Papurau Newydd Cymru

Chwiliwch 15 miliwn o erthyglau papurau newydd Cymru

Cuddio Rhestr Erthyglau

20 erthygl ar y dudalen hon

04neral of Mr. Richard Williams,…

Court Leet at Tonypandy.

__----__-----Glamorgan Quarter…

Tonypandy Baptist Guild.

Porth Cottage Hospital.

Panygraig Literary Society.

Newyddion
Dyfynnu
Rhannu

Panygraig Literary Society. On Thursday evening the members of above society held what may be termed _«eir first meeting of the session. A very. P°Pular subject had been arranged for the rvening, viz., "Should capital punishment T5 abolished ? and also the committee be wed wisdom in choosing the right per- for the subject. Those were,, pro., j William Grier; con., Mr. Griffith Thomas. The manner in which they eUt througb their work showed clearly h t they had read a great deal, and had pt been idle in securing the most valuable S^ts to support their respective sides. J^e chairman was Mr. Richard Thomas, newly elected president. Mr. Wm. in reading his paper on the affirma- ve side, dealt with the necessity of i^ing to an agreement with regard to object of punishment. He contended ■^at the prevention of crime should not merely the main, object of it, but the ali i purpose of it. He argued for the Ration, of capital punishment on the &Uiid that it was not a deterrent, which 9 endeavoured to prove. It was not for jyt of numbers, he said, that hanging prove a preventative, for Henry hanged 72,000. Further, when was a capital offence, pockets were ||0ked at the gallows' foot. He quoted W. Harcourt's remarks that murder generally committed in the heat of J^ssion, and it was found that the punish- jatof death did not deter in the case of blJ?jS which were committed in cold We Was it possible and reasonable tèen. to suppose it would act a greater de- tttrellt in the case of murder ? He also that where capital punishment had 11 abolished, and another punishment ^or t^d, murder had diminished also, ak instance, capital punishment had been f^aed in Holland in 1870. This was Jv by a decrease in crime of murder. W^*1861 to 1869 there were 19 murders, a^t.hn u1 1^71-1879 there were only 17, c^ea ^8h the population had greatly in- Crea<j the case of Finland, the de- ^id more marked. Continuing, he Ijwj. apart from all the other argu- mentioned, there were two though good when Bentham wrote, n a^s° good to-day, and would remain W,*1?- that capital punishment was S0ut<rmissable, that it destroyed the one it testimonial proof, and also that 5?ind a Moralising effect on the public TV -e ably supported by Mr. ^UisWVies' w^° said that leniency in i^ad good effect, and had w § twdeecy to 4?«eas$ crimes, as shown by Blackstone and Bright. Mr. Griffith J. Thomas, in opposition, said that figures proved conclusively that the mitigation of punishment in any country was followed by a great increase in crime. For example, in Belgium, as the result of the abolition of capital punishment, mur- ders increased from 34 to 120. In Prussia, where there had been no executions, mur- ders increased from 242 in 1845 to 518 in 1880, and so in every country murders in- creased as the murderers were spared. It was on account of this fact that France had to reinstate this punishment in 1886. In the programme of the Anti-Revolu- tionist Party in Belgium, capital punish- ment was the first item. It stated that it was also consistent with the teachings of both the Old and New Testament, and severely criticised Count Tolstoi's defini- tion of the verse, Resist not him that is evil, but whosoever," etc. Mr. Gwilym Rowlands in supporting Mr. Thomas, made a very able defence. He argued that capital punishment was not carried out from a revengful spirit. It was essential for the safety of society. The subject was then thrown open for discussion, and Mr. John Jones first broke the ice, and was readily followed by others. When put to vote, it showed that the meeting was very evenly divided, the affirmative side receiving two extra votes.

Nantymoel Parliament.

Theatre Royal, Tonypandy.

|Ogmore Valley Notes.

Football Chat.

[No title]

Sanitary Inspectors' Visit.

Mardy Workmen's Decision.…

Porth Town Hall.

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- Porth Pupil Teachers' Centre…

Death at Williamstown.

Pentre's New Theatre.

Presentation to Mr. James…

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