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1 Petition 1 (1800s)

handle is hein.newyork/ptton0001 and id is 1 raw text is: PETITION To the Honorable the Legislature of the State of New-York, the undersigned petitioners of Columbia County, respectfully petition and humbly pray that legal homicide in punishment of crime, be speedily and wholly superseded and abolished in this State. Your said petitioners, also ask the indulgence to present a few chapters on the revealed opinions of some ancient and modern writers, who have laboured dili. gently in the broad field of argument, on the subject of legal punisthibetd; which subject, being naturally somewhat exciting in its influences on the human mind, the united labours of the pen and press, usually involve beneficial tendencies, on many important occasions, even where the prospective gratification of reveng- ful feelings have been the theme of Legislative deliberation, and similar causes may perhaps subsequently produce similar effects. CHAPTER I. For tli valuable convenience of the reader, upon whose attention and time, many important subjects may have a proportional claim, and for other reasons, we'give the relative positions of each cited writer, briefly, rather than the full details of argument, by which their respective positions are sought to be fortified. As very few, if any, professional writers on law or on theology, as yet, have revealed much superfluity of argument in defence of legal homicide, in punish. ment of crime, our citations from their works therefore may seem less tedious than brief. Commentators on law, however, do not unanimously excuse themselves from the wearisome task of attempting to defend even this branch of civil law, by as available arguments as they are, or may have been able to devise, and if in so doing they fail or have failed to convince themselves that in any enlightened State, it ought to be continued beyond the time when an intelligible, just, com- prehensible, and truly expedient rule of law might easily be substituted in its stead, surely we may account them as not much at fault, in the suppression of their own private opinion, on the enquiry whether the practice ought to be super. seded or not. The Enclopedia Americania Vol. IV, appears to display full as large a number of positions in the defensive, as we have been able to find in any extant treatise on the subject. But, as those rather prolix positions cannot be given conve. niently, in all the ornamental terms of the learned authors, we proceed to give their obvious or argumentative intent only, in fewer words, and also replies, with relative accompaniments, on the plea of economy, leaving the reader to make such allowance for a possible perversion, as may be deemed expedient and just. In position, lst. It is argued that the wrtings of Moses, exemplify and, by construction, fully authorize the punishment of death. To this it is replied, that the refined doctrines of Scripture, do clearly over rule this construe tion, in Gen. IV, Ex. XX, Matt. V, and in other portions of sacred Writ. The fu rther evidences of which, is given in a succeeding chapter of this petition. In position, 2d. It is contended that by pntering into society, men generally transfer their right to protect themselves; b it is it not self.evident, that man's right of life s an inalienable gift, strictly, an d therefore cannot be transferred ?

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