e end of the 18th century the criminal law of all Europe was
ferocious and indiscriminate in its administration of capital punishment
for almost all forms of grave crime; and yet owing to poverty, social
conditions, and the inefficiency of the police, such forms of crime were
far more numerous than they now are. The policy and righteousness of the
English law were questioned as early as 1766 by Goldsmith through the
mouth of the vicar of Wakefield: "Nor can I avoid even questioning the
validity of that right which social combinations have assumed of
capitally punishing offences of a slight nature. In cases of murder
their right is obvious, as it is the duty of us all from the law of
self-defence to cut off that man who has shown a disregard for the life
of another. Against such all nature rises in arms; but it is not so
against him who steals my property." He adds later: "When by
indiscriminate penal laws the nation beholds the same punishment affixed
to dissimilar degrees of guilt, the people are led to lose all sense of
distinction in the crime, and this distinction is the bulwark of all
morality."

The opinion expressed by Goldsmith was strongly supported by Bentham,
Romilly, Basil Montaguand Mackintosh in England, and resulted in
considerable mitigation of the severity of the law. In 1800 over 200 and
in 1819 about 180 crimes were capital. As the result of the labour of
these eminent men and their disciples, and of Sir Robert Peel, there are
now only four crimes (other than offences against military law or naval
discipline) capitally punishable in England--high treason, murder,
piracy with violence, and destruction of public arsenals and dockyards
(The Dockyards, &c., Protection Act 1772). An attempt to abolish the
death penalty for this last offence was made in 1837, but failed, and
has not since been renewed. In the case of the last two offences
sentence of death need not be pronounced, but may be recorded (4 Geo.
IV. c. 48). Since 1838 it has in practice been executed only for murder;
the method being by hanging.

The change in the severity of the law is best illustrated by the
following statistics:--

+--------+-------------------+---------------------+
| | Death Sentences. | Sentences Executed. |
| Years. +---------+---------+----------+----------+
| | For all | For | For all | For |
| | Crimes. | Murder. | Crimes. | Murder. |
+--------+---------+---------+-----