 
 *^ fore-ordained before the foundation of the world," 
 so that it is manifestly untrue to say Adam's sin was 
 unknown or unexpected by the Creator, when 
 human salvation or deliverance from sin was pro- 
 vided not only before that event took place, but 
 before the '^ foundation of the tvorld y" we are 
 
 * Psalm cxxxv. 6. f Psalm xliv. 21. % Job viii. 3. 
 II Matt. V. 45. § Isaiah xliv. 24, to end. 
 
SI 
 
 therefore, irresistibly driven to the conclusion that 
 Adam's sin was known, was contemplated, and its 
 effect, whatever it might be, provided for ; indeed, 
 this is not merely a just deduction from the re- 
 vealed character and attributes of God — his omni- 
 science and omnipotence — but is a matter of direct 
 and positive revelation * We can, therefore, arrive 
 at no other conclusion, than that the sin of Adam 
 was a part of the arrangements of perfect wisdom, 
 and its consequences a part of an ordination of 
 events, pregnant with the largest amount of benefit 
 to mankind ; and hence as we have borne the mor- 
 tal, sinful nature of Adam, so shall we also bear 
 the immortal and dignified nature of Christ ; or as 
 as it is expressly declared, '^ For as in Adam all 
 die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." 
 1 Cor. XV. 22. 
 
 An instance of the result of crime, sin, or the 
 acts of bad men, or of men under the influence of 
 bad dispositions, is forcibly illustrated in the 
 history of Joseph : his brethren were operated 
 uBon by criminal thoughts and feelings, murder, 
 — fratricide was contemplated by them, but avarice 
 overcame that intent ; he was drawn from the pit in 
 which he was to have been left to perish, and was 
 sold into Egypt. Each trial and suffering is shown 
 in this unveiled history of God's dealings, to have 
 been the means of the advancement of the subject 
 of it; the sinners in this case were sowing the 
 seeds of their own bitter, but sincere, repentance, 
 and producing towards the object of their envy 
 and jealously the very state they so much dreaded 
 —his greatness and their own degradation. And yet, 
 at the same time, in the hands of Him who directs 
 men's hearts, and whose omnipotent will influences 
 
 * Rom. xvi. 25. 1 Cor. ii. 7. Eph. iii. 9. Col. i. 16. 
 
32 
 
 Imman conduct and destinies^ Joseph's ultimate 
 position was the means of saving that same kindred 
 from famine, besides contributing to the happiness 
 and prosperity of a nation. In this beautiful and 
 instructive history there are two things to be 
 considered : the deep repentance of these men, 
 and Joseph's conduct towards them. First, their 
 repentance. ^^ And they said one to another, 
 we are vertli/ guilty concerning our brother, in 
 that we saw the anguish of his soul when he be- 
 sought us, and we would not hear ; therefore, 
 is this distress come upon us." (Gen.^ xlii. 21.) 
 Joseph's conduct, on the other hand, was benevo- 
 lence in the highest degree ; he had no vindictive 
 feeling, or desire to punish them ; he turned 
 himself away from them indeed, but it was to 
 weep ; he went away to his chamber, but it was 
 privately to give vent to his kinder feelings ; he 
 astonished them with his kindness to them, '' they 
 drank and were merry with him ;" and when the 
 solemn time came for making himself known, he 
 could not refrain himself; he caused every stranger 
 to go out; he wept aloud, and declared to them, 
 *' I am Joseph !" and his brethren could not 
 answer him, for they were troubled at his presence: 
 instead of adding to their amazement, or increasing 
 their embarrassment, he said to them, '^ Come 
 near to me, I pray you ; and they came near, and 
 he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold 
 into Egypt ;" and he added, ^^ Now, therefore, be 
 not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye 
 sold me hither, for God did send me before you to 
 sate lifeT (chap. xlv. verse 5). Thus Ave see, in the 
 case of the brethren of Joseph, a larger amount 
 of benefit was conferred, than would have be(5n 
 if thev had not acted wrong : God made their 
 
wickedness subservient at once to their own re- 
 pentance, and the preservation of their father, 
 their children, and themselves. (7th and 8th verses.) 
 But there is another important link in the chain 
 of circumstances, forming the history of Joseph, 
 which ought not to be passed over, although not 
 strictly relative to crime, namely, his virtuous 
 character, the strength of his own principles, and 
 the determination with which he acted upon them. 
 As far as the bad conduct of his brethren was 
 concerned, he was merely their innocent victim, 
 although indications of a superior character raised 
 their envy of him, but in his after temptation 
 the most active virtue and dignity of character was 
 displayed in his conduct; instead of departing 
 from the path of duty, and betraying the confidence 
 reposed in him, he put this question to his tempter, 
 ^' How can I do this great wickedness, and sin 
 against God ?" (Gen. xxxix 9.) And it must be 
 also remembered, that this distinguished servant of 
 God was convicted, or committed, to prison, upon 
 what was thought undisputable testimony, for a 
 crime of which he was not guilty, and to which he 
 was religiously and determinately opposed; dark 
 and doubtful as his prospects must have tem- 
 porarily been, this persecution was another means 
 to his ultimate advancement; and even in the 
 prison the force of his character displayed itself, 
 and, therefore, '^ and that which he did, the Lord 
 made it to prosper ;" (23rd verse) ; so that in the 
 history of Joseph we see that because his ways 
 pleased the Lord, his enemies were made not only 
 " to be at peace with him," but their guilty oppo- 
 sition, and bad treatment, were the means of 
 ultimately rewarding him for his integrity and 
 perseverance in the path of religion and virtue ; or . 
 
as the apostle expresses it, '^ And we know that all 
 things work together for good to them that love 
 God, to them who are called according to his 
 purpose." (Rom. viii. 28.) 
 
 Let us further illustrate the divine will and 
 pleasure, as pourtrayed in the acts of the most sinful 
 men. It is clear, when a man is tempted by an evil 
 mind, spirit, or disposition, God created the evil 
 spirit* and knew how it would act ; and the tempter, 
 as well as the sinner, therefore, performs a part of 
 the divine government as completely as if the sinner 
 was influenced by God himself: for instance, 
 Pharaoh was induced, by a variety of selfish and 
 proud motives, to disobey the divine commands, 
 but the Scriptures declare the truth in these words, 
 " And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh ;"t 
 this is repeatedly asserted, and it is in perfect con- 
 formity with the revealed character and government 
 of God, not that the act ended with Pharaoh, but 
 was a part of a dispensation,^ and the apostle 
 Paul reasons upon this, and carries it out; 
 and says, quoting the Old Testament, it was for 
 the purpose of showing God's power in Pharaoh, 
 and that His name might be declared throughout 
 the earth ; (Pom. ix. 17) ; thus, then, Pharaoh's 
 ignorance, obstinacy, pride, or whatever name his 
 crime, or sin, might be called, was subservient to 
 the great end, the dealings of God with his crea- 
 tures, and was caused for that object. So also 
 with respect to the important event, the death of 
 the Messiah, which was necessary to his resurrec- 
 tion, and its overwhelming, and scarcely appreciable 
 consequences, it is declared emphatically, he was 
 ^^ delivered by the determinate council and fore- 
 
 * Judges ix. 23. Isaiah xlv. 7. Amos iii. 6. 1 Sam. xvi. 14. 
 t Exod. vii. 3, 13 ) viii. 15 ; x. 1. % Exod. ix. 16. 
 
35 
 
 knowledge of God." (Acts ii. 23,) And, it must 
 be remembered, at the moment of his death he 
 exclaimed, ^^ Father, forgive them, for they know 
 not what they do :" can we suppose that prayer 
 was offered without effect ? Let us carry out the 
 benevolent principles and character of the Messiah, 
 when he sits at the right hand of God, and when 
 his persecutors will behold him in the glory of his 
 kingdom, how they must and will be smitten when 
 they remember the anguish of his soul, and the 
 studied indignities with which they treated him : 
 can we suppose him to be less noble than Joseph 
 in encouraging them, in forgiving them ? And he 
 will, in all probability, address them thus, " Be not 
 angry with yourselves, ye knew not what ye did;" 
 you were the instruments in the hands of my Father 
 in carrying out his greatest blessings, the promo- 
 tion of the highest objects, and confirming the 
 gifts of immortal life and eternal glory to mankind. 
 We see, in fact, as Mr. Thom expresses it, that sin 
 is an agent. " Plain it must be to the heavenly- 
 instructed mind, that sin is merely one of the 
 agents by which God brings out, displays, and 
 develops the glories of his character : a part of the 
 scaffolding, by means of which he is erecting that 
 wondrous edifice of love, which He himself is to 
 inhabit throughout eternity. Sin, being thus of 
 the nature, of a means, or instrument^ could only 
 have been employed in connexion with a system of 
 things, which was itself instrumental, subordinate, 
 and introductory to another."* 
 
 * " Three questions proposed and answered by David Thom. 
 London, 1849.'' Page 91. It will surprise all classes of Chris- 
 tians to be informed, that the learned author, from which the above 
 passage is quoted, is a determined advocate of eternal punishment 
 for sin. The subject of sin and vice in general, was quaintly 
 
We might further illustrate this by the case of 
 Cain, the first homicide : he could not understand 
 the consequences of his own conduct, inasmuch as 
 he could not know anything of the nature of death, 
 that of Abel being the first instance of human 
 mortality. Cain was punished, but only by the 
 hand of God; he was evidently penitent, and 
 probably subsequently virtuous, inasmuch as his 
 posterity fiourished, his eldest son having been the 
 founder of a city. (Gen. iv. 13, 17.) 
 
 Some of the greatest and best characters in the 
 Scriptures would have been lost to the world if 
 they had been punished as we are in the habit of 
 treating criminals. Let us illustrate this by the 
 conduct of Abraham, who made preparations for 
 slaying his own son ; it is said, he even " stretched 
 forth his hand, and took the knife to slay him :" 
 (Gen. xxii. 10:) there can be no doubt of his intent, 
 but when we know all the circumstances, instead 
 of shrinking from and condemning him as a crimi- 
 nal, every man who believes the revealed will of 
 God, views him as an exalted character. 
 
 Again, Moses may be instanced, the first act of 
 whom, it is recorded, he slew an Egyptian, and 
 hid him in the sand ; and, in order to avoid the 
 punishment of death, fled, and was absent many 
 years ; and, doubtless, during his absence, reflected 
 upon his character, and made himself fit for the 
 greatest objects. Many other individuals might* 
 be alluded to, and their characters similarly 
 viewed, but it would be impious for us to impugn 
 
 althovigh not scripturally treated, by a writer in the beginning 
 of the last century, (Mandeville), who wrote a book, under the 
 title of the '^' Fable of the Bees, or Private Vices, Public Benefits :" 
 the author's opinions and reasonings made a great stir at the time, 
 but they have never been satisfactojily refuted. 
 
37 
 
 the character of God, because they were not 
 punished according to our standard of criminality ; 
 and, further, the probability is, their culpability 
 was made subservient to their virtues, and they 
 were better able to " teach transgressors" the ways 
 of God," and convert sinners unto him," (Psa.li. 13,) 
 than they would have been had they never sinned. 
 The conclusion drawn from the view of crime, 
 according to the Scriptures is, that man has 
 nothing to do with sin himself, but to avoid it, 
 he has nothing to do with the sinner, but to 
 endeavour to restore him, to elevate him, as far 
 as he is able, but the real punishment is and 
 must he left to God : it has been shown, that man 
 cannot satisfactorily determine the amount of guilt 
 in any given person, or action ; and it will be here- 
 after shown that punishment is no where com- 
 manded in the New Testament, but, on the 
 contrary, is expressly forbidden ; each man should 
 remember that the sin of his brother may be 
 instrumental in the hand of God to bring about 
 sincere repentance in the sinner, as well as in 
 promoting the best results to society, as illustrated 
 by the selling of Joseph into Egypt, or the death 
 of the Messiah ; and while man in administering 
 punishments, thinking he does God service, may 
 be laying the foundation of deep and lasting regret, 
 as was the case of the apostle Paul, and which he 
 never attempts to conceal. It may be said this is 
 a view of the case which would destroy the 
 necessity of virtue, and abolish all motives to its 
 practice ; but this cannot be, unless man can satisfy 
 himself of the present good tendency of all his ac- 
 tions, bad as well as good ; besides, man is expressly 
 commanded not to do evil, that good may come. 
 (Rom. iii. 8.) It must, therefore, be apparent, that 
 
38 
 
 a broad distinction exists between a man's act^ as 
 that of a man, and as a part of a series of acts 
 ordained by God, or subservient, in bis hands, to 
 more important objects. He has given commands 
 to man, the observance of which will and must be 
 attended with his blessing, and a large amount of 
 happiness to the obedient; but if there were no 
 temptations to disobedience, there could be no 
 effort, and consequently no obedience, it would be 
 conformity, and would follow, as a matter of ne- 
 cessity; but if a man is tempted to disobey, and 
 does so, God inflicts his punishments, which, be it 
 remembered, follow certainly, which ought to 
 operate as a warning to others, although those 
 punishments probably will, sooner or later, 
 restore the offender; and, in addition to which, 
 form a part of the means of God's moral govern- 
 ment, and as a being perfect in all his attributes, 
 that government is perfect, his tender mercies are 
 over all his works ; and although with man, indi- 
 vidually, sin is condemnable, and will be painfully 
 punished, yet with the Creator, sin, and his 
 punishment of it also, will be instrumental in 
 carrying out the riches of his mercy, and its final 
 estabhshment over all the human race. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 NATURAL LAWS. 
 
 ** He that will carefully peruse the history of mankind, and 
 look abroad into the several tribes of men, and with indifference 
 survey their actions, will be able to satisfy himself, that there is 
 scarce that principle of morality to be named, or rule of virtue to 
 be thought on, (those only excepted that are absolutely necessary 
 to hold society together, which commonly, too, are neglected 
 betwixt distinct societies) which is not, somewhere or other, slight- 
 ed and condemned by the general fashion of whole societies of 
 men, governed by practical opinions and rules of living, quite 
 opposite to others." — Locke on the Human Understanding j book I. 
 chap. 3. sec. 10. 
 
 It is necessary briefly to examine the natural 
 laws^ in order to obtain a definite view of their 
 real character and just weight in the government 
 of human affairs, and to distinguish them from the 
 expressed law of God, admitted to be such by all 
 believers in revealed religion. ^^ The laws of nature," 
 says Blackstone, (book 1, sec. 40,) " are the eternal, 
 immutable laws of good and evil, to which the 
 Creator, in all his dispensations, conforms ; and 
 which he has enabled human reason to discover, 
 so far as they are necessary for the conduct of 
 human actions ; such among others are these prin- 
 ciples, that we should live honestly (honourably, 
 and with decorum ;) should hurt nobody, and 
 
40 
 
 should render to every one his due f to which three 
 general precepts Justinian has reduced the whole 
 doctrine of law;" and, in pursuance of this/he 
 says again, (sec. 41,) '' He (God) has so intimately 
 connected, so inseparably interwoven the laws of 
 eternal justice, with the happiness of each indi- 
 vidual, that the latter cannot be attained without 
 observing the former ; in the consequence of which, 
 mutual connexion of justice and human felicity, 
 he has not perplexed the law of nature with a 
 multitude of abstracted rules and precepts, refer- 
 ring merely to the fitness or unfitness of things, as 
 some have vainly surmised, but has graciously 
 reduced the rule of obedience to this one paternal 
 precept, ^ that man should pursue his oion true and 
 substantial happiness y' this is the foundation of 
 what we call ethics, or natural law. For the 
 several articles into which it is branched, in our 
 systems, amount to no more than demonstration, 
 that this or that action tends to ma7i^s real happi- 
 ness ; and therefore very justly concluding, that 
 the performance of it is a part of the law of 
 nature ; or on the other hand, that this or that 
 action is destructive of man's real happiness, and 
 therefore that the law of nature forbids it. This law 
 
 * Juris praecepta sunthaec, y^owes^e rit^ere, alterum non laedere, 
 sniun cuique tribuere. — Just. i. 1,3. 
 
 It must not be forj^otten, Justinian was a christian, and what- 
 ever may be the merits of his code of laws, it cannot be doubted 
 the above quotation is only another, but a more circumlocutory 
 mode of expressing the principle, " love thy neighbour as thyself :" 
 it is a mistake too common for writers on natural religion, to take 
 a principle of revealed truth, and reason upon it, as a deduction 
 of the human intellect, from the teaching of nature, the 
 observance of the natural laws. It cannot^ however, be doubted, 
 that moral truth has always existed, but it never was attained, by 
 man, except through Divine revelation; or, as the apostle ex- 
 presses himself, " his (God's) ways are past finding out." — Rom. 
 xi. 33. 
 
41 
 
 of nature being co-eval with mankind, and dictated 
 by God himself*, is of course superior to any other ; 
 it is binding all over the glohe^ in all countries, and 
 at all times : no human laws are of any validity 
 if contrary to this ; and such of them as are valid, 
 derive all their force and all their authority from 
 this original." 
 
 As regards the operations of God in his go- 
 vernment, and the laws by which he acts, both 
 physically and morally, the above is unquestionably 
 and certainly true ; he has doubtless framed his 
 laws in conformity with the well-being of all 
 his creatures : but the question arises, Does man 
 — the human family — know sufficient of these laws 
 to frame their own in accordance with them ? Shall 
 man infer, that, because he sees what he thinks, 
 natural or moral evil in the constitution and go- 
 vernment of the world, he has a right to act wrong, 
 or rather to do what his passions, or natural 
 inferences, dictate to be right, and that the effects 
 of such a line of conduct shall be so ? When did 
 human reason discover the "immutable laws of 
 good and evil? " Did man ex)er determine what is 
 " binding, (or right and wrong,) all over the globe, 
 in all countries, and at all times ? " Let us see, in 
 China, the father frequently exposes his female 
 offspring on the banks of a river ; and, although its 
 destruction be the residt, society takes no notice of it: 
 but, in Europe, similar exposure would be punish- 
 able by death ; and in England, during the reign 
 of Charles I., a gentleman was fined £1000, and 
 imprisoned in the Fleet, for preferring to " live in 
 London for divers years past, and not going to his 
 country residence ;" any such interference would 
 now be execrated : human laws, judgments, 
 and punishments, have always been uncertain. 
 
42 
 
 corrupt, and inoperative ; and the supposition that 
 they are drawn from the laws of nature, is but a 
 cover and excuse for human presumption, igno- 
 rance, and imperfection. 
 
 There always has been an earnest desire, on the 
 pai-t of man, to observe his interpretation of natural 
 laws, and to conceitably or presumptuously erect 
 the tribunal of human reason, or his deductions 
 from their operation, and dangerously err in the 
 application of them to morals and religion, inde- 
 pendently of the law of God, even where his 
 revelation has been received, and its positive and 
 plain precepts admitted, (unfortunately Christians 
 are not, and have not been, exempt from this 
 charge.) The extreme, indeed, it might be said 
 marvellous simplicity of revealed .or divine truth, 
 has always been an obstacle to its adoption and 
 advancement ; its great plainness is even now, as it 
 was formerly, a stumbling block to some, and 
 foolishness with others. It is here utterly denied 
 that the natural laws will ever lead to the extremely 
 short and comprehensive first principles, and com- 
 mands of divine revelation : let us take the very 
 first sentence of the Scriptures, ^^ In the beginning 
 God created the heavens and the earth." If 
 human reason, or the natural laws teach this fact, 
 whence comes it that it has not been consistently 
 and uniformly maintained? It is admitted that 
 in the earliest ages of society men did worship 
 one God, but as they began and continued to use 
 their reason, and observe the natural laws, so they 
 departed from this simple, but important truth, 
 and as their reasonings and observances enlarged 
 and progressed, so their gods increased in number, 
 and their moral practices became degraded ; and 
 if we believe divine revelation, it has always been 
 
43 
 
 directed to call society hack to the first principles 
 of divine truth, and to discountenance man's 
 reasonings, which, unless founded upon it, always 
 tended to a contrary direction and result, than to 
 the establishment of pure Theism, which is the 
 basis of true religion. (Exod. xx. 3.) And even 
 the Jewish people, to whom these revelations were 
 directly made, were prone to imitate their philo- 
 sophical neighbours — to observe their natural 
 dictates — the natural laws, to adopt their oAvn 
 reasonings upon them, and fall into the most im- 
 moral and ridiculous practices. 2 Kings xvi. 3 ; 
 Psa. cvi. 35 to 39 ; Isaiah ii. 8. 
 
 But it will be said the Jews were not a reasoning 
 and enlightened people, if we were to particularize 
 many of the opinions * of the Greek and Koman 
 sages, as well as the practices of those, and con- 
 temporary nations, in some of their established and 
 commonly practised religious festivals, and many 
 of their sacred rites, they would astonish ordinary 
 readers. The details of the Ludi Florales^ at 
 Rome, which were conducted by avowed prosti- 
 tutes. The feasts of Ceres, of Cybele, of Bacchus, 
 are alluded to, but not particularized here, because 
 they are unfit for description : it, however, may be 
 added, that they were of the lowest and most 
 revolting character. Human sacrifices, and the 
 whipping of children and women to death, in 
 honour of their deities, being a part of their idola- 
 
 * It will probably be said, these men did not believe in the 
 popular superstitions ; their apologists, however, say but little 
 for the force of their virtue, or principles ; if they believed one 
 thing, and taught or encouraged, and practised another, it is saying 
 nothing in favour of the enlightened principles, and pure theistical 
 views of Socrates, when we find that, immediately preceding his 
 death, (a violent one) that his appeal is "to the gods ;" and that 
 he offered a cock to -^sculapius. 
 
