CAPITAL BUNISHMENTN.

Auckland Star, Volume XLII, Issue 152, 28 June 1911, Page 6

CAPITAL BUNISHMENTN.

'.'(To.-.the Editor..) - ' Sir,-77-I was- a,;little ; surprised; to see,. that'thevßev. Isanc-Jolly, is-'among those Christians, who still• advocate the. death penalty, on the, ground-: that such punishment is a deterrent; We-have had. a number of;-cases of-murder in recent years, showing- that. it : does, not so act. I But what surprises meanest is the fact Ithat as a Christian minister he teaehes,\is -.that there- is none, righteous, and I that, if' any, of: us secure an entry into I Heaven-it-will not; be because, we were righteous, 'but because- Qod and: on 1" Saviour was-merciful;and blotted out,our transgressions/ 'But the mercy that Mr. Jolly-expects. to, ! , be-y extended to.him on the s Judgment; Day- he- deliberately refuses: to extend ,to><H half- civilized M a °ri youth., Mr. Jolly, pictures Tahi Kaka stealthily following the,- unfortunate Freeman and deliberately-murdering him for his money.- There is-no evidence-at all to- warrant this: assumption. Tahi Kaka's own- statement, as, that the robbery was an* afterthought, for till after the fight, which he says took place, he had not seen the money Freeman carried, Tahi Kaka having thought it was a revolver. "Be that, a?,it. may; I;■cannot.see the fairness of, taking one half of: the Maori boy's statement an,d rejecting the other half. But taking the.-worst view,: Christ did not condemn, the woman taken in adultery, and after, rebuking her selfrighteous accusers,.. He simply told her to. sin.no more. I presume Christ- knew whether, such a merciful treatment of her sin would' encourage adultery in those : days, as.Mr. Jolly asserts would be the case if in taking a merciful view of Tahi Kaka's offence we would lessen, the respect for human life... Then, Christ said, "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain money." Now, as to society, is its hands dean? Have we done what we should have done to set a high ideal to this young man? The probability is, we have set him, as we have done thousands of others of his race, the very worst example. It is not the vindictive hanging of -criminals that will act- as a deterrent; 'What we.- do, really want, is. an- improved;; environment; But when afe, 20% m®k.. .thj.fr, sflnitftl! giujififc-j

ment if very often the means of ojjeningup the way of obtaining Divine "grace for the wonder that he cannot see that if a criminal can secure the pardon of his God, he might reasonably expect similar merciful consideration from 'his fellow sinners. If we must have brutal punishing of crime, let us try the cat-o'-nine tails, but let us not as a professedly Christian community invade God's domain, for it is written, '-'Vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord."—l am, etc., WILLIAM RICHARDSON.