remark, that Caiphas's counsel, to the effect that " it was expedient from time to time that one man should die for the people," was a principle as old as humanity, and that though false in its application, it was and is, all things considered, fundamentally true. Never, in faot, was death as a deterrent more necessary than now, in view of the leniency of justice and the humanity of the modern penitentiary; and in general the higher the civilization the greater the need of capital punishment.
The degeneracy of criminals is a constant quantity in all ages, and it were unreasonable that the punishment due to their crimes should be measured by any other rule or at all affected by the changing standards of society. The criminal, says the Psalmist (Psalms xlviii. 15), "hath matched himself with senseless beasts and become like unto them." He forfeits the dignity of manhood and must be dealt with as a dangerous monster, for, says Aristotle, " worse is an evil man than a beast, and vastly more noxious." Nor must we be frightened at the bare possibility of the innocent being sometimes executed, for the same reason will militate against imprisonment for life and all forms of punishment. There is no comparison between the chances of life prisoners escaping or being pardoned, and the chances of the innocent being put to death, and the power that is charged with the safety of the community must act accordingly.
Ah! that fair land of Italy, the garden of the gods, where the death penalty is unknown! Who that has seen them has not grieved over those eyesores on the