44 
 
 ti'ous practices and worship ; in fact, there is no 
 (■normity, inchiding the fattening and eating the 
 cliildren of concubines kept for that purpose, which 
 has not been practised. Mr. Locke, in the first 
 book of his Essay on the Human Understanding, 
 (chap. 3, sec. 9,) enumerates a few of these practices,* 
 and then with great propriety asks, '^ Where, then, 
 are those inmate principles of justice, piety, gra- 
 titude, equity, chastity ? Or, where is that universal 
 consent that assures us that there are such inbred 
 rules ? Murders in duels, when fashion has made 
 them honourable, are committed without remorse 
 of conscience ; nay, in many places, innocence in 
 this case is the greatest ignominy. And, if we 
 look abroad, to take a view of men, as they are, 
 we shall find that they remorse in one place for 
 doing, or omitting, that which others in another 
 
 * Among other things, Mr. Locke illustrates his position, by 
 the following quotation, setting forth the opinions, lives, and habits 
 of a class of men, and the estimation in which they were held 
 by the people. 
 
 '' Ibi (sc. prope Belbes in Egypto) vidimus sanctum unum 
 Saracenicum inter arenaram cumulos, ita ut ex utero matris 
 prodiit nudum sedentem. Mos est, ut didicimus, Mahometistis, 
 ut eos, qui amentes et sine ratione sunt, pro Sanctis colant et 
 venerentur. Insuper et eos, qui cum diu vitam egerint inquina- 
 tissimam, voluntariam demum poenitentiam et paupertatem, 
 sanctitate venerandos deputant. Ejusmodi vero genus hominum 
 libertatem quandam effrsenem habent, domos quas volunt intrandi, 
 edendi, bibendi, et quod majus est, concumbendi; ex quo con- 
 cubitu si proles secuta fuerit, sancta similiter habetur. His ergo 
 hominibus dum vivunt, magnos exhibent honores ; mortuis vero 
 vel templa vel monumenta extruunt amplissima, eosque contingere 
 ac sepelire maximae fortunse ducunt loco. Audivimus hsec dicta et 
 dicenda per interpretem a Mucrelo nostro. Insuper sanctum ilium, 
 quem eo loco vidimus, publicitus apprime commendari, eum e^e 
 hominem sanctum, divinum ac integritate prsecipuum ; eo quod 
 nee foeminarum unquam esset, nee puerorum, sed tantummodo 
 assellarum concubitor atque mularum." Peregr. Baumgarten, 1 
 2, c. 1, p. 73. Where are these things forbidden by nature ? How 
 do we know they are in opposition to nature's laws ?" 
 
45 
 
 place think they merit by :" and further, by our 
 English law, ^^ An infant under twenty-one years 
 of age is privileged so as to escape from imprison- 
 ment, and the like, and particularly in cases 
 of omission, as not repairing a bridge or 
 a highway, and other similar oflfences, for not 
 having the command of his fortune till twenty-one, 
 he wants the capacity to do those things which 
 the law requires, but at eight years old he may 
 be guilty of felony; also under fourteen, though 
 an infant, shall be prima facia adjudged to be 
 doli cajKix, and could discern between good and 
 evil, he may be convicted, and suffer death. Thus 
 a girl of thirteen has been burnt for killing her 
 mistress ; and one boy of ten, and another of nine 
 years old, who had killed their companions, have 
 been sentenced to death, and he of ten years 
 actually hanged, because it appeared upon their 
 trials, that the one hid himself, and the other hid 
 the body he had killed, which hiding manifested 
 a consciousness of guilt, and a discretion to dis- 
 cern between good and evil. And there was an 
 instance, in the last century, where a boy, of eight 
 years old, was tried at Abingdon, for firing two 
 barns, and it appearing that he had malice, revenge, 
 and cunning, he was found guilty, condemned, 
 and hanged accordingly. Thus also in modern 
 times, a boy of ten years of age, was convicted, on 
 his own confession, of murdering his bed-fellow, 
 there appearing in his whole behaviour, plain 
 tokens of a mischievous discretion; and as the 
 sparing this boy, merely on account of his tender 
 years, might be of dangerous consequences to the 
 public, by propagating a notion that children might 
 commit such atrocious crimes with impunity, it was 
 
46 
 
 unanimously agreed by all the judges that he was 
 a proper subject for capital punishment." Black- 
 stone, vol, 4, sec, 23, 24. 
 
 The natural laws have been appealed to, to deter- 
 mine the guilt or innocence of the party accused ; it 
 was naturally supposed God would interfere to pro- 
 tect the innocent ; the trial by ordeal, — by fire and 
 water, was established ; the accused was, in the one 
 case, to take in his hand red-hot iron, or walk 
 upon burning plough-shares barefooted, and if he 
 or she escaped unhurt, was acquitted ; the water 
 ordeal was performed by plunging the bare arm 
 '^'iip to the elbow in boiling water, and the guilt of 
 the party determined if he was injured; or by 
 casting the accused into a river or pond, and if he 
 was sustained mthout any action of swimming, he 
 was deemed guilty, but if he sunk (and was drowned) 
 acquitted. Trial by oath was instituted, and the 
 accused > was called legally, or offered voluntarily, 
 to purge himself by oath, and upon his declaring 
 his innocence, was instantly acquitted; this was 
 found to fail, and the accused was next required 
 to appear with a certain number of freemen, his 
 neighbours and relations, who corroborated the 
 oath which he took, by swearing that they believed 
 all that he uttered to be the truth ; in some cases 
 three hundred of these witnesses were necessary to 
 acquit the person accused, '^ and," says Mr. Robert- 
 son, " whoever then was bold enough to violate 
 the laws, was sure of devoted adherents, willing to 
 abet, and eager to serve him in whatever manner 
 he required." And he adds, ^^ All these various 
 forms of trial were conducted with many devout 
 ceremonies: the ministers of religion were em- 
 ployed ; the Almighty was called upon to interpose 
 
47 
 
 for the manifestation of guilty and for the protection 
 of innocence, and whoever escaped unhurt, or came 
 off victorious was pronounced innocent by the 
 judgment of God."* 
 
 These wicked and absurd practices are now 
 abolished, but what becomes of the certainty of 
 the " natural laws which are hinding all over the 
 globe, at all times and in all countries .^" There 
 are no natural laws which can direct mankind 
 aright in morals or religion; men never were so 
 directed. The natural laws will only direct us in 
 natural pursuits and objects, and even then it is, to 
 a great extent, a matter of experience, or constant 
 effect upon the senses, but they never did, nor will 
 direct man aright in morals ; that direction is, and 
 must be left to divine revelation, to the law of God, 
 communicated directly by himself, or through his 
 accredited messengers, and to that alone. 
 
 But Mr. Blackstone himself goes on to show the 
 fallacy and uncertainty of our interpretation of the 
 law of nature, although reason be used therein, 
 and says, " This has given manifold occasion for 
 the benign interposition of divine providence, 
 which, in compassion to the frailty, the imperfec- 
 tion, and the blindness of human reason, hath been 
 pleased, at sundry times, and in divers manners, to 
 
 * Robertson's History of Charles V., vol. i. sec. 1. Many 
 other ordeals have been adopted in order to establish the guilt or 
 innocence of the accused, all grossly absurd^ but some more 
 ridiculous than the above, (See Blackstone, vol. iv. sec. 345, et 
 seq.) but all proving the folly of observing the natural laws in 
 relation to moral guilt; and it is, therefore, open to a question 
 whether the mode now adopted can be said to be anything more 
 than a gi'eat refinement upon former ordeals ? 
 
 " I not deny 
 
 The jury passing on the prisoner's life. 
 May in the sworn twelve have a thief or two, 
 Guiltier than him they try." — Measure for Measure. 
 
48 
 
 discover aiid enforce its laws^ by an immediate and 
 direct revelation. The doctrines thus delivered, 
 we call the revealed, or divine law, and they are 
 to be found only in the Holy Scriptures. These 
 precepts,when revealed, are found upon comparison, 
 to be really a part of the original law of nature, 
 as they tend, in all their consequences, to man's 
 felicity. But we are not from thence to conclude 
 that the knowledge of these truths was attainable 
 by reason in its present corrupted state, since we 
 find that until they icere revealed, they were hid 
 from the wisdom of ages. As then the moral pre- 
 cepts of this law are indeed of the same original 
 with those of the law of nature, so their intrinsic 
 obligation is of equal strength and perpetuity; 
 yet undoubtedly the revealed law is of infinitely 
 more authenticity titan that moral system which is 
 framed by ethical writers, and denominated the 
 natural law, because one is the law of nature ex- 
 pressly declared to be so by God himself ; the 
 other is only what, by assistance of human reason, 
 w,e imagine to be that law; if we could be as cer- 
 tain of the latter, as we are of the former, both 
 would have an equal authority, but till then they 
 can necer be put in any competition together i^ 
 (Book i. sec. 42) ; and of this revealed law more 
 hereafter. 
 
 It is, therefore, highly probable that mankind, 
 in their anxiety to observe the natural laws, should 
 disregard their own " true benefits," and mistake 
 their own " true happiness ;" thus a man may say 
 that all men are born equal, and that God has 
 given all his benefits to men, and, therefore, they 
 belong equally to all, and that one man has a right, 
 either by force or fraud, to take that from another 
 which he thinks justly belongs to himself, or 
 
49 
 
 which, if obtained by him, would contribute to 
 his own " true and substantial happine^ ;" if he 
 acts upon this reasoning, and acquires a part of 
 his neighbour's goods, and is detected, society 
 steps in and interferes, by inflicting a punishment 
 upon the offender, and that punishment, be it 
 remembered, is the result of an established law, 
 equally supposed to contribute to man's ^^true 
 and substantial happiness ;" thus it becomes a 
 question, that seeing mankind, individually, are 
 not cured of this propensity to violate the princi- 
 ples of truth and virtue, may not society be in 
 error itself, with respect to the treatment of the 
 offender, as well as he (the offender) in respect to 
 the treatment of his fellow-creatures ? Mr. Paine 
 says, in his '^ Eights of Man,"* '^ A man, by natu- 
 ral right, has a right to judge in his own cause." 
 A man with strong passions, an uncultivated mind, 
 or under very strong temptations, will infer, very 
 readily, he does very little, if any wrong, in acting 
 upon his right : indeed, under any circumstances, 
 as far as nature is concerned, there is nothing to 
 teach him to surrender it; society attempts, by 
 physical force, to take it from him, or on detection, 
 punishes him for exercising this natural right, 
 but it is revelation 07ily that interferes and addresses 
 itself to mankind individually, as well as collec- 
 tively, and denies the existence of any such right, 
 as will be hereafter shown. Blackstone (book i. 
 sec. 126) also says, '^ This natural liberty consists 
 properly in a power of acting as one thinks fit, 
 without any restraint or control, unless by the 
 law of nature," which is a contradiction, clearly 
 shewing the want of something superior to that 
 law. 
 
 * Mr. Paine was not a believer in divine revelation. 
 
 E 
 
50 
 
 But further, with respect to the punishment of 
 criminals, or in the operations of the law towards 
 them, especially as it imitates the law of nature ; 
 the government of God has set fixed results to a 
 given line of action, and they always operate, and 
 are certain; thus a man who is pursuing an im- 
 moral course, however private and secure from 
 the observation of his fellow-creatures, loses his 
 self-respect ; is conscious of his guilt, and, besides 
 other results, always dreads detection, and its moral 
 consequences ; while human laws or punishments 
 only act upon the detection of the offender, and 
 even then, in many cases, imperfectly, in all with 
 uncertainty, and perhaps in none with a view and 
 tendency to his restoration ; it is questionable 
 whether they lead to a prevention of crime, or 
 only to greater skill in its commission, and are we 
 quite sure that any other object is contemplated 
 than revenge 1 however much we may disguise 
 it from our own minds, under the specious names 
 of majesty of the law, administration of justice, 
 preservation of society ; and if it be revenge, or if 
 that feehng, under whatever name we call it, 
 influences us, our punishments will have an inju- 
 rious tendency upon ourselves — our social condition 
 — besides an injurious effect upon all those who 
 are the subjects of it, as offenders or criminals ; 
 at all events, no higher motive can be appealed to 
 in the minds of offenders, than the fear of detection, 
 from its legal consequences : is this the motive by 
 which we ought to influence them, aiid can it bring 
 about a beneficial result ? 
 
 It is remarkable, the difficulty which is felt by 
 the learned judge (Blackstone) in his interpretation 
 of the laws of nature, and their application to 
 human conduct, especially in relation to dealing 
 
51 
 
 with crime ; and he feels constrained, in the 
 passage above quoted, to have immediate recourse 
 to the revealed law of God ; (see page 48 ;) but 
 he, without reference to that revelation, goes 
 on treating crime precisely as if such a law did not 
 exist ; in fact, upon purely supposed natural law. 
 Mr. Combe, on exactly the contrary, treats crime 
 and the criminal upon the principles expressly 
 and plainly commanded by the law of God, as set 
 forth in the New Testament, and as illustrated 
 by the character of the Messiah, yet he would 
 lead us to infer this mode of dealing with them is 
 the result and dictates of the natural laws, to 
 which in his practice, or opinion at least, revealed 
 religion is secondary^ and requires the aid of 
 a natural science to complete carrying out its 
 principles, and to enable mankind to understand 
 its doctrines. " The religious teachers of man- 
 kind," says he, " are yet ignorant of the most 
 momentous fact that nature presents, in regard to 
 the moral and intellectual improvement of the 
 race. I have heard it said, that Christianity 
 affords a better and more instantaneous remedy 
 for human depravity, than improvement of the 
 cerebral organization, because the moment a man 
 is penetrated by the love of God in Christ, his 
 moral and religious affections become far stronger 
 and more elevated, whatever his brain may be, 
 than those of any individual without that love, 
 however noble his cerebral development, and how- 
 ever much he may be instructed in natural know- 
 ledge. . 1 observe, however, that in this life, a man 
 cannot become penetrated by the love of God, 
 except through the aid of sound and efficient 
 material organs. This fact is directly proved by 
 cases of madness and idiocy."* 
 
 * Combe, chap. 8, page 311, 
 
I confess I see some difficulty here, but I appre- 
 hend it does not rest with the reHgious teachers of 
 mankind alone, I presume that few of them would 
 expect to produce an effect upon " idiots or mad- 
 men;" natural philosophers and phrenologists must, 
 at least, share the difficulty ; but the main question 
 is, How is a sound state of the cerebral or 
 material organs to he produced ? How did the 
 Messiah proceed towards accomplishing this ob- 
 ject? Let us suppose a case. A virtuous parent, 
 with his mind imbued with high views of human 
 objects and relations, with a christian knowledge 
 of his duty to God, and an humble and earnest 
 desire to obey it, as well as an anxious desire to 
 promote the welfare of those by whom he is sur- 
 rounded, will his example have no effect upon his 
 child ? Will not the happiness which results from 
 such a line of conduct be communicated ? Will 
 not his benevolent and cheerful teaching produce 
 a beneficial effect ? Under his training, will not 
 the benevolent and good dispositions of the child 
 (call them organs if you will) be promoted and 
 enlarged — the effect would not be instantaneous, 
 but would an effect more instantaneous be pro- 
 duced by any other mode of treatment ? If I am 
 asked, can men with depraved dispositions, and 
 long continued sensual habits, be suddenly changed 
 by the application of divine truth to them, or their 
 reception of it ? I answer, certainly not ; therefore 
 it is to these persons, and to such as these, the strong- 
 minded believers are especially exhorted to ^^ suffer 
 long and to be kind," to" bear all things," ".believe 
 all things, hope all things, endure all things."* 
 Phrenology does nothing more ; it attempts, it 
 can do nothing more towards producing a healthy 
 and sound cerebral organization than this. Chris - 
 * 1 Cor. xiii. 4 and 7. 
 
53 
 
 tianity^ if its principles be properly applied^ and 
 patiently persevered in, will do its work, and 
 eminently fit man for his moral duties, and condi- 
 tion in this life — enlarge his mind, improve his 
 disposition and mental organization, as well as fit 
 him for a future state of existence, infinitely better 
 than ever was or can be done by attending to the 
 dictates of the natural laws. 
 
 But, unfortunately, the religious teachers of 
 mankind have laid themselves open to a charge, 
 if not of ignorance, at least of mistake, in their 
 mode of teaching and illustrating divine truth ; 
 but it is in exactly the opposite direction to what 
 Mr. Combe points out : they have been too fond 
 of adding the deductions of human reason to the 
 simple truths of the gospel; they have combined 
 with the law of God the mysterious laws of 
 nature, or their contradictory interpretations of 
 them, and have got into almost inextricable con- 
 fusion ; and a further consequence is, the Christian 
 church is as much divided into opposing sects, 
 and almost as much diverted from the simpKcity 
 of revealed truth, as the heathen world was in 
 their estimation and interpretation of the natural 
 laws, and in the application of them to morality 
 and religion ; and it is feared some of our prac- 
 tices are not much better. May not the question 
 be put, are we progressing or receding in morals ? 
 notwithstanding our cultivation of science, and 
 our eager devotion to natural philosophy. Let 
 any reflecting man look at a few of the largest 
 Christian sects, and contemplate the important 
 differences which characterise them, and then 
 ask, whence these differences ? then let him con- 
 template the truth as given by the Messiah 
 himself, as quoted by Mr. Combe, " Love thy 
 
54 
 
 neighbour as thyself; all mankind are thy neigh- 
 bours; Blessed are the meek and the merciful; 
 love those that hate you, and despitefuUy use 
 you; seek that which is holy and pure, and of 
 good report : these ai'e the precepts to be found 
 in Scripture." (Chap. viii. p. 312.) But they are 
 not the precepts taught by an observance of the 
 natural laws ; and the Christian world would be 
 benefitted, if they were called to a sense of the 
 overwhelming importance of their own princii)les, 
 and to their practical neglect of them : Mr. Combe 
 certainly deserves well of society for calling at- 
 tention to that disregard, although it is to be 
 feared, what he points out has not created, and 
 will not by itself produce, a remedy. 
 
 "History" says he, chap. ix. p. 814, "is full 
 of instruction concerning the insufficiency of 
 mere theological knowledge to protect men from 
 practical errors, when their understandings are 
 unenlightened in regard to philosophy, and the 
 constitution of nature; the part which the re- 
 ligious teachers of Europe acted in regard to 
 witchcraft, affi)rds one striking proof of this 
 remark."* With every respect to Mr. Combe, 
 
 * The proposition, instead of standing as Mr. Combe has 
 placed it, if fairly put, would resolve itself into two, and stand 
 thus : history fully proves that man has never sufficiently observed 
 and obeyed the law of nature, as to protect himself against a vast 
 amount of physical suffering ; it also proves that man has never 
 regarded and obeyed the revealed will of God, so as to produce a 
 high intellectual state of morality and happiness : all the cases 
 he has cited would fully prove these two propositions, under 
 their respective heads. I most respectfully conceive he errs in 
 mixing them up together : the law of nature, and the revealed 
 law of God, I submit, are totally different in their relations ; the 
 former relates to man with respect to present, external, and 
 physical objects ; the latter, to the future, as well as the present 
 well-being and moral elevation of the species — with the internal 
 
55 
 
 history is full of instruction, how determinately 
 science, philosophy, and an observance of the 
 natural laws, taught witchcraft ; how the minds of 
 men, unaided by divine truth, clung to and 
 encouraged it; how divination, under multitu- 
 dinous forms, influenced the actions and motives 
 of men under the dictates of natural or idolatrous 
 religion. He has not dwelt upon how many wicker 
 images the ancient Britons filled with prisoners, 
 and burnt in honor of their gods, the observance 
 of their religion, or from their feelings of revenge : 
 he has enlarged upon the number of victims who 
 have suffered under the charge of witchcraft by 
 
 conformation of the human mind — for infinitely higher objects 
 than his present sensual, animal, and external condition alone. 
 
 Christian teachers err with respect to divine truth, exactly as 
 the natural philosopher would act in regard to the lever, if he 
 should extol its power and peculiar fitness to lift a given weight, 
 but not adopt its use. The Christian world admit the power of 
 their principles, and their fitness to produce the most invaluable 
 results, but will not practice them : the mere knowledge of them 
 is indeed of little avail ; the practice of them would demonstrate 
 their power. 
 
