THE CONDEMNED CRIMINAL.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 1089, 16 June 1865, Page 5

THE CONDEMNED CRIMINAL.

(To the Editor of the Dail? Times J

Sir —I have seen with much surprise Mr Bathgate's letter, as to the case of Whitehead, now under sentence of death for murder, and as appeal is strongly made to the consciences of the Christian public towards efforts for a commutation of sentence, I beg to reply thereto, so as to relieve my conscience in opposition to the suggestions advanced by Mr B. I see that others have so far given good grounds of objection against his views; and with your own sensible and judicious leader in today's Times, I fully concur. We must all freely allow that the proposal does credit' to his heart, as a man of feeling, but must contest the point with him, on the principles of sound judgment. Air B. informs us that so soon as the deed was committed, Whitehead showed great remorse of mind, and this is repeated in the memorial now presented to the public for their signature. Now, I for one, cannot subscribe to such a statement as a fact. On what ground is this statement made ? Having read the evidence given at the trial, I look in vain for any confirmation of it. On the contrary, Staunton, the principal witness, states very clearly, what would lead to an opposite deduction ; and, even when medical aid was suggested, did not Whitehead oppose it ? At all events, had such remorse been shown, surely the Court would have been informed of it, an'l in such a case neither Judge nor Jury would have tloat eight of it, and the counsel for the de-

fence would have used it with good effect, so as to reduce the capital charge to one of manslaughter;and onthe strength of such being the case, the jury would probably have added a rider to their verdict recommending him to mercy. Still further, when the prisoner was asked if he had anything to say why sentence of death should not. be passed on him, where was the remorse of mind he felt for the fatal deed, or the commiseration for the fate of his deceased mate ? There was none. But in place thereof a callous lament over the money said to hare been lost.

Under all these circumstances Ido not consider it would he a wise atep to interfere with the course of justice, so long as the sound and safe old law recorded in the best of statute books remains unrepealed, " Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood he shtd."

It is painful for me to write thm, as there is a danger of being deemed opposed To clemency and philanthropy; at firtt sight this may appear so, but in reality it is not.

Safety for the living massesoTdur population demands on extreme cases the penalty of the law when violated, to deter otherH from similar crimes ; and when it is taken into account that many of those now congregated on our gold fields are, frcm the very nature of their employment, subject to many hardships calculated to ruffle their tempers and rouse their passions, the salutary lesson mu3t he taught them that their tempers and passions must be carefully kept under due control, lest they also fall within the meshes of the law. Thus it is the tleath of one may save the livea of many. And now that I have pen in hand I think it would not turn out a worthless task to suggest to Mr Bathgate what may prove a more excellent way of cultivating an effort of philanthropy, and it ia naturally suggested by this very case. And as he is a bank manager it will quite lie in his way to consider it in a favorable light. This painful case has arisen from the assumed loss of sixty pounds. Although there is no proof that the prisoner | lost any money at all, we will j not lose time by arguing the point. He may or _ may not have lost it—that is not here or there. But supposing he had—why carry such a large sum of money about his person, liable to be stolen or lost? Why not lodge it for safety in a Bank ? These queries are answeraMe at once by the fact that unless so deposited for a given term no interest would be allowed. Now here is a crying evil in our Banking arrangements. The miner knows he cannot add to his savings byplacing it in a Bank, and therefore sees no inducement in allowing others to trade with his hard-wrought gains. Why not encourage deposits by allowing fair interest on them, be the period long or short? This would encourage thrift on the miner's part. Afford him the comfort that his money was safe from risk, and in a place where he would get it somewhat increased in amount. Let Mr B. turn his energies in this direction, and then we would not be so likely to hear of robbery, leading to resentment and other crin»es.—l am, &c,

Petreoxjs

(To the Editor of the Paily Times.)

Sib—l wa9 called on to-day to sign a petition to respite the sentence of Whitehead for the murder at Mataura, and to my knowledge persons have signed the same just because they have been requested to do so. ~Now, Ido hope the inhabitants oi Otasco will give some consideration before signing such a document; let '.them consider the state society will be in if every man who thinks he ia robbed can commit murder and escape the gallows if detected. I am sure every resident must know the vast amount of crime in these Provinces that has been committed without the perpetrators being discovered, and it is hopad that every man who regards the safety of his home will rejoice at a criminal being brought to justice for so heinous a crime. Let us picture to ourselves murderers living amongst any class of men, even those who have been convicted for minor cases of felony, which they must di if capital punishment be abolished; and it will show how good the law of God and our land is to rid us of such horrid monsters.—l am, &c,

A LovKtt or Justice,

(To the Editor of the Daily Times,)

Sir—lt is very much to be regretted that a gentleman in the position of Mr B:ithgate should have taken the lead in getting up an agitation in favor of the unhappy man now under sentence of death. I have carefully perused both his letters and the petition he has prepared, and I must say that I fail to discover, even on his own showing, any substantial grounds for interfering with the course of the law. We have already in our jail one notable case of a man condemned for murder, but whose life was spared, and he is a prisoner for life. I have no hesitation in saying that if that man was really guilty of the crime for which he was condemned to die, he ought to have died according to his sentence; and if he was not guilty he has no right to be where -he now is. In the case of Whitehead, there is no question whatever of his guilt; he does not deny it himself. And if every man who pleases to fancy that his neighbor has injured him, is to be at liberty to knock that neighbor on the bead and kill him—knowing that there is no fear of his own life being taken in return —it is difficult to say what may be the result. Whether we are open to the charge of neglecting the working classes, liid by Mr Batbgate; or, whether, if true, that neglect has any thing to do with the case in hand, I will not venture to say; but I do marvel most exceedingly at that clause in the proposed petition, where it is urged as an extenuating circumstance that the murdered man had once been a criminal.

I tni3t, sir, that the community will keep aloof from this petition, notwithstanding the source from which it has emanated, and the undoubted 'benevolence that has dictated the movement. —I am, &c, Z. Y. X.