MISCELLANEOUS ESSAYS. 



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many circumstances by primarily 

 aflfecting the body produce a corre- 

 spondent change upon the mmd ; 

 strengthen many of its affections, 

 and pre-dispose to passions and 

 emotions, by which it would not 

 otherwise have been affected. It 

 may be remarked in general that 

 the sensibility of the system, or 

 susceptibility of impression, when 

 greatly increased by intoxication or 

 any other cause, will render the 

 same individual amorous, or gene- 

 rous? or courageous, or passionate 

 and quarrelsome, according as oc- 

 casions and incidents favourable to 

 one or other of these affections and 

 emotions may present themselves. 

 Thus have w'e enumerated the 

 principal causes, which have a 

 powerful influence over the affec- 

 tions; which occasion that great 

 diversity observable in the human 

 species, endowed with similar capa- 

 cities, and apparently placed in 

 similar situations. Causes, by the 

 influence of which one class of ra- 

 tional beings differs so essentially 

 from another equally rational; in- 

 dividuals from individuals in each 

 class, and individuals so frequently 

 from themselves. 



Medical and Surgical Punish- 

 ments, in a Letter to the Editor 

 of the Monthly Magazine. 



Sir, 



THE multiplication of penal sta- 

 tutes has given rise to many 

 serious disquisitions on the wis- 

 dom of laws, their failure, and the 

 difficulty of carrying them into exe- 

 cution ; and some gentlemenof pro- 

 found habits of thinking have sunk 

 so deep in this subject, as to assert, 

 almost in plain terms, that penal 



laws are good for nothing, because 

 crimes are as frequent after thev 

 have been enacted as before. — 

 Others have inquired, and I con- 

 fess with some propriety, into the 

 right of any community to inflict the 

 punishment of death upon its mem- 

 ber; and, if I am not mistaken, this 

 punishment is in America restricted 

 to murder of the worst class only. 

 Meditating upon these subjects a 

 few nights ago, it occurred to me 

 that the fault of ourlawsmightper- 

 haps consist in the punishments we 

 inflict not being properly propor- 

 tioned to the crimes; or, in other 

 words, that rogues have been far 

 more fertile in devising new crimes, 

 than honest men, or legislators (who 

 ipso facto are honest men ) ,havebeen 

 ingenious in varying their means of 

 punishment. To enumerate all the 

 crimes for which the law ordains 

 punishment, would require a much 

 larger proportion of your magazine 

 than you might be disposed to allow 

 to such a purpose; but all the 

 punishments in use may, I believe, 

 be expressed in these few words, 

 death, banishment, imprisonment, 

 whipping, pillory, and fines. There 

 are six punishments to at least six 

 hundred species of crimes; and, by 

 the bye, to save myself the trouble, 

 I beg leave to refer the curious 

 reader to Mr. Colquhoun's two 

 volumes on the London and Marine 

 Police, wherehe will find xhegenera 

 and species of rogues classified in a 

 truly Linnsean system, and often 

 with Linnaean names. 



Perhaps, therefore, I say, the 

 failure of our penal laws may pro- 

 ceed from the want of connection 

 between the crime and the punish- 

 ment. But it is not my intention at 

 present to attempt to establish this 

 connection: I leave that to wiser 