 It is not, however, attempted to be denied, that men frequently 
 neglect their natural duties to attend to their religious observances : 
 this is not, however, dictated by true religion, and will lead to 
 poverty, discomfort, disregard by the world, disease, and possibly 
 untimely death ; while the man who attends exclusively to natural 
 pursuits and objects, may possibly become rich and powerful, be 
 healthy, and live a long life ; but this class of persons, it is to be 
 observed, are not necessarily happy, nor really respected, and 
 certainly never tend to ennoble or elevate their species, either by 
 their example or self-denial : and however much they may pride 
 themselves, they will be in the condition of those denounced as 
 neglecting justice, mercy, and truth (Matt, xxiii. 23.) Believers 
 in divine truth are assured, that if they first seek the kingdom of 
 God and his righteousness, all natural good things shall be added 
 unto them (Matt. vi. 33.) Let them found their actions on the 
 commands of God, no really valuable blessings will be withheld 
 from them (1 Kings iii. 13 :) true religion will teach them how 
 to acquire the greatest blessings, and, what is of more importance, 
 how to use and enjoy them. 
 
56 
 
 the hands of Christians (be it remembered, in 
 their observance of natural laws ;) but he would 
 have shewn, had he dealt justly by the divine 
 precepts, which their professors abandoned or 
 neglected in their unjust severity in relation to 
 these parties, that they are no more inefficacious, 
 than the physical laws are to be considered 
 inoperative, because the people of Edinburgh 
 built their houses of wood, although they knew 
 that wood was combustible, ^^not only in itself, 
 but involved in inevitable destruction every com- 
 bustible object within its influence." (Combe, chap, 
 vii. p . 278.) Natural laws do teach punishments ; the 
 observance of them teaches that man is punished 
 for all their infringements : animals worry each 
 other in their natural conditions and operations, 
 and man draws the inference that he has a right 
 to follow in the dictates of the natural laws, and 
 obey his instinct, — his natural inclination to punish; 
 but it is revealed religion steps in, and commands 
 the cultivation of the benevolent affections, and 
 imperatively insists upon their exercise, especially 
 in relation to all offenders. 
 
 The inference then drawn from the history of 
 mankind, heathen, Jewish, and christian, with 
 respect to the operations of the natural laws, under 
 all circumstances, and at all times, as far as society 
 have acted upon them, or its deductions from their 
 operation, is, that they are insufficient to promote 
 the moral welfare of man; that man has never 
 drawn any true religious conclusions from them; 
 that, without divine revelation, where the arts have 
 floui'ished, and philosophy been most triumphant, 
 there has been the most false religion, and the 
 most degraded morals; consequently, an obser- 
 vance of the natural laws, valuable as it un- 
 
57 
 
 questionably is in relation to all physical objects 
 and connexions, necessary as it is to enlarge and 
 form the experience of mankind, by encouraging 
 his reason in progressive artificial refinements 
 upon them, in order to improve his animal or 
 natural condition, the cultivation of the moral 
 principles, the exercise of the benevolent affections, 
 the observance of true religion, the possession 
 of present peace and happiness, as well as the 
 hope of everlasting joy, can only be arrived at 
 through the attentive observance of, and strict 
 obedience to, the laws of God, by his simple but, 
 if obeyed, omnipotent commands, through Christ 
 Jesus. We shall therefore go, in due course, to 
 the consideration of how the degraded, the unfor- 
 tunate, or the wicked, should be treated, unencum- 
 bered with any consideration of the natural laws, 
 as they always have misled, we have, therefore, 
 no right to give them any authority upon the 
 subject : we must appeal to the law of God alone, 
 as interpreted in the New Testament. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 PUNISHMENT. 
 
 How judicious and wary ought princes, lawgivers, judges, 
 juries, and even masters to be. They ought not to consider so 
 much what a stout, resolute, obstinate, hardened criminal may 
 bear, as what the weaker sort, or at least, (if that can be known) 
 the person immediately concerned, can bear, that is, what any 
 punishment would be to them. For, it is certain, all criminals are 
 not of the former kind, and, therefore, should not be used as if 
 they were. Some are drawn into crimes which may render them 
 obnoxious to public justice, they scarce know how themselves ; 
 some fall into them through necessity, strength of temptation, 
 despair, elasticity of spirits, and a sudden eruption of passion, 
 ignorance of laws, want of good education, or some natural infir- 
 mity or propensity, and some who are really innocent j are oppressed 
 by the iniquity or mistakes of judges, juries, witnesses, or, perhaps, 
 by the power and zeal of a faction, with which their sense or their 
 honesty has not permitted them to join. What a difference there 
 must be between the sufferings of a poor wretch, sensible of his 
 crime, or misfortune, who would give a world for his deliverance 
 if he had it, and those of a sturdy veteran in roguery ; between 
 the apprehensions, tears, faintings of the one, and the brandy 
 and oaths of the other ; in short, between a tender nature and a 
 brick-bat. 
 
 In general, all persons ought to be very careful and tender when 
 any other is concerned ; otherwise they may do they know not 
 what, for no man can tell by himself, or any other way, how any 
 other may be affected. 
 
 There cannot be an equal distribution of rewards and punish- 
 ments by any stated human laws, because (among other reasons) 
 the same thing is rarely either the same gratification, or the same 
 punishment, to different persons. — Woolaston's Religion of Nature 
 Delineated, sec. 2. 
 
 Whoever will take the trouble to read Black- 
 stone's first chapter in the fourth volume, will 
 
59 
 
 remark the difficulty he is surrounded with in 
 considering the subject of punishment^ but he 
 expressly remarks^ that it is not to make atone- 
 ment or expiation for crime, ^^for that must be 
 left to the just determination of the Supreme 
 Being;" but the ends of human punishment he 
 resolves into three — the amendment of the offender, 
 deterring others from offending in the same way, 
 and depriving the offender of the power of doing 
 future mischief. Let us examine how the in- 
 fliction of human punishment operates to effect 
 these objects. 
 
 In our modes of awarding punishments, the 
 most guilty frequently entirely escape, and a large 
 amount of suffering is generally entailed upon 
 others besides the guilty or convicted person; 
 such is the condition of our existence, that no 
 pain can be inflicted without involving others 
 in its consequences, in a greater or less degree. 
 Let us instance the case of a youth detected in 
 a crime ; his family become involved in his pun- 
 ishment, and are tempted to degrading artifice 
 and falsehood to conceal it. How frequently are 
 the hearts of parents broken, and virtuous families 
 scattered, by an event like this : or let us instance 
 a father, with a family depending upon him for 
 support, under punishment; his home is broken 
 up, his family pauperized, and therefore more 
 deeply vitiated : and, let it be remembered, these 
 are very frequent occurrences ; and in the latter 
 case, the community has not only expensively to 
 support the culprit, but to maintain his family, 
 and, in all probability, form circumstances for 
 the production of future criminals. The question 
 has been recently asked, what shall we do with 
 discharged prisoners ? But other questions are 
 
60 
 
 equally imperative, and among them. What ought 
 we to do with the children of prisoners ? Fre- 
 quently, the imprisonment of a father of a family, 
 and always his transportation, is worse in its conse- 
 quences to that family, than his natural death would 
 be ; and these evils ultimately fall upon society. 
 
 If the tendency of punishment, as now exer- 
 cised, be fully considered in all its bearings, it 
 will be discovered the community suffers nearly 
 as much by its apphcation as it does by crime; 
 and no one disputes the rule to be, that the 
 prisoner is made worse by its adoption; the 
 exception being very rare, in which his good dis- 
 positions and capabilities are improved. We 
 will first glance at the prosecutor, probably an 
 amiable well-disposed man, having detected an of- 
 fender, and determines to deliver him over to 
 the law, "that justice may be satisfied," "and 
 that such persons must not be let loose upon 
 society unpunished;" "He must be made an 
 example of," and similar established principles : 
 he is first appealed to by the offender, and probably 
 knows many good traits in his character, and 
 believes upon the whole he is a respectable mem- 
 ber of the community; but there is the fact of 
 his crime, and he resolves "the law shall take 
 its course:" then the friends of the offender 
 appeal to him; they endeavour to engage his 
 feelings, and urge him not to prosecute : his sympa- 
 thies are deeply interested, but he resolves to " be 
 firm :" next come other friends less deeply inter- 
 ested, but offer to recompence him for the injury 
 sustained, and arrange it with him, frequently in 
 a substantial manner, but he resolves to do his 
 duty, and will proceed. Let us view this prose- 
 cutor and his Avitnesses at the time of trial, in the 
 
Gl 
 
 vicinity of the court of justice : who is there 
 that can say that their neighbourhoods, during 
 sessions or assizes, are at all favourable to the 
 preservation or promotion of virtue ? It would 
 not be in conformity with the object herein 
 contemplated, to detail it, but it may be charac- 
 terised as impure and demoralizing a gathering 
 as can be met with ; yet here he must remain, 
 frequently for days before his case comes on, and 
 when it does, his culprit is acquitted upon a 
 point of law : perhaps, after a long or confusing- 
 cross-examination, he is made to contradict him- 
 self, and it is made to appear he tempted the 
 prisoner, and ought to change places with him ; 
 or the prisoner is acquitted, because the jury 
 conceive themselves judges of law as well as of 
 fact : and if a conviction be obtained, and the 
 culprit punished, the sentence is carried out 
 without any reference to its effect upon him ; 
 but the law has taken its course, and justice and 
 society are satisfied, without attending any further 
 in the matter. But let us ask any thinking man 
 who has been a prosecutor, whether he is satisfied 
 with the result ? Does he not feel an uneasy sen- 
 sation that all is not as it should be ? whether 
 some better method might not have been adopted 
 by himself, or by the institutions of society, in 
 such cases ? Does he come away with the conviction 
 that any parties are benefitted by the whole 
 proceedings? and, except in cases in which he 
 has felt himself avenged upon the culprit, or had 
 a reason for putting him away, does he feel pleased 
 with the result, or with the share he has taken in 
 the transaction ? 
 
 A lady, about two years ago, went into a shop 
 in the metropolis, and took up a silk umbrella; 
 
6^ 
 
 there could be no mistake on the subject, she 
 went in on purpose, was seen to take it away, 
 was followed and taken into custody, with the 
 article upon her, she was committed by the magis- 
 trate, and every appeal and representation was 
 made to the prosecutor, to induce him to forego 
 the prosecution ; he, however, remained firm, and 
 at the trial, the counsel for the prisoner pleaded 
 not guilty, on the ground of insanity ; the judge, 
 wisely and properly, in the present state of the 
 law, recommended the plea to be withdrawn, and 
 one of not guilty to be substituted ; the trial pro- 
 ceeded, the prisoner was found guilty, and the 
 sentence was, that she be imprisoned o?ie hour. 
 This case suggests many valuable considerations : 
 first, the criminal was above temptation, at least 
 as far as want is concerned; in the next place, 
 she was weU informed; and, lastly, she moved 
 in a sphere in which crime, such at least as that 
 wliich she committed, would not be likely to be 
 tolerated or common. But these circumstances, 
 upon a just administration of punishment, as far as 
 it is adapted to moral guilt, and as generally sup- 
 posed to be apportioned to it, ought to have 
 weighed against her, the present mode of applying 
 punishment should have suggested, she had no 
 excuse, and ought to be made the most severe 
 example of ; wliile the poor unfortunate criminal, 
 with the pressing and urgent incentives of want, 
 perhaps of starvation, combined with the grossest 
 ignorance, and placed in an atmosphere of crime, 
 all tending to blunt the moral perceptions, would 
 not certainly have been let ofif so easily ; but such 
 an award of punishment as this, tends greatly to 
 promote disrespect for the administration of jus- 
 tice in the minds of the people, instead of leading 
 
68 
 
 them to fear it, rather makes them feel a sort of 
 martyrdom; and they say that money, not justice, 
 station in society, not the equitable adaptation 
 of punishment according to guilt, or law, are 
 supreme. But let us go back to the original 
 question, who is benefitted by a prosecution like 
 this ; is the prosecutor ? Can he feel that he has 
 done his duty ? the culprit has been let loose 
 in society to continue her crimes. Is the com- 
 munity benefitted by the expenses incurred, and 
 one of its erring members restrained from com- 
 mitting further depredations; or is an offender 
 restored to the path of virtue and happiness? 
 The latter, indeed, may be the case, but certainly 
 not in consequence of the punishment awarded for 
 her proved guilt. And, lastly, what has been the 
 result to the criminal and her connexions ? She 
 has been restored to her family, and to her duties, 
 in this instance, and is she not likely to become, or 
 continue, a better member of the community than 
 she would if she had been imprisoned one, two, 
 or even twelve months? and with her previous 
 habits, the probable effects of imprisonment would 
 have been less prejudicial than they are to a less 
 informed person, to whom the habits of fellow- 
 prisoners, their characters and sympathies, would 
 tend certainly downward in habit, disposition, and 
 character, when placed with them. A few hours 
 in any court of justice shews that after a person, 
 especially if young, has been committed to prison, 
 he or she is almost ever afterwards a candidate for 
 its repetition. But let us go further, and ask the 
 probable motive to the commission of the crime 
 above alluded to ; it is difficult to give the motive, 
 and difficult to account for the act. Let us suppose 
 the criminal asked, she w^ould in all probability 
 
64 
 
 say she could not tell, and doubtless would assert 
 the truth ; if then an act springs from causes so 
 obscure, and is so difficult to be accounted for, 
 in the hidden workings of the human mind, 
 ought we not to pause before we determine that 
 punishments are the best mode of prevention or 
 cure. And the same remark applies to the poor 
 depressed criminal, whose motive to crime is 
 more palpable, whose want and privation will 
 readily suggest a reason for its commission ; is the 
 punishment of any avail to prevent or remove 
 the causes ? And does it diminish the effect ? 
 Is it not a fact, that many, if not all, of the 
 depraved laugh at imprisonment ? Do not many 
 say they prefer it, and commit crime on pur- 
 pose to obtain it ?* These things tend to establish 
 
 * During a conversation with a number of depraved persons, 
 the following remarks were made by them, *' What is the use of 
 talking to us about work : how can we get our livings ? you (the 
 authorities,) are resolved to punish and degrade us, and you do 
 it when you can ; and we have made up our minds to spend our 
 time between the workhouse and the prison, and nothing shall 
 prevent us doing so.*' 
 
 It is in place here to notice Mr. Pearson's lecture on prison 
 discipline, at Exeter, on the 24th of August last. Mr. Pearson's 
 theory appears to be, to make punishments more certain, more 
 definite, more productive, and more severe, yet, at the same time, 
 to instruct and improve the prisoner as much as possible. After 
 alluding to the legislature bringing within the scope of its punish- 
 ment many petty offences, he says, ** If the legislature had 
 prepared a proper system of punishment, to give sanction and 
 force to these penal laws, and to repress these petty offences, I am 
 not prepared to say, that the enactment of such is not to be jus- 
 tified by the principles of legislation which ought to prevail in an 
 enlightened and civilised community like our own." It would 
 be difficult to define the amount of punishment due to a child for 
 *' trundling a hoop, or flying a kite, in the street :" a mild remon- 
 strance at the moment, would be all that was due in such matters, 
 and would be more effectual than any punishment that could 
 be adopted. He, however, very properly goes on to deplore 
 the efforts now making in some of the gaols to accomplish the 
 
65 
 
 the position, that piinishments, as now awarded in 
 some persons or cases, lead to the extension of 
 crime ; in the instance above alluded to, where 
 it was virtually dispensed with altogether, what 
 did society suifer? Is it supposed this case is 
 isolated ? or if such a mode of treating criminals 
 in good circumstances were to become general, 
 ladies or matrons would leave their families, and 
 break all the virtuous bonds of society, by be- 
 coming professed shoplifters ? But it is a well 
 established fact, that the case above stated is by 
 no means singular: crime frequently manifests 
 itself in very high society, but how seldom does 
 it meet with legal punishment. Will any man say 
 that the comparative immunity from it, among the 
 rich and educated, tends to demoralise them, or to 
 render the property and lives of their associates 
 less secure ? Why should not the principle of 
 forbearance be universally adopted, or at all 
 events indiscriminately tried ? Human vindictive- 
 ness is a fruitful source of earthly misery, poverty 
 and degradation, whether it be legally or indi- 
 vidually exercised. 
 
 If punishments are adopted, their objects should 
 be, not only to prevent crime, but to promote a 
 high moral tone in society: with regard to the 
 
 the great expense of the virtuous and industrious. He alludes to 
 gaol amusements, and to the prisoners giving lectures to each 
 other on the highest branches of knowledge; there is a double 
 mistake committed in this, besides its injustice : the first is 
 in supposing these things necessarily lead to, or indicate, a 
 good, practically moral frame of mind, and the last is under the 
 name of punishment, actually rewarding the depredator. Mr. 
 Pearson falls into the common mistake of assuming juvenile delin- 
 quency to be necessarily an evil ; it becomes so only by the mode 
 in which it is treated : if it be dealt with properly, good, instead 
 of evil, would frequently arise from it, but treated, or punished, 
 as it now is, every one sees and deplores the result. 
 
 F 
 
66 
 
 first, it will be asserted, that punishments do deter 
 many from the commission of offences. This is a 
 position which is denied, inasmuch as the criminal 
 is, upon conviction, sent into a nursery for crime, 
 and generally becomes, after imprisonment, a 
 depredator by profession; almost all criminals 
 admit the prison is not so undesirable, after the 
 degradation is once submitted to, as the innocent 
 or unconvicted suppose it : imprisonment, or the 
 punishment provided, even where dreaded, tends 
 certainly not so much to prevent crime, as it does 
 to additional caution in its perpetration ; there is 
 a very broad distinction between being afraid to 
 commit a crime, and being afi'aid of legal pun- 
 ishment. But imprisonment, as it has been carried 
 out of late, it may be said, is improved, a system of 
 silence and separation is adopted ; but is it not a 
 fact, that in proportion as the contagion of crime 
 is supposed to be prevented by this system, 
 insanity has been induced, and the mysterious 
 agency of sympathy is in full operation. But if 
 we adinit fear of punishment does deter offenders, 
 is there not a higher motive which may be 
 appealed to, or called into action, in our treatment 
 of the vicious and criminal portion of society? 
 Fear, with its degrading useless tendency, has been 
 tried long enough ; let us try christian, active, 
 untiring benevolence ; let us endeavour to pro- 
 duce, among ourselves, a state that we have 
 hardly hitherto conceived, namely, that the fear 
 of the bad shall be reduced to the fear to 
 commit the crime, rather than of the conse- 
 quences which flow to them in the shape of 
 punishment, from fallible, uncertain, and fre- 
 quently inoperative human institutions. It will 
 be said^ this is Utopian and impracticable, only 
 
67 
 
 a small approach to it is likely to be attained in 
 a very high state of society. If it be supposed, 
 it is contended, crime will be banished from hu- 
 man communities, the answer is, that will never 
 be done, at least in this imperfect state of our 
 constitution : but crime may be lessened ; its con- 
 sequences to the virtuous may be ameliorated ; the 
 criminal may be restored in many more cases than 
 is now supposed likely ; many may be prevented 
 from falling into guilt and infamy; society at 
 large may be improved and softened, by a line 
 of conduct being adopted in conformity with the 
 highest motives and hopes that can adorn and dig- 
 nify the human character. The experienced and 
 virtuous part of mankind should conduct themselves 
 towards the young or vicious, so as to encourage 
 them, in all cases of aberration, to look upon them as 
 their guides, friends and instructors, instead of their 
 enemies and prosecutors. If a child hurt itself by a 
 fall, is it just to punish him ? or is it not rather wise 
 to encourage him to inform his elders of it, thereby 
 probably preventing the most serious natural 
 consequences ? If this be true in physics, why 
 should it not be true in morals ? Why should not 
 mankind imitate the conduct of their heavenly 
 Father, and encourage the sinner to the confession, 
 ^^ I have sinned ;" approach him with affection 
 and brotherly or fatherly care, for his restoration, 
 instead of making the breach wider by the dread 
 of punishment? Crime should be looked upon 
 as a part, we must admit a mysterious part, of the 
 divine arrangements, existing, like all that God 
 permits or causes, for some good object : it is, at 
 present at least, an inevitable, a necessary part or 
 ingredient in our existence, and the criminal 
 
68 
 
 should be treated by the good in accordance with 
 this view of the matter. 
 
 Mankind are, certainly, but little influenced by 
 fear, especially when the object dreaded is uncer- 
 tain, (and human punishments never can be made 
 certain,) although it may be highly probable: 
 for instance, the soldier, when he marches to 
 battle, is certainly not influenced by the fear of 
 death, or mutilation ; he is influenced by a higher 
 object, however forlorn his prospect may be, it 
 is the rule for him vigorously to perform his duty. 
 Many other instances might be adduced, in which 
 fear is altogether inadequate to the prevention 
 of a given line of action ; why then should it 
 be the only motive appealed to as a means of 
 preventing crime? why should we suppose the 
 criminal influenced more than the soldier by this 
 motive? The latter, who acted from its dictates, 
 would be taunted by his comrades, and so would 
 the criminal among his fellows. 
 
 It is amazing the amount of ingenuity, and per- 
 sonal risk, that practised criminals sometimes 
 manifest and undergo in the perpetration of crimes, 
 and the large amount of training frequently 
 required to make a culprit; both these show 
 that fear becomes a natural and necessary excite- 
 ment, and is the last feeling likely to operate 
 upon them as a preventive, the only inference 
 to be drawn is, that the risk of punishment, as 
 has been already stated, is one of the induce- 
 ments, or excitements to, the commission of 
 crime, especially as we know the pains and labour 
 which is frequently taken by this class of persons 
 would, if used in a proper pursuit, lead to success, 
 and respectability in life. 
 
