What Crippen actually did, and for which he suffered death, was to kill a wife whom he hated for the sake of a woman whom he loved. Probably of all the murders that are committed under the sun, in one country or another, there is no more common type of murder than this. It was the irony of Crippen’s fate that he did not meet No. 2 until after he had met No. 1. Had such been his good fortune he would probably have lived a life not better nor worse than his neighbours, and have enjoyed with the best of them the reputation of a contented, law-abiding citizen. It must not be supposed from these observations that, the law of the land being what it is, Crippen deserved a lesser punishment than he received. All I am concerned with is to dispute that any fear of his fate by hanging had any effect on his mind or intentions when he resolved upon the murder of his wife. It is quite clear that the deterrent effect was _nil_, as it was in the case of Dickman, of Cream, and the host of other murderers, who, with a full appreciation that they may ultimately be hung, have nevertheless not hesitated to do away with the lives of their victims, and to run the risk. I am convinced from such experience as I have had of Criminal Courts, extending over many years, that what a man murderously inclined really dreads is not death, but pain. The spectre of death, though it can always be conjured up, is too remote and shadowy to have much effect on the nerves of a man in the enjoyment of a full and vigorous health. Not so with pain. There is no imagination so dull that it cannot take in the terrors of the “cat;” and I believe if such a punishment could be made part of the sentence, even without abolishing capital punishment, the deterrent effect would be unmistakable. I think even Crippen’s courage, wonderful as it was, would have quailed on that dark and wintry morning had he known that he would have had to endure a flogging before he was hung. And had he been asked which he feared most--the physical pain of the lash or the death to follow--can any one doubt what his answer would have been? I am, Sir, your obedient servant, A. CHICHELE PLOWDEN. Marylebone Police Court. * * * * * “The Home Secretary states in a printed reply to Mr. Palmer that of the 24 men and 4 women sentenced to death in 1910, 16 men were executed, as compared with 27 men and 4 women sentenced to death in 1909, 19 men being executed. In 1908, 23 men and 2 women were sentenced to death, 12 men suffering the extreme penalty. One man sentenced to death in 1908 was executed in 1909.” (_Daily Newspaper._) APPENDIX E AN ENGLISH LEGITIMATION BILL Since the chapter on legitimation was written, the writer has come across a House of Commons Bill, which substantially endorses his views on the subject. It is as follows:--