Mr. Turner on Crimes and Puni/hments. 331 



be aflerted with perfect fafety, that government 

 will never arrive at the perfeftion of which it is 

 capable, till fome very effcntial reform is obtained 

 in our treatment of criminals. 



And as frequent capital puniftiment is an 

 argument of the want of a regular police, and 

 a relique of barbarifm in the conftitution of 

 any fociety, fo its being ftill obftinately con- 

 tinued in ufe among us tends to retain among 

 the common people thofe barbarous manners, 

 from which this kind of punifliment originally 

 took its rife, and to check the progrefs of that- 

 humanity of fpirit, which, happily for mankind, 

 has of late been making fuch rapid advances in 

 our part of the world. Let then the fpirit of 

 our punifhments correfpond with the fpirit of 

 the times, in order that we may fooner attain 

 that perfedion of univerfal charity, which ought 

 to be the governing principle of the human 

 rnind. 



Indeed the advocates for capital punifhments 

 feem now in general to be aware of the weaknefs 



As tle/e held forth a regular bill of indemnity for Jtns, 

 with prices proportioned to their enormity ; fo t/jo/e pub- 

 lifhed a firnilar lift of prices for licence to commit crimes : 

 and whereas, /piritually, you might blafpheme againft the 

 Almighty for a trifle ; fo, politically, for a flated price, 

 you might purchafe the life of the king. A curious 

 conftitution, it muft be confefted, where the fopretne magi- 

 Jlrate might be murdered ^'\\\ /afety; but where it was 

 death to fhcot a partridge '. 



of 