69 
 
 In a morally diseased mind, it is highly probable 
 that the notoriety attained by the perpetration of a 
 great crime, and the importance attached to him 
 upon detection, may sometimes weigh with him 
 as an inducement to court the risk of punishment. 
 Let us glance at the circumstances as they occurred 
 at the execution of the criminal alluded to in a 
 former chapter, (Gleeson Wilson.) The extracts 
 are taken from a long account in the Liverpool 
 Chronicle. ^^ The railway, in the true spirit of 
 cupidity, turned the occasion to a business pur- 
 pose, by running cheap trains, all of which were 
 closely packed." ^^ Madame Tussaud had a repre- 
 sentative present at the earliest moment, to 
 obtain the clothes of the wretch for exhibition in 
 the metropolis ; and an eminent phrenologist was 
 present to take a cast of his head." " One of the 
 priests came forward, and placed his head under 
 the gallows, looked up, oracularly touched the iron 
 chain across the tranverse beam, and shrugging 
 his shoulders, retreated into the gaol. What this 
 pantomimic action meant puzzled every one ; but 
 the grave occasion did not prevent the crowd from 
 laughing heartily." ^' He (the culprit) had a cross 
 suspended from his neck, and a book in his hand, 
 and looked quite cheerful and happy." Two per- 
 sons were sent to recognize him, ^^ but being 
 unable to do so, he laughed at this, and said 
 ^ thank you,' and bade them, in the most easy and 
 careless manner, farewell." " He looked even 
 better than at his trial; he surveyed the vast 
 multitude before him calmly and steadily, his 
 cheek never blanched, his eye was firm and re- 
 solved, and not a nerve seemed moved ;" and to 
 the last he persisted in asserting his innocence, 
 and " when the drop fell, a faint cheer was heard 
 
TO 
 
 in the distance." These circumstances are only a 
 small portion of what took place, but how can they 
 have a beneficial tendency upon minds so constitu- 
 ted or depraved, as to commit great crimes; are 
 they not rather a collateral inducement to their 
 commission than a preventive. 
 
 It very generally happens, a great crime is 
 followed by many more of the same kind in rapid 
 succession. A man in a frenzied state of mind, 
 ready to commit suicide, instead of quietly des- 
 troying his own life, has nothing now to do but 
 to commit a great crime, and thereby fix the eyes 
 of society upon him : he is for weeks paraded 
 before the public ; his looks, his dress, his minutest 
 actions chronicled; he will be tenderly treated 
 or waited upon by the most important ofiicials, 
 and ultimately die, in the presence of thousands 
 admiring his heroism, and expressing their admi- 
 ration, either of the man or the event, as in the 
 preceding case, by a ^^ faint cheer," and some- 
 times by a round of applause. 
 
 One of the tendencies of human punishment is 
 to beget a laxity of principle in education ; the 
 parent or teacher is disposed to think it sufficient 
 to point to the consequences of crime, as dealt 
 with by law, and say, you must not steal, or you 
 will go to prison ; you should not get into such 
 passions, you will some day do an injury to some 
 one, and be punished ; thereby establishing a most 
 fallacious principle of morality, or rather no prin- 
 ciple at all, as no higher motive to duty is 
 inculcated, than the problematical legal conse- 
 quences of an action, or than the fear of punish- 
 ment; but if no such ground of appeal existed, 
 the parent, or teacher, would be compelled to take 
 other means for enforcing duty and virtue; the 
 
71 
 
 rights of property would be explained to the 
 young, in one case, and their own and other's 
 well-being and happiness, must be sho\vn to mate- 
 rially depend upon their observance of them ; and 
 in the other, the necessity of controlling their 
 passions, and regarding the dispositions and feel- 
 ings of their fellow-creatures, would be shown to 
 prevent them much uneasiness and trouble, and 
 lead to affection and respect in themselves, in 
 their future intercourse ; it is admitted this will 
 lead to more trouble on the part of parent, or 
 teacher, but trouble, and incessant pains must be 
 taken to form the youthfal mind, in order to lay 
 the foundation of future character ; much must be 
 done, instead of an angry punishment, accompanied 
 with the exclamations. You will come to be im- 
 prisoned, transported, or hanged ! 
 
 Another effect of human punishment, is a de- 
 ceitful consciousness that we have another and a 
 stronger hold on others, than the existence, in them, 
 of virtue and integrity, or the upright example of 
 ourselves would justify us in entertaining. We only, 
 in a secondary degree, depend upon character ; 
 we mainly rely upon the law, and the punishment . 
 provided for its violation : a man may be careless 
 in his affairs ; he may neglect his property, so as 
 to create in certain minds almost irresistable 
 temptation ; he may even be dishonest in his own 
 transactions, and induce those around him to assist 
 in his dishonesty; yet, for the smallest departure 
 from honesty on the part of one of his assistants 
 or servants towards himself, he is forthwith 
 punished as an example. The possibility of in- 
 flicting legal punishment by the offended, and the 
 hope of escaping it by the offender, draws off the 
 attention of both from the certain results which 
 
12 
 
 attend all deviations from the paths of religion 
 and duty : while man is constituted as he is ; as 
 long as selfishness, anger, revenge, dislike, de- 
 traction, or any evil passions, enter into or form 
 part of our constitution, an offender will, upon 
 detection, always suffer quite enough from his 
 fellow-creatures, by the involuntary exercise of 
 these feelings, without imposing punishment, as 
 a duty, either individually, or by legal provision ; 
 it must be remembered, that nearly all the per- 
 sonal wrongs now inflicted are in return for some 
 real or supposed offence, in other words, pun- 
 ishments : while legal punishments are recognized 
 as necessary duties, a man, when offended, thinks 
 he has a right to take the law in his own hand, 
 or secretly avenge himself; if prosecution be a 
 duty, when there is no law to meet a case or an 
 offence, why is it wrong for an injured man to 
 avenge himself, and punish him who has com- 
 mitted the injury ? 
 
 An instructing illustration of the origin of 
 punishments, their useless immoral nature and 
 tendency, is set forth in the desire constantly 
 manifested by a large portion of the trading com- 
 munity, to enforce more stringent laws between 
 debtor and creditor : it is said, there is an immense 
 amount of money lost annually in the shape of bad 
 debts ; let it be admitted ; but to whom is it lost ? 
 is it lost to the community? if so, it is a serious 
 evil, but only on that ground ought the commu- 
 nity to legislate upon the subject : but it is not 
 lost to them, and they, as collected in the 
 legislature, have nothing to do with it, in fact, can 
 do nothing ; the original cause of the loss arises 
 with the creditors- themselves, in their anxiety to 
 increase their business, in the unfair, and very 
 
73 
 
 frequently exceedingly dishonest means which are 
 taken to do so. Many traders, young and old, 
 will recognize the extreme difficulty they have 
 had to overcome the temptation of getting too 
 deeply into debt : if a man cannot resist the artful, 
 deceptive means which are frequently adopted 
 to induce him to do so, and the almost certain 
 result, his inability to pay, becomes apparent to 
 himself or his covetous creditors, his credit is 
 allowed to pass to another house, equally eager 
 to entrap him, who receive a reference from his 
 late friends, and, for obvious reasons, that reference 
 is generally satisfactory, and when the unfortunate 
 debtor finds his folly or weakness leads to disas- 
 trous results, he can scarcely resist becoming care- 
 less to the interests of parties who have acted so 
 selfishly towards him; while the covetous credi- 
 tors, instead of quietly taking the consequences of 
 their own conduct, which is provided for in their 
 profits, call upon the community to enact more 
 stringent laws for the punishment of fraudulent 
 debtors — for the punishment of vices to which 
 they were parties, and to the commission of which 
 they were the tempters. The greatest fallacy 
 consists in supposing the community called upon 
 to legislate upon the subject: they have nothing 
 to do with it; but if they have, the conduct of 
 fraudulent creditors, as well as dishonest debtors, 
 ought to be investigated. If men reflected, the 
 immense amount of loss incurred by extensive 
 speculative trading would be found a tax in- 
 juriously, in many cases dishonesty, imposed 
 upon, and voluntarily submitted to, by weak, un- 
 thinking men ; if the community were to wisely 
 interfere, it would only do so to abolish all 
 law, at all events, all penal laws, between debtor 
 
74 
 
 and creditor^ leaving trade, — speculative trade 
 especially, to be based upon character, the law 
 of honour, the same as all other gambling trans- 
 actions : and a great deal of speculative trade is 
 in effect gambling ; why should avowed gambling- 
 debts be alone protected by the law of honour ? 
 Wholesome trade and proper credit cannot be 
 benefitted or protected by the operation of any 
 penal law ; unwholesome trade or improper 
 credit ought not to be protected by any enact- 
 ments : trade might be limited, certainly, but 
 those who lose many millions a year, certainly do 
 too much, honest reflection will suggest, addi- 
 tional stringent laws will only encourage this 
 speculative or dishonest distribution of property, 
 under a false idea of increased security, the 
 immoral security of punishments ; does not the 
 ridiculous and contemptible failure of every legis- 
 lative attempt prove abundantly the folly of 
 legislation upon the subject. 
 
 The question will naturally be asked. What will 
 be the consequences of not punishing criminals ? 
 It will not be amiss to glance at this inquiry here, 
 although it will be more enlarged upon when the 
 subject is treated scripturally. One of the first 
 consequences will most certainly be, mankind will 
 bend their attention to some more effective means 
 of preventing crime, than has hitherto been at- 
 tempted ; almost the only hope, up to the present 
 time, has been, as just stated, the efficacy of 
 punishment, althouglb. it has been frequently ex- 
 tensively modified, and human ingenuity taxed, 
 to produce beneficial effects to the criminal, as 
 weU as to prevent crime ; a short extract from 
 the Criminal Tables, for the year 1848, will show 
 with what success, " the total number of com- 
 
75 
 
 xnitments, for all classes of crime, amount, in the 
 quinquennial period, 1844 — 8, to 135,184; and in 
 the quinquennial period, 1839—43, to 140,290 ;" 
 so that, in proportion as we exercise our ingenuity 
 in the punishment of criminals, they increase at 
 the rate of one thousand a year : let it be remem- 
 bered, these are the commitments only, let the 
 vast amount of crime undetected be considered, 
 and the present mode of treating criminals will, at 
 the best, appear very questionable.* 
 
 Another important effect will be, society will 
 establish, as far as practicable, a reparative or 
 retributive system, instead of the punishing or 
 revengeful one which now exists. Difficulties will 
 of course arise ; but if a man is robbed, he will 
 be more benefited by the property, or a part of 
 it, being restored to him, than he is by the incar- 
 ceration of the offender, and if the latter be 
 properly treated, he would be very likely, at 
 a future period, to make reparation himself. 
 Crime would be treated as it truly is, a moral 
 disease, society would endeavour, first, to prevent, 
 and secondly, to cure it. It is almost inconceiv- 
 able, the amount of crime which is generated 
 
 * According to the report of the visiting justices of Middlesex, 
 the number of criminals in England and Wales, in 1836, was 
 20,984 j in 1847, 28,833. In the United Kingdom, the number 
 of convicted criminals, in 1836, was 47,797; in 1847, 64,677> 
 This really frightful increase of crime is enough to rivet the atten- 
 tion of the thinking christian community, and surely justifies 
 the questions. Do we treat our criminals properly ? Where will 
 this frightful increase end ? And can we do nothing to prevent 
 it ? The object of this treatise is not so much to point out the 
 bad effects of our present practice, or to enlarge upon the frightful 
 wickedness which exists under it, as to point out a higher and 
 better course j but it may not be amiss to hint, that much of the 
 machinery in existence, necessarily tends to foster and hatch crime, 
 by placing many persons in positions in which they can scarcely 
 help committing it. 
 
76 
 
 or encouraged by inattention to its earliest 
 indication ;* in a later and more advanced stage, 
 how easily, with proper treatment, it might 
 be cured: both these important particulars are 
 now scarcely ever thought of, through the 
 mistaken vague ideas of the necessity and effi- 
 cacy of punishments. The human mind is quite 
 as compHcated as the body; while we have 
 men who make it their study how to success- 
 fully treat any particular bodily disease ; we have 
 colleges to educate them, and prove their fitness 
 for the duty ; but for the mentally diseased crimi- 
 nal, the only provisions are the prison walls, the 
 chaplain, and depraved associates. Some striking 
 evils also would be averted, which now exist. There 
 would be no occasion for the highly immoral ma- 
 chinery which is frequently brought into use, for 
 and against a culprit, but which is not generally 
 
 * It may not be amiss to illustrate this position, by an allusion 
 to two important facts, known to us all, and under our own obser- 
 vation. In 1831, when the continent of Europe was in a state 
 of revolution, a riot broke out at Bristol, the rioters were not 
 interfered with for a considerable time ; the law, and its attendant 
 punishment, was vainly, in fact, superstitiously, considered suffi- 
 cient to repress it ; but it was clear that the supineness of the 
 authorities was as much to be deplored, as the wickedness of the 
 mob. In 1848, when corresponding circumstances existed, a 
 similar event was evidently contemplated, in London, the most 
 vigorous means were properly taken to prevent the most partial suc- 
 cess against life and property ; the punishment of offenders formed 
 no part of the arrangments ; prevention of offence was only pro- 
 vided for, its perfect success need scarcely be enlarged upon : 
 in all circumstances, if men, individually as well as collec- 
 tively, were to bend their minds to prevention of offences, instead 
 of punishing offenders, delinquency would be amazingly lessened. 
 Some philanthropists will, perhaps, say the above case was an 
 appeal to physical force ; it certainly was so, to prevent a great 
 evil, and the result shows that such an appeal, for such a purpose, 
 is infinitely more benevolent than to wait until offences are com- 
 mihed, and using the same force in punishing (in fact, in revenge 
 upon) the offender. 
 
77 
 
 known ; the innocent could not be punished 
 instead of the guilty, the latter would not es- 
 cape, as they now often do, by their pertinacious 
 and ingenious defence of a lie, uttered in the 
 presence of ^^ God and their country," which they 
 are encouraged to persevere in by their friends, 
 by the court, by the law, and usage of society. 
 The experience of many learned counsellors would 
 throw considerable light upon this branch of the 
 subject, which is not deemed right to further here 
 enlarge upon.* 
 
 * It is not consistent with this inquiry to enlarge upon the 
 mode of procuring convictions or acquittals, but rather the exami- 
 nation of the principle of punishment, but is quite justifiable to 
 hint at a divergence of the inquiry, by noticing one or two circum- 
 stances, in relation to our present mode of trial. In the preceding 
 chapter, the absurd principle of purgation, and compurgation, was 
 alluded to ; and if we could try our criminals by twelve enlight- 
 ened virtuous men, presided over by an enlightened judge, as 
 well versed in human nature as he is in law, it would, in principle, 
 be a good arrangement ; but, even then, it could not be free from 
 all the mistakes and blindness of our nature. But we attempt no 
 such thing ; we try our prisoners by oathy and very frequently our 
 poorer class of criminals, by the oaths of parties who are so used to 
 swearing, that it is, instead of a solemnity, a mere matter of busi- 
 ness, almost mechanical. Jurors are sworn to give a verdict, 
 not according to their moral convictions, but " according to the 
 evidence,** and that evidence is proveable, or admissable, only by 
 oath ; if a juror dismisses a prisoner because he disbelieves the 
 oath of his opponent, does he not virtually, or legally, commit per- 
 jury himself? Again, a poor man may be falsely, or mistakenly, 
 charged, he may be acquitted, and his character thereby cleared, 
 but he is frequently ruined by the process. Honest and searching 
 inquiry, as to the present mode of procuring convictions and 
 acquittals, is demanded, and assuredly will take place, and, for our 
 credit, the sooner the better ; it is only a question of time when our 
 whole system of criminal jurisprudence, (much as in the fullness of 
 our conceit we consider it perfect) will be looked upon as absurd and 
 wicked, as that of any period of time before us, but it will be assu- 
 redly discovered to be so. Here is a fine opening for our ministers of 
 religion to exert themselves ; they can carry on the inquiry ; they 
 can expose the anomalies which exist, and point out a right mode 
 of dealing with our poorer, our weaker fellow -creatures ; let them 
 
78 
 
 Another of the results would be raising the 
 treatment of crime to a profession ; and a valuable 
 and honourable one it would be. The parent 
 who saw incipient vice or crime in his child, if he 
 had not the time or knowledge to treat it himself 
 successfully, would call in the aid of an experi- 
 enced person, under whose treatment the most 
 deplorable consequences might be averted, and 
 that constitution, instead of becoming the slave of 
 degrading vices, and gross criminality, might be 
 changed, by judicious means, into usefulness and 
 respectability. It will be of course suggested, all 
 this should be left to the schoolmaster; perhaps 
 no greater fallacy can exist, than that of supposing 
 morals are necessarily taught at school, or that 
 they are capable of being, to any extent, practi- 
 cally and usefully taught even at the best schools : 
 most men will remember they learnt more vice 
 than virtue at school. If a schoolmaster teaches 
 the elements of general knowledge properly, he 
 does his duty, and, in many cases, all he can. The 
 absurdity is palpable, of expecting a man to suc- 
 
 determinately examine the principle of the present system, dealing 
 with the details is of little value. 
 
 The history of mankind lamentably proves how slowly a really 
 important practical principle progresses, and, at the same time, 
 how much importance is attached to insignificant questions 
 and subjects. Let us only instance the egregious folly of some 
 of the questions which have recently torn the established church, 
 and really shaken it : into what do they resolve themselves ? 
 Yet a practical question, of the magnitude of the treatment 
 of our guilty, or supposed guilty, fellow- creatures, is hardly 
 ever thought of, much less extensively entertained : but the minis- 
 ters of religion, unfortunately, always are behind in the avowal, 
 publication, or promotion, of practical justice, mercy, and truth. 
 Hosea iv. 4, 6 ; Matt, xxiii. 23, 24 ; Luke xi. 52. Mr. Robert- 
 son gives some melancholy details on this subject, in the 10th, 
 11th, and 12th notes, in his history of Charles V., vol. i. See also 
 Mosh«im's Ecclesiastical History, (himself a priest,) vol. i. p. 324. 
 
79 
 
 cessfuUy form, and cultivate, the moral habits of 
 from forty to one hundred boys, (the same remark 
 applies to female schools,) and instruct them in 
 the details of elementary knowledge as well ; the 
 best schoolmasters are very rarely able to go be- 
 yond giving the best general moral instruction, 
 but for it to be highly beneficial, the particular 
 bent and mind of each child must be attended 
 to ; in most schools, if not all, such attention is 
 utterly impossible; besides, many schoolmasters 
 are unfit, or unable, to attempt the task of indivi- 
 dual moral training, it would be found as complete 
 a profession as that of the schoolmaster. 
 
 It will also be asked. Of what use is the divine 
 if he does not attend to these things ? The answer 
 is, that with the individual application of moral 
 and religious truths, he has but little to do, except 
 in his own character and sphere ; it is his duty, 
 indeed, to deeply study to enforce them with the 
 greatest efiect, to render them attractive and 
 lovely, to exhort, persuade, convince, to do, in 
 fact, all he can, to promote their general adop- 
 tion, and, at any risk, endeavour to interweave 
 them in our institutions, to go before mankind 
 in ^promulgating them ; but the particular applica- 
 tion of them must be left to his hearers, they 
 must apply them when and where he cannot, in 
 the senate, at their homes, in their businesses, 
 the active walks of life, where they meet with 
 the erring, and where they show themselves ; it 
 unfortunately happens that the deeply erring do 
 not intrude themselves under the minister's ob- 
 servation, and if they do, he is not acquainted 
 with them, or their peculiar vices, to teach them 
 publicly with effect, besides the qualities for a 
 sound preacher, high as they are, or should be. 
 
80 
 
 are not alone sufficient to deal with the sinful 
 and the criminal; there wants also a deep prac- 
 tical acquaintance w^th human nature — ^its plausi- 
 bility, its treachery to itself, its pride, its false, — 
 sometimes, — indeed frequently, its true humility 
 and penitence, — to be enabled to so o^Derate upon 
 it, as to fit a guilty fellow-creature to admit and 
 act upon the almost omnipotent truth, when sin- 
 cerely admitted, " Thou art the man" (2 Sam. 
 xii. 7.) 
 
 But as punishments are now awarded, it is 
 valuable to observe how little real delinquency is 
 affected by them. Let us instance drunkenness : 
 all admit the dreadful nature and frightful in- 
 direct consequences of this vice : it is true, it 
 is punishable by a small fine, but how very 
 seldom is it imposed; Do men get drunk be- 
 cause the punishment does not reach them ? Let 
 us, on the contrary, suppose the fine in all 
 cases rigorously inflicted, would it lead to a sup- 
 pression of the vice, or would not concealment 
 and hypocrisy be added, to a much greater extent 
 than now exists? But if imprisonment were 
 instituted, could anything more demoralizuig 
 be conceived, — than an assembly of such per- 
 sons undergoing their sentences? the abstinence 
 imposed would certainly be rewarded, at the 
 expiration of the time, with full, increased in- 
 dulgence. 
 
