PHI LOS 0 P H Y . - Classic Works of Apologetics Online

406 Of Crimes and Punishment!.
of their agents, with little interJ'uption to. busines~,
and without de~tr('lying, or much encumbering, the
uses for which these instruments are calculated. This
distinction, I apprehend to be not only real, but precise
enough to afford a line of divi~ion between forgeric~,
which, a~ the la w now stand$ .. are almost univenally
capital, and punished with undi-tinguishing
•
sevel'lty.
,tr Perjury is anothrr crime of the same cl~.ss and
magnitude. Alld, when we consider \vhat reliance
( is necessarily placed upon oaths; that all judIcial decisions
proceed from testimony; that con,equently
there is not a right, that a man pog,esses, of which
false witnesses may not deprive him; that reputation,;
propert}r, and life itself lie open to the attetnpts
of pe~jury; that it· may often be comnlitted with.
out a possibi!:ty of contradiction or dj~coverv; that .
the succes~ and prevalency of this vice tend to introduce
ti;(: mo!'t grievou!' and fatal inju~lice into the .
administration of hunlan affairs, or such a distrust of
testimonvas Illust create·universal emb:lrrassment
J
and cont·u~ion: . \\9hel1 we reflect upon these mischie£c;,
we shall be brought, probably" to agree with
the opinion of those, who contend that perjury, in
it~ punishlnellt, especially thar~- which is attempted in
solemn evidence, and in the face of a court of jus ..
I tice, should be placed upon a level with the most
I flagitious frauds.
( The obtaining of money by secret threats, whethi
er we regard the difficulty with which the crime is
f traced out, the odious iOlputations to which it may
lead, or the profligate conspiracies that are sometim,es
formed to carry it into execution, deserves to be
I reckoned amongst the worst species of robbery •
.('"The frequency of capital executions in this coun·
(try, owe~ it~
necessity to three causes-much Jiberty.
9reat cities, and the want of a puni~hment, short of
death, po~ses~ing a sui!icient c!egree of terror. ) And
1
if ttlC taking :nvav the life o( malefactors be more
• , .I
rare in {)ther countries than in ()urs~ the reason will
be iOtlTld iIi some difference in these articles.
The
liberties of a free people, and still more the jealousy
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