n T R A V E L S f N TO R ü S:S I A.
Book however, this firft: objection to this celebrated and much--
— j extol led- edict with that hefitation wliicli the interefts of'
humanity and the intricate nature o f the fubjeCt require.
But with regard to the fécond objection, that its lenity is*
illufive, that pofition will' not reft merely upon theoretical-
reafoning, but be incontrovertibly eftabliihed by pofitivefait.
A difpaffionate perfon will probably feel no extraordinary
veneration for this boafted abolition o f capital' puniihment,
when' he reflects, that though the criminal laws-
of R-uffia do not literally fentence malefactors to death, th e y
ftill confign many to that doom through the medium o f pu--
niihrnents, in fome circumftances, almoft affuredly, i f not
profefledly fatal, which mocfc with the hopes o f life, but in-
reality protraCt the horrors o f death, and embitter with delay
an event which reafon wifhes to be inftantaneous. For
when we confider that many felons expire under the inflic--
tion, or from the confequences-of the knoot; that feveral
are exhaufted by the fatigue o f the long journey to Ner-
fhinik the remoteft region o f Siberia ; - and that the for--
lorn remnant periih in general prematurely from the un-
wholefomenefs-of the mines, it will be difficult to view the
doom o f thefe unhappy outcafts in any other light than that-
o f a lingering execution*
In effedt, fince the promulgation o f the ediCt in queftion,-
a year has never paffed in which many atrocious criminals,
though legally condemned to other penalties, have not been
capitally puniihed, And indeed, upon a general calculation,
it will perhaps be found, that notwithftanding the apparent
mildnefs o f the penal code, not fewer malefaCtors fuffer death
in Rulfia, than in thofe countries wherein that mode o f pu-
niihment is appointed by the laws. It will therefore be
* 4776 miles from Peteribu rgh.
7 evident
P E N A L L A W S.
evident to the reader, that capital penalties are virtually and c ^ p'-
neceffarily retained, although the chief utility refulting from —
the terror o f certain deftruCtion is confiderably diminiflred.
The panegyrifts o f Elizabeth would certainly have entertained
fome doubts concerning her boafted clemency, i f they
had recollected that fhe did not aboliih, but retained the following
horrid procefs for the purpofe of extorting confeifion
from perfons charged with treafonable defigns.
The arms o f the fufpeCted perfon being tied behind by a
rope, he was drawn up in that polture to a confiderable
height in the a ir ; from whence, being fuddenly precipitated
to within a fraall diftance o f the ground, and being there as
fuddenly .checked, ¡the violence o f the concuffion diflocated
his fhsulders, and in,that deplorable fituation he underwent
the knoot. To this dreadful engine o f barbarity and defpo-
tifm, Elizabeth, amidft all her imputed lenity, gave unlimited
icope;; and, during her whole reign, it was ordinarily applied
even at the difcretion of inferior and ignorant ma-
giftrates; nor was it aboliihed until the accelfion o f the pre-
lent emprefs, who has prohibited the ute o f torture -in all
'Criminal cafes.
Although the fovereign o f this empire is abfolute in the
moft unlimited fenfe o f the word ; yet the prejudice o f the
Ruffians in regard to the neceffity o f torture (and a wife le-
giflator will always refpeCt popular prejudkes, be they ever
fo abfurd and unreafonable) was ft> deeply-rooted by immemorial
ufage, that it required great circumfpeCtion in the
emprefs not to raife difcontents by an immediate abolition
o f that inhuman praCtife. Accordingly, the cautious manner
in which is was gradually fuppreiled difcovered as much
¡judgement as benevolence. In 17 6 2, Catharine, foon after
her acceffioq., took away the power of inflicting torture from
,M 2 the