 So again with prostitution. Let us suppose a 
 law vigorously put in force for its punishment; 
 is it at all likely society would be benefited? 
 The first question occurs. Can it be suppressed ? 
 if it can, would not a larger amount of evil 
 be generated? The necessary consequences of 
 this deviation from the rules of virtue are 
 
81 
 
 are plainly visible and certain, to both the indi- 
 viduals and society, yet, at our advanced state, we 
 think it right not to interfere by the interposition 
 of laws and punishments in relation to it. 
 
 Again, with suicide : many are detected in the 
 act of taking away their own lives. If human 
 life is so precious, as to demand a certain punish- 
 ment for jeopardizing it, why should it not be en- 
 forced against the attempted suicide ? Human effort 
 is, however, only directed, as far as possible, to pre- 
 vent the repetition of the attempt : the culprits are 
 only delivered over to their friends, to be dealt with 
 by the physician or divine; the jailer or the 
 executioner is never thought of. How do we 
 punish the seducer? who is there can venture 
 to define the consequences of seduction ?* If aU 
 the bearings and results of this crime be con- 
 sidered, it will be found scarcely less pardonable 
 than murder itself — infanticide and suicide being 
 frequently among its consequences. If we punish 
 the thief, how do we treat the gambler, or the 
 man who plunders largely, and, under the name 
 of speculation, plots deeply and successfully 
 against the property of his fellow-creatures ? 
 how do we act towards men, who, at some epochs 
 of society, compass robbery with such success, as 
 not only to accumulate princely fortunes them- 
 selves, but with such power, as to demoralize 
 whole communities, causing permanent poverty 
 and deep misery upon thousands ? We may, if 
 we please, pride ourselves upon our anxiety to 
 adjust our punishments to meet the case of a 
 
 * Among a certain class of libertines, it is held to be more 
 Jionorable to alienate a man's wife, than his mistress, because in 
 the former case there is a law to protect him, and give him 
 redress. 
 
82 
 
 hungry urchin who steals a penny pie, or to a 
 trained, but otherwise ignorant thief, who picks 
 a pocket ; but while we let far greater criminals 
 escape, (and it must be remembered the latter are 
 among the informed, the enlightened, and the 
 educated,) we, in our mode of applying pun- 
 ishments, at once prove their inefficacy, and the 
 falsehood of the principle on which we apply them. 
 Under an application of proper principles to 
 offences or offenders, men would not laugh at dis- 
 honesty, or think themselves honest, because no hu- 
 man or legal punishment is provided for or reaches 
 them : instead of the law of the land, they would 
 be desirous of observing the law of truth 
 and justice, which would become the strongest 
 which could influence us in our dealings with 
 each other ; the rich and educated thief would 
 be treated as a thief; all offenders would be 
 placed on a level, and society would be bound 
 to guard against them all, as well for their own 
 sakes, as for the prevention of inroads upon the 
 well-being of the community. It is not for a mo- 
 ment contemplated, that many of the vices which 
 infest our nature will be abolished ; it is not even 
 contended it is necessary they should be ; but it 
 is asserted that, if properly treated, their evil 
 consequences may be much averted, that much 
 evil might be made subservient to good, the 
 number of criminals very much reduced, many 
 of them restored to usefulness and society, and 
 a new source of profitable employment opened 
 for the learned and enlightened, as Avell as an ex- 
 tensive field spread for the operations of those 
 disposed to carry out the principles of revealed 
 truth, and an enlarged opportunity created for the 
 exercise of the benevolent affections. 
 
The consequences of adopting correct views of 
 crime, and a proper mode of treating it, would 
 involve the question, whether the whole of our 
 criminal code should not be swept away, or so 
 completely modified, as to render it essentially 
 difierent from what it is, by framing laws to pre- 
 vent those crimes only which are mala in se* and 
 letting all those which are mala prohibita be a 
 matter of purchase and conscience between the 
 individual and the community, as hinted at by 
 Blackstone, (vol. i. sec. 58.) '^ Thus, by the sta- 
 tutes for preserving game, a penalty is denounced 
 against any unqualified person who kills a hare, 
 and against any unqualified person who possesses 
 a partridge in August; and so, too, by other 
 
 * Under an enlightened and christian mode of dealing with 
 offenders, in many cases, detection in a fault or crime ; secrecy, if 
 accompanied with proper remonstrances, or instruction, towards 
 the detected, would operate more beneficially than exposure of 
 him. In cases in which secrecy failed, detection, with exposure, 
 would be a great, or sufficient, punishment, the exposure here 
 meant, is that which would be necessary to guard society 
 against the ill dispositions of the improperly disposed, and when 
 they are likely to interfere with the well-being of individuals, 
 or the community, society justly demands acquaintance with 
 such characters ; and, lastly, restraint should be imposed, not to 
 punish, but to preventy the offender, who is considered hardened, 
 or dangerous, from continuing his practices, as well as that his 
 case may be particularly considered, and his cure, or restoration, 
 if practicable, effected. A well arranged system of suretiship 
 would be highly beneficial, and meet all the difficulty ; a 
 really guilty, feared, or strongly suspected person, if he could 
 not obtain from his friends (those who know him, his character, 
 and dispositions, best) ample security for his good conduct, let 
 the last course be adopted towards him, and restraint imposed. 
 A similar course is strongly recommended by Blackstone, (book iv. 
 chap. 18,) as the best mode of preventing crime ; in fact, he alludes 
 to it as an effective plan, formerly adopted, and laments its having 
 fallen into disuse. It will at once be seen that a benevolent and 
 just course will involve punishment, but of that kind most likely to 
 be beneficial, because it arises from the exercise of right principles 
 towards the offender. 
 
84 
 
 statutes, pecuniary penalties are inflicted for exer- 
 cising trades, without serving an apprenticeship 
 thereto ; for not burying the dead in woollen, for 
 not performing the statute upon the public roads, 
 and for innumerable other positive misdemeanors : 
 now these prohibitory laws do not make trans- 
 gression a moral offence, or sin ; the only obligation, 
 in conscience, is to submit to the penalty if levied." 
 As to the existence of penal laws, it is further 
 asserted by him, in vol. ii. sec. 420, ^^ By far the 
 greatest number of crimes, or penal offences, are 
 so only from their prohibition by the law of the 
 land ;" and it is instructing to know many of these 
 things which are punishable at one time, are at 
 another not so, indeed some of them become 
 laudable in the estimation of a large or virtuous 
 part of the community : he, in another place, 
 (vol. iv. sec. 19) says, '^ it is a melancholy truth, 
 that among the variety of actions which men are 
 daily liable to commit, (in his times) no less than 
 an hundred and sixty have been declared, by Act 
 of Parliament, to be felonies, without benefit of 
 clergy, or, in other words, to be punished with 
 instant death, so dreadful a list, instead of di- 
 minishing, increases the number of offenders." 
 Thus, according to Blackstone, (no mean autho- 
 rity,) the way to diminish offences, and offen- 
 ders, is to abolish laws, or, at least, abate the 
 severity of punishments, showing, at the same time, 
 the chance of escaping gives a zest to the commis- 
 sion of offences. * Let us take another position laid 
 down by the same author. ^^ We may further 
 observe, that sanguinary laws are a bad symptom 
 of the distemper of any state, or, at least, of its 
 weak constitution. The laws of the Roman kings, 
 and the twelve tables of the decemviri, were full of 
 
85 
 
 r 
 
 cruel punishments : the Porcian law, which ex- 
 empted all citizens from death, silently abrogated 
 them all. In this period the republic flourished 
 under the emperors, severe punishments were re- 
 vived, and the empire fell :" (vol. iv. sec. 17 :) and 
 in a note is added, ^^ the most excellent and admi- 
 rable statute ever passed by the English legislature, 
 is the 1st Edward VI. chap. 12. In the preamble it 
 states, in a beautiful and simple strain of eloquence, 
 ^^ that nothing is more godly, more sure, more to 
 be wished and desired, betwixt a prince, the su- 
 preme head and ruler, and the subjects, whose 
 governor and head he is ; that on the prince's 
 part, great clemency and indulgency, and rather 
 too much forgiveness and remission of his royal power 
 and just punishment, than exact severity and jus- 
 tice, be showed; and on the subjects' behalf, that 
 they should obey rather for love, and for the 
 necessity and love of a king, and prince, than for 
 fear of his strait and severe laws. It, there- 
 fore, repeals every statute, which has created any 
 treason, since the 25th Edward III. 
 
 It repeals all and every Act of Parliament con- 
 cerning doctrine or matters of religion. 
 
 It repeals every felony created by the legislature 
 during the preceding long and cruel reign of 
 Henry VIII." 
 
 It certainly appears, therefore, that Blackstone 
 and his commentator admit that the way to 
 produce a high moral tone in society, is not by 
 enacting laws or inflicting punishments, but rather 
 their abolition : why should not such an en- 
 lightened, but simple, mode be folly adopted, 
 especially as will be hereafter proved, it is in 
 strict accordance with the commands of God ? 
 
 Much of our punishment is more severe than 
 
86 
 
 was commanded under the Mosaic code, and 
 certainly useless in comparison with it, which was 
 arranged to compel the offender to make reparation. 
 Thus, in cases of theft, if a man stole an ox, and 
 killed or sold it, he was to restore five for it, and 
 if a sheep, he was to restore four ; hut if it was 
 found alive upon him, he was to restore double, 
 whether ox, ass, or sheep : " And for all manner 
 of trespass, whether it be for ox, ass, or sheep, 
 for raiment, or for any manner of lost thing which 
 another challengeth to be his, the cause of both 
 parties shall come before the judges, and whom 
 the judges shall condemn, he shall pay double 
 unto his neighbour." (Exod. xxii. 9.) Such an 
 arrangement ^s this must be infinitely more calcu- 
 lated to impress upon the ignorant and criminal 
 the value of property, and its unalienability, than 
 personal suffering, after he has destroyed or 
 enjoyed that of his neighbour : prosecution of an 
 offender for theft in the one case, has at least the 
 tendency to restore the property, indemnify the 
 offended, and to prevent the crime being in any 
 way beneficial to the former ; while the mode we 
 now adopt induces him to dissipate the property, 
 and then set himself right with society, if 
 detected, by suffering in his person, the of- 
 i fended or injured is put to trouble and incon- 
 ^venience to prosecute, and he is taught to believe 
 he has no right to even forgive the offender.* 
 The very difficulties which have and still beset 
 
 * " This voluntary forgiveness may be an act of good nature 
 and humanity, but it is contrary to the good of the public ; for 
 although a private citizen may dispense with satisfaction (revenge) 
 for his private injury, he cannot remove the necessity of public 
 example. The right of punishing belongs not to any one indi- 
 vidual in particular, but to society in general, or the sovereign 
 who represents that society ; and a man may renounce his own 
 
87 
 
 lawgivers and writers^ upon the measure and 
 amount of punishment^ is enough to suggest the 
 inquiry, whether offenders might not be better 
 dealt with than by its adoption. As instances of 
 these difficulties, Blackstone says, (vol. iv., sec. 217,) 
 '' Theft, by the Jewish law, was only punished 
 with a pecuniary fine and satisfaction to the party 
 injured ; and in the civil law, till some very late 
 constitutions, we never find the punishment capital." 
 Archdeacon Paley also says, " By a rule of life, 
 which is perhaps too invariably and indiscrimi- 
 nately adhered to, no one will receive a man or 
 woman out of jail into any employment whatever. 
 This is the common misfortune of public punish- 
 ments, that they preclude the offender from all 
 honest means of future support!"^ And he adds, in a 
 note, ^^ until this inconvenience be remedied, 
 small ofiences had perhaps better go unpunished." 
 But as if frightened at his own admission, he 
 adds, ^^ I do not mean that the law should exempt 
 them from punishment, but that private persons 
 should be tender in prosecuting them :" and a 
 little further on, he says, " we (in his time) hang 
 a malefactor for a simple robbery, and can do no 
 more to the villian who has poisoned his father." 
 And instead of suggesting a milder course with 
 respect to the robber, intimates the propriety of 
 " putting the murderers into a den of wild beasts," 
 as being ^^ more dreadful to the imagination, yet 
 concealed from the view !" Moral and Political 
 Philosophy, chap, ix. 
 
 portion of this right, but he cannot give up that of others." — 
 Marquis Beccaria, chap. xlvi. 
 
 The above author is alluded to by Blackstone as an " elegant 
 writer," but whoever will analyse the passage, will, independantly 
 of its internal inconsistency, discover its intent is to establish an 
 utterly false position. 
 
Let us, however, in conclusion, try the useful- 
 ness of our punishments, by asking, are their 
 avowed objects gained ? Is the '' oiFender amended 
 by them ?" The assertion of Paley, and our abun- 
 dant subsequent experience, decidedly negatives 
 this position. Are others " deterred from offend- 
 ing in the same way?" The alarming and con- 
 stant increase of detected criminals will not allow 
 us to affirm this position ; and, lastly, do we 
 " deprive the offender of the power of doing 
 further mischief?" The answer to this last ques- 
 tion is, loe do in some cases — when we slay them — 
 an insignificant, and utterly contemptible excep- 
 tion, effected at a fearful expense, — the contra- 
 vention of a distinct and positive law of God„ 
 " Thou shalt not kiU." 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE LAW" OF GOD. 
 
 If God has revealed Ms law, or will, to man, it 
 is a just presumption it would be done under cir- 
 cumstances, and in a manner, calculated to strike 
 the senses, and arrest the attention of those to 
 whom it was communicated, as well as cause it to 
 be considered a leading fact in the authentic annals 
 of mankind, in short, that it should be miraculous ; 
 while we have a right to expect this of its external 
 character, we also must suppose it internally to be 
 such as to clearly define to man his duty to God, 
 and his fellow-creatures, — the real basis of '^ man's 
 true and substantial happiness." 
 
 For our present purpose we shall not dilate upon 
 the details of the laws of Moses, which were suited 
 to a people, in their infancy, many or most of those 
 laws having been of a local, temporary character,* 
 which were abrogated by the Messiah, but we will 
 
 * *' Our Master criticises a saying of old, relating to what is 
 called Lex Talionis, the law of revenge, or retaliation ; (Exod. 
 xxi. 23; Lev. xxiv. 19; Deut. xix. 21.) This provision of the 
 Mosaic code was adapted to a semi-barbarous state of society, and, 
 like that relating to divorces, was tolerated and allowed for a time, 
 for the hardness of their hearts. The same custom was observed 
 at Athens, Rome, and other ancient cities. According to the laws 
 of Solon, the retaliation was so rigid, that where an eye was put 
 out, and it was the only one the person had, both the eyes of the 
 oflfender were put out, to make the loss equal. The evil of the 
 
90 
 
 examine the decalogue which, he did not abrogate, 
 (Deut. V.,) and briefly refer to the circumstances 
 under which it was given. ^^ And it came to 
 pass on the third day, in the morning, that 
 there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick 
 cloud on the mount, and the voice of the trum- 
 pet, exceeding loud, so that all the people that was 
 
 in the camp trembled and mount Sinia was 
 
 altogether on a smoke, because the Lord descended 
 upon it on fire, and the smoke thereof ascended as 
 the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount 
 quaked greatly." (Exod. xix. 16, 18.) These 
 were some of the circumstances under which the 
 law of God, in the decalogue, was communicated. 
 Now let us test the nature and essence of that law, 
 
 law was, that it encouraged a fiendish spirit of revenge, fatal to 
 every sentiroent of piety and benevolence, which was not content 
 always with returning like evil for evil, but often carried its retalia- 
 tion |to the utmost extremity. Moses, in order to provide a 
 safety valve for the boiling passions of a half-savage people, per- 
 mitted them, by law, to demand an eye, &c., but, in process of 
 time, it become the custom, under the sanction of corrupt teachers, 
 to make these exactions, and take revenge privately. Jesus annuls 
 this whole custom, and inculcates a better spirit." — Livermore's 
 Commentary/ on the Gospels. 
 
 The laws of Moses can hardly be considered as absolutely the 
 law of God, but only so in a sense. The law of God is simple, 
 and capable of universal adoption ; the law of Moses is compli- 
 cated, and much of it only of local application : the former is 
 binding at all times, the latter only fit for temporary adoption. 
 The whole Mosaic code, inasmuch as it existed, was a part of the 
 government of God, but is no more universally binding on that 
 account, than ceremony, without spiritual religion, is justifiable, 
 because it is sometimes a means, in the hands of God, to work out 
 his objects. When we consider the number and complicated 
 character of the laws of Moses, we can come to no other conclu- 
 sion than that alluded to by the prophet Ezekiel, (chap. xx. 24,) 
 *' Wherefore, I gave them also statutes that were not good, and 
 judgments whereby they should not live ;'* perhaps to demonstrate 
 that no other laws, than those expressly commanded by divine 
 authority, are fit for the universal and ultimate well-being of the 
 human family. 
 
91 
 
 and into what does it resolve itself? Let us take 
 the ablest and best commentator : — the Messiah 
 himself, when asked this question, his answer was, 
 ^^ The Lord our God is one Lord ; and thou shalt 
 love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and 
 with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and 
 with all thy mind : this it the first commandment ; 
 and the second is like, namely. Thou shalt love thy 
 neighbour as thyself: there is none other com- 
 mandment greater than these." (Matt. xxii. 37, 40 ; 
 Mark xii. 29,-34 ; Eom. xiii. 8 to 10.) But in 
 turning back to these laws, as originally delivered, 
 there is a singularity which distinguishes them 
 from all human laws, and, that is, no human pun- 
 ishments are provided, commanded, or hinted at, 
 and why so ? Because the Divine Lawgiver will 
 provide his own punishments ; he will make ar- 
 rangements for the final observance, the ultimate 
 establishment, and the supremacy of his laws, in 
 his own manner : but the presumption of man has 
 interposed, and he has taken upon himself Godi^ 
 work by punishing his fellow-creatures into obedi- 
 ence, or attempting to do so; but how does he 
 act in this abortive effort ? By imprisoning, — some- 
 times slaying, the starving and ignorant thief, and 
 totally, legally, disregarding the sabbath, (^' the 
 seventh day is the sabbath,") by killing the legally 
 convicted, ignorant, unthinking, or maniacal mur- 
 derer, and not noticing, or almost caressing, the 
 calculating, plotting adulterer ; hj sometimes ^Mt not 
 often, punishing him who bears false witness, but 
 taking no notice of or tacitly supporting idolatry. If 
 we punish for violations of the law of God, why do 
 we make selections, and only show our zeal for 
 some portions of it, why do we not vindicate the 
 whole ? The divine origin of the law of God is 
 
92 
 
 established, then, by the miraculous circumstances 
 which attended its delivery — by its internal sim- 
 plicity — its adaptation to human duty, and by the 
 absence of that which characterises all human laws, 
 namely, the annexation of human punishments. 
 God is our king and governor ; what punishment 
 has he provided for us to use upon our fellow- 
 subjects ? We are his servants ; what right have 
 feUow-servants to punish each other ? God is our 
 Father ; is it just we, his children, should punish 
 our brethren ? If he is our king and governor, 
 we certainly have nothing to do with his laws, but 
 to obey them; our omnipotent and omniscient 
 ruler, who alone knows, tchen, hoio, (Matt. v. ^8,)* 
 and lohy, his laws are disobeyed, is alone capable of 
 providing an equitable, or suitable, punishment, 
 and he assuredly does and will enfore it. 
 
 But God, in these latter days, has spoken by 
 his Son ; he has fixed his authority as a lawgiver 
 upon miraculous evidence : we have received and 
 admitted that evidence as conclusive, and profess 
 to submit to his authority. We mil not, there- 
 fore, fui'ther allude to the Old Testament, but, in 
 accordance with our admitted principles, examine 
 the law of God; a law of marvellous simplicity, 
 which is applicable to all the moral wants and 
 
 * There is a lamentable ignorance of human nature displayed, 
 in supposing the worst crimes are not committed under circum- 
 stances quite obscured from human observation, and by means 
 not cognizable by human laws. Murder may be committed by 
 the moral betrayer, the oppressor, the slanderer, through the 
 means of a wounded spirit or a broken heart, as certainly as by 
 the hand of an assassin. A successful but legal fraud will com- 
 plete a robbery, and alienate the property of another, as com- 
 pletely, but on a much larger scale, than can be done by the 
 practiced or legally amenable thief: and the parties who thus vio- 
 late the law of God, are, in the fallacy of human judgments, some- 
 times considered the virtuous and good. (Matt, xxiii. 14, 25, 27.) 
 
conditions of our nature, which is capable of 
 being understood and acted upon '^ all over the 
 globe, in all countries, and at all times ;" a rule 
 of action which is not perplexed by local obser- 
 vances, or by any ceremonies, except what its 
 votaries think proper in their consciences to bind 
 upon themselves ; (Rom. xiv. ;) and this law is 
 contained in the New Testament — the teaching 
 and character of Christ and his apostles. 
 
 The present inquiry is, however, not into the 
 simple truths of the christian religion. It is not 
 necessary to show the divine goodness, in allowing 
 it to rest upon one simple fact : it is not in con- 
 formity with the subject, to show how very few 
 and simple its doctrines are, or to inquire why its 
 sectarian professors take such delight in over- 
 rating their own dogmas, and undervaluing those 
 of their opponents : our inquiry is confined 
 to one point, namely. What are we commanded, 
 as servants, or as sons and daughters of God, in 
 relation to our fellow- servants, our brethren, under 
 circumstances of error, sin, crime, offence, or by 
 whatever name it may be called ? 
 
 It, however, is justifiable to take a negative 
 position, by asserting that there is not a single 
 passage in the whole of the New Testament, 
 either historically or epistolary considered, which 
 can, by even a tortuous construction, be made 
 consistent with human punishments, as society now 
 legally inflicts them : but on the contrary, such in- 
 fliction is diametrically opposed to the spirit of 
 the teaching of Christ and his apostles, as well as 
 in direct opposition to the example of the former, 
 and the epistles of the latter. We shall proceed 
 to prove the latter position, that the christian 
 
94 
 
 religion is a system of forgiveness ; that as God 
 has forgiven us, so are we commanded, in all 
 cases, to forgive each other. 
 
 Before the inquiry is gone into, it may be 
 necessary to anticipate an objection which will 
 certainly present itself, namely, that the New 
 Testament only provides for individual virtue, 
 and cannot be applied to laws ; while its rules are 
 admu'ably adapted to the promotion of virtue, 
 and the formation of character, they cannot or 
 will not, apply to laws framed for the govern- 
 ment or regulation of a nation or community. 
 Keflection will show this objection to be un- 
 founded, inasmuch as nations are composed of 
 individuals : if those individuals encourage the 
 highest and most elevated views, by adopting the 
 loftiest principles of action, it must necessarily 
 ultimately influence their laws, and place them 
 upon the footing designed by the Divine source of 
 revealed truth. But it has been declared by the 
 highest authorities in our own country, that Chris- 
 tianity is part and parcel of the law of the land. 
 It then becomes us to see that the benign, ele- 
 vating spirit of that religion is fully carried out 
 in such an important affair as that of dealing with 
 the unfortunate, degraded, but very significant, 
 because numerous, portion of our fellow-creatures, 
 our criminals, those who we hnow to be morally y 
 as well as those who are only declared legally 
 guilty. 
 
 In Matthew v. 39 to end, there are very plain 
 and positive commands, which, if we apply liter- 
 ally, will appear to lead to some confusion ; but if 
 we abandon their literal interpretation, and take 
 them figuratively, can they be made, by any 
 
95 
 
 means, compatible with the punishment of those 
 who assail either our persons or our property ? It is 
 very questionable, whether a literal adoption of 
 the text would not exalt those who had the moral 
 courage to take such a stand. Can we believe, if 
 it were known beforehand, that any person would 
 not resent a blow, that he would be the person, on 
 that aceount, who would be struck ? and if, in 
 addition to his non-resentment, it were known he 
 might be struck again with impunity, would that 
 fact, except in the mind of a maniac, render him 
 obnoxious to insult ? The whole passage is plain, 
 and is intended to be literally adopted : if there 
 is any obscurity about it, such obscurity arises 
 from allusions to ancient institutions or customs, 
 but cannot interfere with the obvious intention 
 and spirit of the speaker, namely, that retaliation, 
 under any name, is not to be attempted. In the- 
 48rd verse, he alludes to former practices and 
 commands, enjoining retaliation, but in the next 
 verse he commands the opposite, which is, " love 
 your enemies." But who are our enemies ? our 
 Master defines them as those "who despitefully 
 use you," "do good to them that hate you, and 
 pray for them which despitefully use you and 
 persecute you," (verse 44.) Can we have any 
 offenders greater than those who hate us and des- 
 pitefully use us, yet we are called upon to act 
 towards them as our heavenly Father, who gives 
 his blessings alike to evil and good. But is this 
 command consistent with any punishment of our 
 own, even to our deadliest foes : in a word, must 
 we not disobey this command, or cease to punish ? 
 And in the prayer which is known as the Lord's 
 Prayer, (Matt. vi. 14,) we are exhorted to pray 
 to have our debts forgiven us, as we forgive our 
 
96 
 
 debtors :* the reason is emphatically given, ^^ for 
 if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly 
 Father will also forgive you; but if ye forgive 
 not men their trespasses, neither will your Father 
 forgive you." How can we adopt the spirit of 
 the christian religion, which enjoins aspirations to 
 our Creator such as this, while, at the same time, 
 many of us are perhaps prosecuting some unfor- 
 tunate, ignorant criminal, to the utmost rigour of 
 the law; and probably that criminality is the 
 result of our own want of care or good example, 
 or his ignorance the effect of our neglect. (Matt, 
 vii. 1^5.) ^^ Judge not, (condemn not) that ye be 
 not judged, (condemned) for with what judgments 
 ye judge, ye shall be judged, and with what 
 measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you 
 again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is 
 in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam 
 
 * If we attentively study tlie office and character of Christ, 
 liberty to the captive, and the opening of the prison to them that 
 are bound, appear plainly to be among the things which he 
 came to preach, to proclaim, to heraldize. When he came to 
 Nazareth, the first thing which he did in the synagogue, (Luke vi, 
 18,) was to read the beautiful passage, (Isaiah Ixi. 1,) •' And he 
 began to say unto them, this day is this scripture fulfilled in your 
 ears." The question which presses on the mind of every thinking 
 man is. What is meant by this allusion and quotation, is it literal 
 or figurative ; if the latter, to what does it refer ? He came to 
 proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord — the year of Jubilee — 
 when all debts were cancelled, all slaves emancipated, and all 
 estates restored to their former owners. (Levit. xxv.) The Mes- 
 siah carried it out literally, he gave sight to the blind, without any 
 reference to whether that blindness was inflicted as a punishment, 
 as it frequently was in the east ; he forgave all offenders ; his 
 teaching was directly in the form of forgiveness ; he did, indeed, 
 preach deliverance to the captives, liberty to the prisoner; he 
 solemnly, repeatedly, anxiously, practised, taught, and preached, 
 these things, but with whom rests the responsibility of doing them ? 
 The prophecy was fulfilled by his preaching and commanding them : 
 the law of God is obeyed when we practice them. 
 
97 
 
 that is in thine own eye : thou hypocrite ; first 
 cast out the beam out of thine own eye, and then 
 thou shalt see clearly to cast out the mote out of 
 thy brother^ s eyeP When we are disposed to punish 
 a criminal, are we in a condition to assert we are 
 upon the whole better men than he ? Have we 
 not our attention so intently fixed upon his fault, as 
 to forget ourselves ? Are we disposed to reflect 
 upon what we might have done, had we been 
 placed in his circumstances, and been subject to 
 his weaknesses ? Do we take into account a tithe 
 of the considerations which should influence us 
 in dealing with him? Can we form a righteous 
 judgment, or know all the circumstances? And 
 above all, do we remember, but for this one fault, 
 he may be better than ourselves ? nay, may we 
 not be secretly committing sins, or practising 
 vices, not cognizable by the law, more prejudicial 
 to mind, body, and society, than that for which 
 we are pursuing our fellow-man? even supposing 
 we can make no mistake in aflixing guilt upon 
 him, or in correctly estimating its extent. 
 
 In Matt, xviii. 7, it is stated, that " it must needs 
 be thatoflences come,* but woe to that man by whom 
 the oflence cometh ;" and in case of an offender, 
 
 *'*It is impossible but that offences should come, but woe 
 unto him through whom they come." (Luke xvii. 1.) I think 
 there is a deeper meaning to this passage than is generally 
 acceded to it : offences arise frequently from other causes than 
 the bad dispositions of the offender, " Whoever is angry with his 
 brother without a cause, (Matt. v. 22,) shall be in danger of 
 the judgment;" he will be in danger of retaliation, and its 
 consequences. In an unreflecting state of mind, we are more 
 disposed to punish offences, than to prevent them. If men and 
 society were as anxious to prevent offences as they are to punish 
 them, a remarkably different result would present itself. 
 
 There are many ways by which offences may he prevented ; and 
 as among men many quarrels arise about precedence, or more 
 
 H 
 
98 
 
 effort is to be made for his restoration, as for the 
 one sheep of a hundred gone astray, " Even so 
 it is not the ^vill of your Father, that one of 
 these little (apparently insignificant) ones should 
 perish/' verse 14 : and when trespass occurs, a 
 mode of reasoning with, and treatment of, the 
 offender, is enjoined, but punishment is nowhere 
 hinted at : in case of entire failure, it appears 
 by the text, he is to be left alone, — to the conse- 
 quences of his own conduct. But it will be, and 
 was asked by Peter, " How often shall my brother 
 sin against me, and I forgive him ? till seven 
 times ?" And what was the emphatic answer ? " I 
 say not unto thee till seven times, but until 
 seventy times seven," verse 22:* then follows the 
 singularly appropriate parable of the two debtors: 
 
 absurd causes connected with our self-importance, much ill-will is 
 thereby engendered, great wickedness perpetrated, and many- 
 crimes conceived, in high as well as humble minds ; it becomes a 
 question, How can this fruitful source of offence be dried up? 
 If we diligently consider and act upon the spirit of the teaching 
 and example of our Master, as recorded in John xiii. 4 — 17, a 
 large amount of ofvences will be prevented by ourselves, 
 
 * It mubt be confessed that the corresponding passage is, in 
 Luke xvii. 4, rendered, *• If thy brother trespass against thee, 
 rebuke him, and if he repent, forgive him." It will be said, 
 there must of course be a limit to some unrepented of offences. 
 If we turn back to the former part of the chapter in Matthew, 
 15th to 17th verses, a line of conduct is defined to set an offender 
 right : he is to be reasoned with privately ^ then in the presence 
 of two or three more; the matter is to be made an affair of 
 reason, conversation, or rebuke; in tlie case of failure, it is to be 
 told before the church, or before a number of believers, in fact, to 
 be published: in the event of his still continuing obdurate, **let 
 him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican ;" in fact, as 
 the Apostle says, ** have no company with him, that he may be 
 ashamed." This, it must be remembered, is the utmost that is 
 any uhere recommended in the case of offence, and this is only to 
 be adopted when the offender does not say, "I repent :" no pun- 
 ishment is provided, nor is necessary; he has taken a course 
 which will tend to his own discomfort and sorrow. 
 
99 
 
 one who owed his lord ten thousand talents, but he 
 (the lord) was moved to compassion by his debtor's 
 entreaties, and forgave him the debt ; but he saw 
 a fellow-servant who owed him a hundred pence, 
 but was not moved by his entreaties, although 
 besought in the same way as he had before 
 entreated his lord, but cast him into prison until 
 he should pay the debt : when it came to the ears 
 of the lord, what is the affecting and cutting 
 reproof? '^ Shouldst thou not have had compassion 
 on thy fellow-servant, even as I had pity upon 
 thee ? and the lord was wroth, and delivered 
 him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that 
 was due unto him. So, likewise, shall my 
 heavenly Father do unto you, if je,from your hearts, 
 forgive not every one his brother his trespasses." 
 What is the obvious meaning of the whole of 
 this parable, with its conclusion, if man is to 
 punish his fellow-creatures according to his opinion 
 of the measure of their delinquency, and without 
 any reference to his own vices, or to the large 
 amount of forgiveness he has received or requires 
 from his Creator ? See also Mark xi. 25, 26. This 
 is more strikingly enjoined in Luke vi. 27 — 42. 
 
 When Jesus was rejected by the Samaritans, 
 (Luke ix. 55,) his being so, greatly aroused the 
 indignation of his disciples; James and John 
 asked him if he would not call down fire from 
 heaven, and consume those who refused him : 
 but what was his reply ? was it a dissertation upon 
 the measure of punishment to be apportioned to 
 their guilt, or whether that was the kind of 
 punishment which should be awarded to them? 
 The remarkable observation he made was, ^^ Ye 
 (the disciples,) know not what manner of spirit 
 ye are of;" examine yourselves, before ye pro- 
 
100 
 
 nounce judgment and award punishment to others; 
 " for the Son of Man came not to destroy men's 
 lives, but to save them."* Before we define the 
 amount of guilt, and especially before we ad- 
 minister punishment, we ought to be assured of 
 what manner of spirit we are of, lest we fall into 
 the same mistake which Jesus points out in his 
 disciples : our really, or supposed good intentions 
 will not necessarily justify us in the mode of 
 dealing we adopt towards our erring fellow- 
 creatures, or do good to them, to society, or to 
 ourselves. The Jews looked upon the Samaritans 
 as enemies, and were disposed to treat them 
 as outcasts, probably on account of their origin 
 as rebellious subjects, wkich they undoubtedly 
 were : but the parable of the good Samaritan is 
 given to disapprove of such a line of conduct, 
 (Luke X.,) and to show that those whom we con- 
 sider our enemies may be our friends. 
 
 In the teaching of the Messiah, he always 
 cautions his hearers, in the strongest terms, to 
 avoid giving oflfence on the one hand, and to 
 
 * *' Jesus, as we should expect, rebuked them for their hasty 
 and revengeful temper, but he did it kindly, without manifesting 
 himself the spirit he would condemn in his disciples. He tells 
 them that they are ignorant of the spirit they ought to possess, 
 as the preachers of his merciful religion. It is interesting to 
 notice the change which James and John afterwards underwent, 
 by the regenerating power of the Gospel. Instead of ambition, 
 (Mark x. 25,) jealousy, (verse 49,) and revenge, as in the present 
 connection, an entirely new class of sentiments — love, mercy, and 
 self-renunciation — rule in the hearts of these Sons of Thunder. 
 James was the first martyr of the twelve ; (Acts xii. 1 ;) and we 
 are told he said to his accuser, at the place of execution, when he 
 had repented of what he had done, and solicited forgiveness for 
 his crime, ' Peace be to thee, my son, and the pardon of thy 
 faults,* whereupon the guilty man confessed himself to be a 
 christian, and was beheaded with him." — Levermore*s Commentary 
 on the Goitjiels. 
 
101 
 
 cultivate forgiveness on the other : but still every 
 means are to be taken, as has been already shown, 
 to save the offender ; he is to be rebuked, (Luke 
 xvii. 3,) to be reasoned with, (Matt, xviii. 17,) 
 but in no place is it stated he is to be punished. 
 In John xiii. 34, xv. 17, Jesus gives a new com- 
 mandment to his disciples, namely, that they love 
 one another, as he loved them. But as a part of 
 that love, did he ever seek to punish them? 
 Although he was immeasurably superior to them 
 in knowledge and character, he never takes that 
 as a ground of dealing with them, otherwise than 
 with the highest and completest forbearance : 
 therefore as he acted towards them, so ought they 
 and we to act towards each other ; the higher the 
 character, or greater its power, the more for- 
 bearance it will use; and the lower or more 
 depraved the person, the more he requires such 
 complete forbearance and consideration. Thus, in 
 the teaching of the Messiah, whenever he ad- 
 dresses himself, it is always full to the point — 
 perfect forgiveness ; overcoming evil, the greatest 
 evil, with the greatest good, is positively and 
 repeatedly enjoined. Is this teaching, — or can we 
 make it, in any way consistent with any individual 
 or legal punishment? 
 
 In the epistle to the Romans, chap. ii. to 6th 
 verse, the apostle goes directly into the question 
 of human judgments, and enlarges upon the absur- 
 dity of judging one another, while we are influenced 
 by the same dispositions, or practising the same 
 vices : he refers judgment at once to God, in order 
 to leave it in his hands, as a being " who will ren- 
 der to every man according to his deeds." In 
 this chapter he goes on to demonstrate the impro- 
 priety of keeping our eyes fixed upon the faults. 
 
or vices, of others, as the Jews were exceedingly 
 fond of doing towards the Gentile converts, whom 
 they considered inferior to themselves ; he declares 
 them to be equal in the sight of God, inasmuch 
 as they are both under sin. (chap. iii. 9.) In the 
 12th chapter, he commands his brethren to recom- 
 pense no man evil for evil; he also commands 
 them to avenge not themselves, but rather to give 
 place unto wrath, for it is written, '^ Vengeance 
 is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord ; therefore, 
 if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, 
 give him drink; for in so doing thou shalt heap 
 coals of fire* upon his head : be not overcome of evil, 
 but overcome evil with good," 19, 20, 21 verses. 
 
 In the 14th chapter of this epistle, we have the 
 remarkable passage, " But why dost thou judge 
 thy brother, or why dost thou set at naught thy 
 brother ; we shall all stand before the judgment 
 seat of Christ," 10th verse. It is true this is written 
 in allusion to many matters of conscience, which 
 are now^ for the most part, considered indifferent ; 
 but it must be remembered that such things have 
 been considered matters of grave account; men 
 have persecuted and condemned each other even to 
 death on account of them ; men have been punished 
 for their opinions, over which they have no control ; 
 and it will be well to examine, whether men are 
 sufficiently masters of their own actions, to justify 
 them in condemning their fellow-creatures, — to 
 pronounce judgment upon, — much less to award 
 punishment to, them. Let that man be happy 
 " that condemneth not himself in that thing which 
 
 * A beautiful allusion to the mode adopted by refiners in those 
 days, who heaped hot coals upon the metal in order to melt it ; so 
 in time, will the kindness of the true christian, if persevered in, 
 melt into aflFection and respect his bitterest, and most abandoned, 
 opponents. 
 
103 
 
 he allowetli;" 22nd verse; how hardly, can a 
 man reflect, with satisfaction, upon all his own 
 habits and actions, or even determine the virtue 
 of them, still less is he fit to sit in judgment upon 
 the motives and actions of his fellow-creatures. 
 
 The Apostle exhorts them to mark those which 
 cause divisions and oflfences ; and why ? to punish 
 them ? Certainly not, but to avoid them ; and after 
 describing them, wishes them (the believers) to 
 be wise, concerning that which is good ; and simple, 
 concerning evil, concludes with stating, " And the 
 God of peace shall bruise Satan (the adversary, the 
 adverse world, those who oppose themselves) under 
 their feet shortly," xvi. 20. 
 
 In combating the bad feelings which existed 
 in the Corinthian church, the Apostle takes a deep 
 view of human nature, and in alluding to their 
 forming a judgment of his conduct, says, " But 
 with me it is a very small thing that I should be 
 judged of you, or of man's judgment, yea, I judge 
 not mine own self, for I know nothing hy myself 
 yet I am not hereby justified, but he that judgeth 
 me is the Lord." (1 Cor. iv. 8 — 7.) They are 
 remarkable questions he asks, ^^ For who maketh 
 thee to difier from another ? And what hast thou 
 that thou didst not receive ? Now, if thou didst 
 receive it, why dost thou glory as if thou hadst not 
 received it?" 7th verse. Can language be plainer, 
 exhorting us not to vaunt ourselves above our 
 fellow-creatures, and inducing us, if we have any 
 moral blessing, to humbly refer it to the giver, 
 charitably remembering our erring fellow- crea- 
 tures, ^' shall, when the counsels of the hearts 
 are made manifest, have praise of God," 5th verse. 
 
 In the fifth chapter of 1st Corinthians, we have 
 a case of positive crime dealt with, an overt act, an 
 
104 
 
 extreme case, which leads us to draw some most 
 important inferences. In the first place; wicked- 
 ness, or sin, is no where, and in no one, to be 
 countenanced; but it appears they (the Corin- 
 thians) did countenance a gross immorality in the 
 preservation of the incestious person among them ; 
 it is further evident they took no steps to bring 
 him to a sense of his immorality : the consequences 
 were serious ; in addition, it was setting aVicious and 
 contaminating example, — preserving a " leaven " 
 among them, which must undermine the purity 
 of their morality, and bring them down, even 
 below the standard of character among the Gentiles ; 
 it further tended to cause the church to be 
 evil spoken of, and, moreover, prevented the refor- 
 mation of this immoral person. The Apostle 
 alludes to a former exhortation to them, not to 
 keep company with such persons ; but he, in expla- 
 nation, added, yet not altogether with those of 
 the world, as, in that case, it would be impractica- 
 ble, but if any such one being a brother, they 
 were not even to eat with him. Therefore, he 
 commands, '^ put away from among yourselves* that 
 wicked person," 13 verse ; now it happens that we 
 
 * Deliver him over to Satan, (the adversary,) displaced from 
 their communion for the destruction of the flesh, the destruction 
 of his lusts, that his spirit (mind) might be saved at the day of 
 judgment. 
 
 If any man should imagine that I have forgot my own notion 
 of a law, when I make the law, whereby men judge of virtue and 
 vice, to be nothing else but the consent of private men, who have 
 not authority enough to make a law, especially wanting that 
 which is so necessary and essential to a law, a power to enforce it, 
 I think I may say, that he who imagines commendation and dis- 
 grace not to be s^ong motives to men, to accommodate themselves 
 to the opinions and rules of those with whom they converse, seems 
 little skilled in the nature and history of mankind; the greatest 
 part whereof i he shall find, govern themselves chiefly ^ if not solely, 
 by this law offashion^ and so they do that which keeps them in 
 
105 
 
 have the Apostle's allusion to this case in a subse- 
 quent letter, (2 Cor. ii. 6,) and the mode he recom- 
 mends is instructing : it appears this avoidance, or 
 mental treatment, this leaving the man to the natural 
 or moral consequences of his own conduct, his being 
 shunned by many, was a " su^cient punishment /^ 
 it appears he repented, and the Apostle recom- 
 mends, in consequence, they should rather comfort 
 and forgive him, lest he should be swallowed up 
 with over much sorrow, and he concludes with 
 these remarkable words, " Wherefore, I beseech 
 you, that you would confirm your love towards 
 him," 8th verse. Thus, it appears, that this per- 
 son was treated only morally ; the christians had 
 no power to treat him with personal, or corporeal, 
 
 reputation with their company, little regard the law of God, or 
 the magistrate. The penalties that attend the breach of God's 
 laws, some, nay most, men seldom seriously reflect on ; and among 
 those that do, many, while they break the law, entertain thoughts 
 of future reconciliation, and making their peace for such breaches ; 
 and as to the laws of the commonwealth, they frequently flatter 
 themselves with the hopes of impunity. But no man escapes the 
 punishment of their censure, or dislike, who offends against the 
 fashion and opinion of the company he keeps, o^d would recom- 
 mend himself to ; nor is thert one in ten thousand who is stiff and 
 insensible enough to bear up under the constant dislike and con- 
 demnation of his own club. He must be of a strange and unusual 
 constitution^ who can content himself to live in constant disgrace 
 with his own particular society. Solitude many men have sought, 
 and been reconciled to ; but nobody, that has the least thought or 
 sense of a man about him, can live in society under the constant 
 dislike and ill opinions of his familiars, and those he converses 
 with. This is a burden too heavy for human sufferance ; and he 
 must be made up of irreconcileable contradictions, who can take 
 pleasure in company, and yet be insensible of contempt and dis- 
 grace from his companions. — Locke on Moral Relations, book 2, 
 chap, xxviii. sec. 12. 
 
 In the first three centuries of the church, " overt acts were the 
 only objects of censure, and censure was nothing but voting a man 
 out of the community." — Robinson's Ecclesiastical Researches, 
 page 123. 
 
106 
 
 punishment; it was a crime " unknown among 
 the Gentiles/' they had no law to meet it, and 
 if they had^ his belonging to a despised sect would 
 certainly not have prevented him from being pun- 
 ished by it, yet the result was his restoration. 
 
 In the 1 Cor. 6th chap, he alludes to their going 
 to law, before the unbelievers, with disapprobation, 
 in conformity with the recommendation of Jesus, 
 already referred to, (Matt, xviii. 15,) urging them 
 to settle disputes among themselves, and, in the 
 full spirit of the Messiah, " rather to take wrong 
 and suffer themselves to be defrauded^^ 7th verse ; 
 also in the 10th chapter, he exhorts to virtue, and 
 alludes to punishments, not human punishments 
 but to the judgments of God, — ^his punishment 
 which always did, and always will, certainly follow 
 crime and sin, of every description. In Galatians, 
 vi. 1, there is a most important principle laid 
 doAvn, although in strict conformity with the whole 
 teaching in the gospels and epistles, yet the pointed 
 manner in which the Apostle expresses himself, 
 deserves peculiar attention. ^^ Brethren, if a man 
 be overtaken in a fault, ye, which are spiritual, 
 restore such an one in the spirit of nieekness, 
 considering thyself lest thou also be tempted;" 
 this verse contains the essence of the mode of deal- 
 ing with ojffenders, according to the spirit of the 
 gospel.* In the whole chapter, the Apostle stri- 
 kingly illustrates the necessity of avoiding sin, 
 but, at the same time, as in the verse alluded to, 
 
 * If enlarged commentary were demanded on the verse above 
 quoted, perhaps no better could be found, or adopted, than the 
 greater part of the 6th chapter, in Mr. Combe's book, to which the 
 reader is earnestly referred ; nothing but the knowledge of the 
 applicability of the principles contained therein, will justify this 
 verse being passed over, without showing its injunction is totally 
 inconsistent with the adoption of any human punishment, or any 
 
107 
 
 commands the greatest tenderness to the sinner, or 
 the criminal ; but in the seventh verse he solemnly 
 declares that ^^ God is not mocked, for whatsoever 
 a man soweth that also shall he reapP showing 
 that God will punish and reward. lii Ephesians, 
 iv. 1, 2, a similar exhortation is given, long-suffer- 
 ing and forbearance being especially commanded ; 
 and, in the 82nd verse, he commands, be ye kind 
 one to another, tender-hearted, and forgiving one 
 another, even as God, for Christ's sake, hath for- 
 given you ; yet in the 5th chapter, 6th verse, he 
 declares that the wrath of God cometh upon the 
 children of disobedience, but he contents himself 
 with exhorting them not to be ^^ partakers with 
 them :" in the next chapter he commands masters 
 to act in the highest manner towards their servants, 
 and to even " forbear threatening." (Ephes. vi. 9.) 
 In Philippians i. 15, 16, the Apostle alludes to 
 Christ being preached, by some, through envy 
 and strife, supposing thereby to add affliction to 
 his bonds ; but instead of deploring it, manifests 
 joy thereat, inasmuch as Christ is preached every 
 way, and says he, " I therein do rejoice, yea, and 
 will rejoice." In ii. 5, he in addition says, ^^ Let 
 this mind be in you, which was also in Christ 
 Jesus," who " humbled himself, and became obe- 
 dient unto death, even the death of the cross :" 
 
 line of conduct to be adopted with a view to either legal or indi- 
 vidual vindictiveness. Mr. Combe's arguments are here pointed to 
 as a suitable commentary j they are conclusive and irresistable : 
 but it is deeply regretted he did not place them upon their proper 
 foundation, by giving the authority from whence he derived them, 
 — the teaching of Jesus and the Apostles — the revealed law of 
 God : he might have shamed Christians into an acknowledgment 
 of the justice of his reasoning by declaring the truth, but I do not 
 see how he could expect them to do so upon his assertion, or 
 implied inference, that they are the teachings of nature. 
 
108 
 
 what does this mean but that^ even in extremis, 
 we are to cultivate a forgiving disposition, and 
 to avoid resenting injuries, or punishing our 
 adversaries ? In Colossians iii. 12, 13, this same 
 spirit is commanded. " Forbearing one another 
 in love, and forgiving one another ; if any man 
 have a quarrel against any, even as Chxi^t forgave 
 you so also do yeJ^ Is not this inconsistent with 
 a7iy kind of punishment to the offender ? " Fathers, 
 provoke not your children to anger, lest they be 
 discouraged," 21st verse. Does not this mean. 
 Fathers, correct not your children with severity, 
 lest they be hardened or degraded ? In 1 Thessa- 
 lonians iv. 6, he alludes to the Lord as the avenger 
 of all such as go beyond, or defraud their brother. 
 In the V. 14, 15, he exhorts them to '^ warn them 
 that are unruly," (declare to them the consequences 
 of their conduct,) but not a word about punish- 
 ment. " Comfort the feeble-minded; support the 
 weak ; be patient towards all men ; see that none 
 render evil for evil unto any man, but ever follow 
 that which is good, both among yourselves and to 
 all men,^"^ In the 2nd Epistle, chap, i., he alludes 
 to punishment, but it is to be administered by God, 
 and, therefore, has nothing to do with the present 
 inquiry, either as to its nature, or duration, the 
 only bearing it has, is an inference that punish- 
 ment must be left to God. In the 3rd chapter, 
 he commands that " ye withdraw yourselves from 
 every brother that walketh disorderly," 6th verse ; 
 but not the remotest intimation of any thing like 
 punishment. And in the 14th verse, '' if any man 
 obey not our words in this epistle, note that man, 
 and have no company with him :" and why, that 
 he may be punished? Certainly not, bat '^ that 
 he may he ashamed ; but in order to guard against 
 
109 
 
 being misunderstood, he adds, ^^ yet count him not 
 as an enemy, hut admonish him as a hrotherP 
 
 In 1 Timothy i. 7, he notices those who wanted 
 to introduce the law into the Christian church, 
 and set themselves up as its teachers and ex- 
 pounders, or probably as judges, and he alludes 
 to the law as not made for righteous men, but for 
 the most depraved; but he subsequently notices 
 a better state of things in Christianity, inasmuch 
 as Christ came to save sinners, " of whom," says 
 he, ^^ I am the chief : howbeit, for this cause I ob- 
 tained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might 
 show forth all long-suffering, for a pattern to them 
 who should hereafter believe to life everlasting," 
 16 verse ; meaning, that as Paul, an obdurate sinner 
 was forgiven and reclaimed by Christ, so should 
 believers show long-suffering towards others for 
 their restoration. In the 5th chapter he says, 
 *^ Receive not an accusation against an elder but 
 before two or three witnesses ; but them that sin 
 rebuke before all, that others may fear :" if any 
 man's sin be fully established, let him be openly, 
 publicly rebuked, as he in another place says, that 
 he may be ashamed, as was done by Jesus to the 
 apostle Peter, (Matt. xvi. 23,) and which rebuke 
 led to his repentance and reformation. He also 
 alludes (2 Timothy iii. 1 — 9) to a vicious and 
 criminal class of men, who will introduce them- 
 selves, but he declares they shall proceed no 
 further : (for their foUy shall work its own cure :) 
 their folly shall be manifest to all men. Chap. iv. 
 2, "^ Preach the word," says he, " be instant in 
 season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all long- 
 suffering,^^ In directing Titus (Titus i. 13) how 
 to deal with the Cretians, whom he describes 
 as very immoral, he says, "^ Rebuke them sharply," 
 
no 
 
 and why? in order to punish them^ it will be 
 said ; but no ! the apostle adds, " that they may 
 be sound in the faith."* Titus is particularly 
 instructed, (chap. iii. 2,) to teach the disciples 
 ^' to speak evil of no man ; to be no brawlers, but 
 gentle, showing all meekness unto all men; for 
 we also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, de- 
 ceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living 
 in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one 
 another :" a consideration of what we have been, 
 should lead us to be tender to others. He also 
 particularly directs him (iii. 9) to avoid strivings 
 about the law, a desire to enforce the Jewish 
 law, doubtless the criminal as well as ceremonial, 
 which he elsewhere calls ^' beggarly elements :" 
 he also says, ^' a man that is an heretic, (a sower 
 of divisions,) after the second and third admonition, 
 reject, (withdraw thyself from, 10th verse.)" 
 
 In the Epistle to the Hebrews, iv. 15, Jesus is 
 alluded to as a High Priest, " touched with the 
 
 * It appears from the teaching of the Apostles, as well as from 
 the example of the Messiah, that benevolent reproof, admonition, 
 or rebuke, is an imperative part of the Christian's duty. We are 
 not allowed to quietly wait, or anxiously watch, until a fellow- 
 creature has committed himself, in order that he may be detected 
 and punished. But we very frequently do worse than this : if a 
 person is suspected, instead of dealing honestly, by communi- 
 cating our suspicions, or uprightly doing our duty with remon- 
 strance or admonitions, a snare is laid, and perhaps a previously 
 innocent person falls into it, while the former guilty one escapes. 
 There would not, perhaps, be much wrong committed in this, if 
 the erring were benevolently treated — his fault used morally, by 
 appealing to his own mind, to convince him of the necessity of 
 a higher line of conduct ; but laying in wait, by temptation, to 
 ensnare for the purpose of punishment, although very common, 
 is as detestable a departure from religious duty as can be adopted: 
 tempters are generally depraved characters. (Matt. xxii. 16 ; Mark 
 xii. 15.) It must not be forgotten, that when punishment is 
 intended to follow the fall of the tempted, the object cannot be 
 cood. 
 
Ill 
 
 feelings of our infirmities; was in all points 
 tempted like as we are, yet without sin : let us, 
 therefore, come boldly unto the throne of grace, 
 that we may obtain mercy, and find grace in the 
 time of need," &c. The certain meaning of this 
 passage is, that Jesus will judge us, making every 
 allowance for all circumstances, which he knows 
 and understands ; and the inference is, we ought 
 not to judge or punish each other, without being 
 able to judge the like judgment. Punishment is 
 alluded to in this epistle, and a sore punishment 
 it will be, but it will be administered by God 
 alone, " Vengeance helongeth unto me, I will recom" 
 compence, saitli the Lord,^^ x. 29, 30 ; and in the 
 12th chapter he dwells upon chastenings, and an 
 important part of those were what they received 
 unjustly from their fellow-creatures; he says, 
 " Consider him that endured such contradiction 
 of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and 
 faint in your minds :" and he adds, " follow peace 
 with all men, and holiness, without which no man. 
 shall see God ; looking diligently, lest any fail of the 
 grace of God, lest any root of bitterness springing 
 up, trouble you, and thereby many be defiled ^^ 
 xii. 14, 15. 
 
 The apostle James, i. 19, 20, exhorts the be- 
 lievers to " be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow 
 to wrath, for the tvrath of man worheth not the 
 righteousness of God :^^ he also alludes to that 
 disposition which too frequently characterizes us, 
 to judge or punish others, and yet commit other 
 sins equally great ourselves ; and adds, *^ so speak 
 ye and so do, as they that shall be judged by the 
 law of liberty ; for he shall have judgment with- 
 out mercy that showed no mercy, and mercy 
 rejoiceth against judgment," ii. 12^ 13; iv. 11, 12 ; 
 
112 
 
 V. 10: and he concludes^ "Brethren, if any do 
 err from the truth, and one convert him, let him 
 know that he which converteth the sinyier from the 
 error of his way, shall save a soul from death, and 
 shall hide a multitude of sins :" and this is to be 
 done, not by pumsliment, but by patience and 
 prayer, like Elias, who prayed six months for 
 rain before it came, (see the contexts.) 
 
 In 1 Peter ii. 14, the Gentile rulers are alluded 
 to, in order to be submitted to by believers, and 
 as being sent by God for the punishment of evil 
 doers, and for the praise of them that do well. 
 It is a mere allusion to a fact, but does not justify 
 believers in forming any similar institution ; for, 
 from the 18th to the 24th verse, he actually en- 
 courages them to follow the example of Christ, 
 if wrongfully treated, to bear it patiently, "for 
 this is acceptable to God ;" see also the whole of 
 the 3rd chapter, particularly verses 9, 11, 14, and 
 17 ; he at the same time exhorts, that none 
 of them should suffer justly, iv. 15. In the 2 
 Peter iii. 14, 15, the same long-suffering and 
 peaceable disposition is enjoined. The same 
 benevolent spirit is commanded by the Apostle 
 John. (1 John ii. 9, 10.) 
 
 Section 2nd. — Having quoted many passages 
 in the New Testament containing commands upon 
 the subject of offences, which are clear and 
 positive to the offended on his own part, as well 
 as that to be observed towards the offender, it 
 will be well to take a brief view of how the 
 Messiah and the Apostles acted when sin, or 
 criminal action, was brought under their cogni- 
 zance, a4d contemplate how they treated the offen- 
 der. Jesus never saw sin, or even error, committed 
 without expressing the most marked disapprobation 
 
113 
 
 by instructing or reproving the offender, sometimes 
 strongly, but more frequently mildly, and always 
 with, benevolence, as may be illustrated, (Matt, 
 xiv. 31 ; xvi. 23 ; xxiii. 16 ; John viii. 44.) 
 
 An important instance, showing how the Saviour 
 dealt with the criminal, is recorded in the 8th 
 chapter of John, in the case of the woman 
 taken in adultery : the closest attention is due to 
 his conduct on this occasion ; there existed no 
 doubt about her guilt, and a law was provided for 
 her punishment. Had Jesus been disposed to get 
 rid of the temptation, he could have said. You 
 have a law, to which you have referred, why do you 
 bring her to me, I will have nothing to do with the 
 affair : but he deliberated, and appealed to the in- 
 most recesses of human nature, " He that is without 
 sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her," — 
 punish her, according to the law ; you, righteous 
 as you are, or would lead others to believe, act 
 towards her as you would be acted towards. 
 What was the result of this home-thrust to their 
 consciences? They went out, one by one, and 
 Jesus was left alone with the woman. His dealing 
 with the culprit was remarkable, and full to the 
 point, as to the mode of treatment adopted by him 
 towards a perpetrator of one of the most pernicious 
 crimes that can be committed, in an advanced state 
 of society : '^ He said unto her. Woman, where are 
 thine accusers, hath no man condemned thee ? She 
 said. No man. Lord. And Jesus said unto her, 
 Neither do I condemn thee ; go and sin no more,''' 
 If the greatest teacher, — the Saviour and Judge of 
 mankind, — while he condemns the sin, woul'ii treat 
 a convicted criminal thus, are we, his followers, 
 not " without sin," right in pursuing the guilty, 
 and condemning them under the vague, uii defined 
 
114 
 
 idea of fulfilling the "ends of justice/' and going 
 beyond our Master, by doing that which he never 
 attempted nor commanded.* 
 
 A case of delinquency occurs among the disciples, 
 in the person of Peter, in the denial of his Master. 
 (Matt. xxvi. 74 ; Mark xiv. 72.) It is unnecessary 
 to enlarge upon this circumstance, but it would be 
 unjust to a full consideration of the subject, to con- 
 ceal the fact that Peter's act, in this case, was very 
 little short of actual perjury ; but how did Jesus 
 treat him ? (Luke xxii.) It is emphatically stated, 
 and the " Lord turned, and looked upon Peter," 
 verse 61. Jesus had previously told him, notwith- 
 standing his confidence in himself, his assertion of 
 his stedfast adherence to the cause, he would fail 
 and deny it; but it is said, Jesus " looked upon 
 Peter ^ and Peter remembered the words of the 
 Lord, how he had said unto him, before the cock 
 crow thou shalt deny me thrice." No harsh words 
 were used, no violent and cutting, or humiliating, 
 denunciations, but a look, in accordance with the 
 Messiah's benevolent character, calling attention 
 to his (Peter's) vaunted assertions of himself, 
 in the former conversation; and what was the 
 
 * It will probably be asserted tbe passage, comprising the above 
 narrative, is spurious, as it is very much mutilated in many ancient 
 manuscripts and versions of the Is'ew Testament, and altogether 
 left out in some; it is very probable that monkish and ascetic 
 teachers would leave it out of their copies, on account of their 
 believing the Messiah would not treat so great a sinner so leni- 
 ently. St. Augustine makes this assertion. If the conduct recorded 
 of the Saviour, on this occasion, had been in opposition to his 
 other acts and teaching, there would be good reason for giving 
 weight to the argument, but as he deals with the woman exactly 
 as he dealt on all occasions with the erring, as well as in perfect 
 conformity with his uniform teaching, (see Matt. vii. 1—5 ; 
 Luke vi. 36, 37 ; and many others,) we are bound to receive it as 
 genuine, at all events, we are not justified in rejecting it, for the rea- 
 sons above referred to. Dr. Paley treats this passage as genuine. 
 
115 
 
 result? ^^ Peter went out and wept bitterly." 
 Let us consider his after conduct^ how great a 
 friend he has been to the cause of the Christian 
 church, and the completeness of his martyrdom : 
 we must also remember that Jesus confided to him 
 the care of his lambs, and that he had the dis- 
 tinguished privilege of being \hQ first disciple to 
 whom the Messiah appeared after his resurrection. 
 Enlarged comment might be made, but it is suffi- 
 cient to assert, that any man would now be treated 
 very differently, under similar circumstances, al- 
 though without Peter's warning, and, in all proba- 
 bility, such a beneficial result would not be ob- 
 tained; it is sufficient to show that the Messiah 
 hinted at, and provided, no punishment, yet the 
 repentance was sincere, 
 
 Jesus, in his intercourse with society, appears to 
 seek out the reputed depraved, in order to benefit 
 them by his example and teaching, and certainly 
 never avoided them; indeed, so marked was his 
 conduct in this particular, that the Scribes and 
 Pharisees (the reputed good) took great ofifence 
 at, and remonstrated with the disciples concerning 
 it; and when the remonstrance came to his ears, 
 he remarks with great point, '^ They that are whole 
 need not a physician, but they that are sick; I 
 came not to call the righteous, hut sinners to repen- 
 tance." (Markii. 17.) He did not seek to improve 
 these persons, by waiting until they had committed 
 crimes, in order that the law might operate upon 
 them, that they might be shut up from society, for 
 the most part he viewed them, and spoke of them, 
 as more likely to he converted, and accepted hy God, 
 than those who considered themselves in a morally 
 healthy state, and were disposed to accuse, judge. 
 
116 
 
 or condemn, their less fortunate fellow-countrymen. 
 (Luke xviii. 9 — 14 ; xv. 2 ; xix. 7.)* 
 
 Another incident in the gospel history, which 
 proves human punishment unnecessary, is the con- 
 duct of Judas, in the betrayal of Jesus Christ; 
 although Jesus foretold the fact, yet Judas appears 
 not to have understood the full measure of his 
 
 * It is a remarkable fact, in the history of our Lord, that he 
 always sought out the poor in circumstances, as well as the 
 degraded in character, and spoke encouragingly to them ; (Matt. 
 V. iii. ; Luke vi. 20, 21 ;) and he uniformly held out more elevated 
 hopes to them than to the self-righteous, or reputed good. Our 
 Saviour understood human nature intimately and completely ; con- 
 sequently he knew that many who are judged sinful, or condemned 
 on that account, are superior to those who hypocritically spurn 
 and condemn them. (Matt. xxi. 31 ; Lukevii. 38; xv. 2.) He 
 knew and appreciated the fact, where there was an inclination to 
 be bad, that it might, by proper treatment, be made subservient 
 to goodness ; hence the immeasurable value he invariably attri- 
 butes to repentance. If there is any truth, or meaning, in many 
 of the actions of our Lord, or any point in some of his most 
 beautiful parables, they lead to (indeed command) especial care 
 and exertion towards the depraved, or wicked. What is the 
 obvious meaning of the parables of the lost sheep, the lost piece 
 of silver, and especially of the prodigal son ? (Luke xv.) The 
 father watched for, and came a great way off to meet, the penitent, 
 and ran and fell on his neck, and kissed him; but this was not 
 all : the be6t robe was provided ; the fatted calf killed ; music and 
 dancing were engaged, to welcome his return: but who was the 
 of ended party in this beautiful parable? not the father, whose 
 living had been dissipated, or whose principles had been departed 
 from, but the self-satisfied brother; he was angry because he was, 
 or supposed he was, neglected ; he was annoyed because his offen- 
 ded brother was not punished, or h\mse\f rewarded ; he forgot the 
 necessary privation his brother had suffered through sin, and the 
 consistent enjoyment he had himself maintained from the contrary ; 
 but he wanted something more : let us remember he would have 
 received something more if he had participated in his father's 
 spirit, — the holy, purifying, elevating, spirit of forgiveness. Let 
 u< not forget, " one is your Father which is in heaven, and one is 
 your master, even Christ, and all ye are brethren.^* (Matt, xxiii. 
 8—10.) 
 
117 
 
 guilt till afterwards; notwithstanding no human 
 hand pursued him, as it does not appear he was 
 even reproved ; no established law existed to reach 
 his crime, his punishment was certain, and his 
 repentance sincere.* 
 
 During the mission of our Lord, he was con- 
 stantly impressing upon his disciples that his 
 position here would be a humble one, and his 
 end ignominious; but they understood him not, 
 and were afraid to ask him, because his expla- 
 nations tended to dissipate those dreams of 
 worldly greatness, which they considered inse- 
 parable from his kingdom; therefore, instead of 
 imbibing his principles, they were disposed to 
 dispute with each other about the most important 
 posts in his kingdom ; all of which he bore with, 
 never condemning them, but taking all means in 
 his power to teach them that the way to be great 
 and good was the path of humility, consideration 
 for others, and childlike teachableness. (Mark ix. 
 35, 86.) Although he appeared to make so little 
 progress in establishing the truth in their minds, 
 and corresponding action, yet, when the right 
 time arrived, all these men, with one exception, 
 and he a penitent, successfully taught the same 
 principles, died establishing the same doctrines, 
 and setting the same examples as their Master, 
 proving at once the superiority of his patient and 
 long-suffering mode of dealing with our nature, 
 and (notwithstanding appearances were against 
 it,) the latent excellencies in their characters. 
 
 Immediately before his death, he commanded 
 the disciples to watch for him ; and although his 
 
 * Some translators render the passage, (Matt, xxvii. 5,) '* And 
 he departed, and went and hanged himself," •' And he departed 
 and was strangled," — suflfocated with grief. 
 
118 
 
 mind was depressed with the keenest sorrow^ and 
 he was deeply engaged in prayer, yet they were 
 unable to keep awake, although the command was 
 repeated three different times; he exclaimed, 
 " What ! could ye not watch with me one hour ?" 
 He simply makes one remark, hardly a reproof, 
 and benevolently excuses them by saying, '' The 
 spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak :" 
 thus our Saviour dealt with the erring and the weak; 
 he exhorted, suffered with, and forgave them. 
 
 But it must be remembered, he suffered at the 
 hands of the really bad ; by those who were 
 certainly influenced by the worst motives. He 
 was falsely accused, scourged, mocked, spat upon, 
 smitten, and finally unjustly killed; yet what is 
 his conduct ? with his expiring breath he uttered a 
 prayer, full of important meaning, practically teach- 
 ing a deep knowledge of God's moral govern- 
 ment, as well as the ignorance and weakness of 
 human nature, " Father, forgive them, for they 
 know not what they do." (Luke xxiii. 34.) 
 
 One of the most important circumstances in con- 
 nexion with the Messiah's dealings with the 
 guilty, is his treatment of Paul at the time of 
 his miraculous appearance to him. Paul had 
 been one of the most violent opposers and per- 
 secutors of the Christians : let it be remembered, 
 he was present at the stoning of Stephen, was 
 a party to his death ; besides, " he made havoc 
 of the church, entering into every house, and 
 hailing men and women, committed them to 
 prison." (Acts viii. 3.) He ^^ breathed out threat- 
 enings and slaughter against the disciples of the 
 Lord ;" and it was at the time he was engaged in 
 one of these journeys of persecution, the Messiah 
 appeared to him, under circumstances extraordi- 
 
.119 
 
 harily striking, and simply, but solemnly demanding 
 the reason why Paul persecuted him. Paul was 
 miraculously deprived of sight, but only for a 
 temporary purpose, namely, to give deeper effect 
 to his reflections ; and during the three days he 
 was so visited, he 'prayed: and when Ananias 
 expressed doubts of it being possible he could 
 ever be friendly to the cause of Christianity, on 
 account of his consistent and determined oppo- 
 sition, the reply was to him by the Lord, " Go 
 thy way, for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to 
 bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and 
 the children of Israel ;" and his history, which 
 need not be dwelt on here, proves that his former 
 heartless, it may be said guilty, opposition to the 
 cause of the gospel, was, by the merciful and 
 benevolent treatment of our Lord, made subser- 
 vient to its triumphant, extensive establishment: 
 and, let it be observed, the Apostle himself 
 alludes to his errors, in after life, in terms of 
 deep unaffected sorrow and regret. (1 Cor. xv. 9 ; 
 Gal. i. 13.) Thus we see that those who, to our 
 exceedingly contracted vision, are the most to 
 be dreaded, and are pursuing a course which 
 is really condemnable, may, and sometimes do 
 become, under proper treatment, the highest or- 
 naments to our nature, the most benevolent among 
 our species. It is impossible not to connect some 
 of the sublimest passages in the writings of this 
 distinguished ornament to the Christian cause, 
 such as 1 Cor. xiii., to a recollection of his own 
 errors, and to contemplate the fitness of those 
 sentiments to improve mankind, but as arising 
 from a knowledge of his own, — consequently of 
 human nature, its imperfection, and liability to err. 
 Another and an important case, as illustrative 
 
120 
 
 of tlie mode of dealing with criminals by one 
 whose authority and example ought to be con- 
 clusive, which we are bound to imitate, is the 
 mode the apostle Paul adopted towards Onesimus, 
 who had absconded from his master Philemon, after 
 having stolen his property. It appears Paul had 
 become acquainted with him, and Onesimus had 
 communicated his crime to the Apostle ; if we are 
 right in our mode of treating criminals, ought not 
 Paid to have prosecuted him according to law? 
 Ought he not to have delivered him, in order to 
 satisfy the ends of justice ? Did he act right in 
 allowing the robber of his master to go un- 
 punished ? Was he justified in letting the culprit 
 loose upon society ? It may be said he was peni- 
 tent. How did he become penitent? Was he 
 punished into penitence ? Does penitence satisfy 
 offended laws Besides, how can true repentance 
 be ascertained ? This is how we should scrutinize 
 the conduct of the Apostle, if we are right in 
 the treatment of our criminals; but let us see 
 how the Apostle acted. He sent him back to his 
 master, — to be punished ? Oh, no ! he wrote a 
 letter to Philemon, which is happily preserved to 
 us, — a lettel: most afifecting and touching in its 
 aj)peals, most disinterestedly benevolent in its na- 
 ture, on behalf of Onesimus. In it are these 
 words, *^ I beseech thee, for my son Onesimus, 
 whom I have begotten in these bonds, which in 
 times past was to thee unprofitable, but now profit- 
 able to thee and to me, whom I have sent again ; 
 thou, therefore, receive him that is mine own 
 bowels :" and further, " If he hath wronged thee, 
 or owest thee ought, put that on mine account." 
 But if we look a little deeper into the case, 
 we shall find that this erring young man was 
 
121 
 
 a person whom the Apostle would have pre- 
 ferred to travel with^ and assist hhn in the diffi- 
 culties of his ministry, but was prevented only by 
 the greatest delicacy towards Philemon. (14th 
 verse.) If there were no recommendations upon 
 the line of conduct to be adopted towards our 
 unfortunate, mistaken, mentally diseased, or if it 
 be a more palatable term, depraved* and criminal 
 portion of our fellow-creatures, the significant, 
 exemplary, and successful conduct of the Apostle 
 towards Onesimus ought to be suggestive of doubts 
 as to the propriety of punishments in any form, 
 especially to the youthful ofiender, with advisers 
 of the same spirit as the Apostle, versed in the 
 intricacies of the human mind, its delusions, its 
 subtle suggestions, because intimately acquainted 
 with, and mindful of, their own errors, how many, 
 instead of being delivered over to the machinery 
 of the law to be punished, and thereby perma- 
 nently degraded, might be turned to righteousness, 
 and, like the Apostle, reflect the mercy they have 
 received, and by which they have been overcome, 
 upon others. 
 
 But it wiU be reiterated, that the Scriptures treat 
 all these matters as individual cases, and as be- 
 tween man in his individual capacity ; but we live 
 in society where there are laws, and we give the 
 ofi'ender up to be dealt with by them, in other 
 words, if a man does not think it right to 
 punish his guilty brother, it is the duty of society 
 to compel him; the distinction is a subtile one, 
 but deserves consideration : and in the case of 
 Onesimus, just referred to, the Apostle was not 
 the ofiended party, but commands, or exhorts, 
 Philemon to forgive ; if the law, or the necessity 
 of example, had been paramount, the Apostle did 
 
122 
 
 wrong to society in not delivering up Onesimus to 
 be dealt with by it ; it is, therefore^ clear that there 
 was something in the Apostle's mind above, and of 
 more importance than, the application of human 
 law to the oiFender, for his punishment : the object 
 of the law was then, as it is now, to punish the 
 offender, and to avenge the offence, not the same as 
 that of the Apostle, to reclaim the offender, and 
 chereby giving him an opportunity of doing justice 
 to the offended. 
 
 It is not, however, a selection of passages, in a 
 controversy like the present, which ought to be 
 considered of importance, it is the spirit of the 
 religion we profess, its tendency, its object, which 
 ought to be paramount ; and the quotations above 
 given, are illustrative of that spirit; there is no- 
 thing in the New Testament which can be made 
 to appear in opposition to them. Believers must 
 remember this is not a controversy of doctrine, but 
 oiduty, not a matter oi opinion, but oi practice. Let 
 us then reflect on these plain precepts, positive 
 commands, and powerfully bright examples, and 
 individually in our intercourse, as well as collec- 
 tively in our laws, resolve to obey and imitate them, 
 resting assured, that forgiveness will strengthen 
 good disposition in the wise, or virtuous, as well as 
 weaken, or destroy, the bad feelings of the ig- 
 norant, depraved, and immoral. 
 
 The law of God, as revealed by Christ, is not a 
 mere collection of beautiful expressions, or abstract 
 truths; it is not a highly finished picture of an 
 exalted and signally desirable imaginary state of 
 society, to be only hoped for, or aspired after ; it 
 is a plain enunciation of simple practical principles, 
 capable of being fully carried out, and completely 
 acted upon, and the result of such action will 
 
123 
 
 be an immeasurable amount of happiness to all 
 who take its easy yoke upon them ; but it is a yoke. 
 It should not be forgotten that the basis of Christian 
 triumph is perseverance in well-doing, through an 
 enlightened self-sacrifice, intimately connected with 
 a consciousness of how short we fall of what we 
 ought to 1)0 ; remembering that God is the father 
 of all, those who are better, as well as those who 
 are worse, than ourselves : let us not envy them 
 who, to our short-sightedness, are higher, or better, 
 than we may be, but rather bless and emulate 
 them; let us not degrade, condemn, or punish, 
 those who are apparently beneath us in virtue or 
 happiness, it is our duty to pray for, comfort, and 
 earnestly endeavour to promote their elevation. 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 In concluding this inquiry, we shall be assisted 
 by cursorily looking at the warrantable conclusions 
 to be drawn from the beautiful language, as well 
 as the spirit of our addresses to God, as dii'ected 
 in the Liturgy. In our very first address to the 
 throne of heavenly grace, we confess " we have left 
 undone the things we ought to have done, and done 
 those things which we ought not to have done ;" 
 and we supplicate God's mercy and forgiveness, 
 but punish or avenge ourselves on our fellow- 
 creatures ; in fact, yield not that forgiveness which 
 is in our power to give, and yet ask it of God for 
 ourselves. When the absolution is pronounced, 
 it is declared that God ^^ desireth not the death 
 
124 
 
 of a sinner, but rather that he should turn from 
 his wickedness, and live ;" but we, in our justice, 
 are more implacable than he, inasmuch as we do 
 frequently desire the death of a sinner, and, in 
 practice, would rather not he should turn from 
 his wickedness, and live. In the Litany we im- 
 plore God " to bring into the way of truth all 
 such as have erred and are deceived:" how do 
 we expect God will do this ? how did our Master 
 act with a view to eiFect this object, but by 
 incessant labour and unbounded forgiveness. We 
 ask him also '' to succour, help, and comfort, all 
 that are in danger, necessity, and tribulation." 
 How do we act towards those who are in the 
 deepest danger, necessity, and tribulation, from 
 moral guilt — from the dangerous and contami- 
 nating nature of sin, but by punishing them, 
 thei^eby increasing their tribulation and promoting 
 their degradation : instead of using our power 
 with the erring or deceived, to promote the 
 object we pray for, we are actually exerting 
 ourselves in an exactly opposite direction. We 
 implore the Supreme Being " to forgive our ene- 
 mies, persecutors, and slanderers, and to turn 
 their hearts ;" but we pray without remembering 
 that " if our ways please the Lord, he maketh 
 even our enemies to be at peace with us." We 
 ask him "to show pity upon all prisoners and 
 captives :" how can we expect him to show his 
 pity upon them whom we have imprisoned, except 
 through our instrumentality? what other means 
 are there, except by miraculous agency ? which 
 we have no right to calculate on. We also say, 
 " O God, who knowest us to be set in the midst 
 of so many and great dangers, that by reason of 
 
125 
 
 the frailty of our nature we cannot always stand 
 upright," &c.* Why should we punish our fellow- 
 creatures for that which, in our own persons, we 
 '^ cannof^ avoid ? Is it a just comment upon our 
 prayers, we should visit chastisements upon each 
 other for circumstances arising from the frailty of 
 our nature, over which we admit we have no 
 control ? We further say, ^^ Grant, we beseech 
 thee. Almighty God, that we, who, for our evil 
 deeds, do worthily deserve to be punished, by the 
 comfort of thy grace may mercifully be relieved, "f 
 How, after uttering such sentiments as these, in 
 the solemn shape of prayer, can we conscientiously 
 punish our ignorant erring brethren ? May we not 
 ask. While we approach God with our lips, 
 are we not departing from him in our hearts 
 and actions ? This prayer is also offered up, 
 " Almighty and everlasting God, who, of thy 
 tender love towards mankind, hast sent thy Son, 
 our Saviour Jesus Christ, to take upon him our 
 flesh, and to suffer death upon the cross, that all 
 mankind should follow the example of his great 
 humility, mercifully grant that we may both follow 
 the example of his patience, and be made par- 
 takers of his resurrection.''^ What is meant by 
 addressing God in language like this, if we are, 
 according to our fallible and imperfect vision, to 
 judge, condemn, and punish, even unto death, 
 our unfortunate, degraded, and imperfect fellow- 
 servants. God is not mocked ; that which we 
 sow we shall surely reap : the result of such an 
 anomalous lin^ of conduct as we are now leojallY 
 
 * Collect for the Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany, 
 f Collect for the Fourth Sunday in Lent. 
 X Collect for the Sunday next before Easter. 
 
126 
 
 pursuing, is, and will continue to be, an abundant 
 increase of crime ; and if we do not repent, our 
 own painful condemnation will be added, and 
 even our criminals will rise up in judgment and 
 condemn us. Let us not forget that many of the 
 most distinguished servants of God have been 
 attainted of crime, justly or unjustly, and, not- 
 withstanding, we know they will be the future 
 judges of mankind ; and, for anything we know, 
 we are forming, " through suiFering," the minds 
 of a class of men to be our future judges, who 
 will know, from experience, how best to treat the 
 erring and the wicked, and will be able to under- 
 stand the characters of the vindictive, conceited, 
 and self-righteous. 
 
 The doctrine of treating offenders with entire 
 human forgiveness is practicable, and can be in- 
 dividually adopted. It is not incumbent upon a 
 man, when Divine truth is concerned, to wait 
 until the laws are altered : he must act upon its 
 dictates. If the laws of God command a man, 
 when he is in any way offended, to act in a for- 
 bearing and forgiving manner, it is his duty so 
 to act. If men perform their duty individually, so 
 as for their conduct to be in conformity with the 
 Divine law, human laws, if in opposition thereto, 
 would be unnecessary, and virtually abrogated. 
 If all the offended were to make an effort to put 
 in practice the Divine law in relation to the 
 offender, nothing more than effectual restraint 
 would be imposed upon him ; and human punish- 
 ments would be looked upon as remnants of 
 barbarism, as useless, immoral, the manifestation 
 of angry vindictive feelings, incompatible with 
 the establishment of a virtuous state of society, 
 and inconsistent with its progress. 
 
127 
 
 But men now revenge themselves when nc 
 human law commands it. Let us illustrate this by 
 the practice of duelling. How ought a man, really 
 anxious to carry out Christian principles, to act if 
 challenged, and yet sustain his honour, for his 
 honour ought to be sustained ? He would say to 
 the challenger, I will meet you, but I must meet 
 you unarmed ; I must not return your fire ; you 
 demand satisfaction, the usage, that is the law of 
 society, says you have a right to it, and I yield to 
 that law, but it can be no satisfaction to me to endan- 
 ger your life, you shall, therefore, have that satisfac- 
 tion you demand. A man acting thus, would, in all 
 probability, so operate upon the mind of his adver- 
 sary as to overcome him, and restore him; and 
 let it be remembered, if he did not, and received 
 his adversary's fire, he would lose nothing but the 
 chance of his revenge.* A moment's reflection 
 will show that sach a man would be the last 
 in the world liable to be challenged; instead 
 of being the subject and mark of angry feelings, 
 he would be the point of attraction for afiection, 
 attachment, and respect. This practice, among the 
 high, is alluded to for the purpose of illustrating an 
 extreme case, but the same spirit may be acted upoi; 
 by all men, in every state of society; the most 
 violent conduct may be forgiven on the one side, 
 or overcome by a benevolent and self-sacrificing 
 line of conduct on the other. It will probably 
 be urged that such a state of things as here hinted 
 at, would be unfit for a community, it could not 
 go on without penal enactments. How do we 
 know a Christian mode of treating the erring is in- 
 
 * It is, however, an important question, whether it would not 
 show much higher moral courage to entirely refuse to fight, or 
 meet under circumstances of hostiUty, 
 
128 
 
 consistant icith the well-being of a community ? 
 Has it ever been tried? Is not the objection a 
 presumptuous judgment on a divine command, 
 without giving it a trial ? If this should be the 
 serious opinion of any man, he is implored to 
 deeply consider it, and look at the consequences ; 
 they are no less than these, — that the sublime 
 principles of Christianity, the recommendations of 
 the Gospel, are incapable of being finally esta- 
 blished, and are consequently false. The assertion 
 that the benevolent commands of Jesus and the 
 Apostles can only, at best, be adopted in an indi- 
 vidual capacity, but cannot be acted upon by a 
 community, will, upon reflection, destroy the hopes 
 of every man who believes the truth of the Chris- 
 tian religion, or has a comprehensive view of its 
 important objects, nor will the idea that such a 
 mode of treatment of the erring, or criminal, is fit 
 only for an advanced and improved state of society, 
 meet the difficulty, for the practice of Christian 
 truth is, and must be, the only sound means of 
 of advancing society ; it must be acted upon, not 
 only by individuals, but be embodied in, or by, the 
 regulations, or established principles, of a com- 
 munity, before that community, whatever may be 
 its professions, or opinions of itself, can be called 
 Christian ; and those ivhofear to adopt the truth, as 
 here referred to, either individually, or collectively, 
 want faith in their own principles, and are devoid 
 of entire confidence in the promises of God. 
 
 FINIS. 
 
 J. & I, Tirebtict, Printers, Monkwell-street, Cify. 
 
ERRATA. 
 
 Page 3, last line, for '* Coombe*' read *' Combe:' 
 Page 46, last line but one, for "f^ '' read '* was J' 
 Page 55, to last line, add ^'prisoners at!' 
 Page 78, last line, for ''voir read *' v. i." 
 
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