The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1882-04-18 00:00:00

-brat entuttq Expresso.

Doßosana, APRIL Mb, 1881

THE LAMSON "QUESTION."

The execution of the omelet Lyman haa been
ii other respited until Frid ey week, but the wretched man
le to andentaad that no further respite will be granted
him, aad la all probability the capital punishment
will be carried out, U we may judge by the

following preasent official eteternent—" In tiss
opinion ol the Home Secretary no *sidearm
which has hitherto been submittal to him, either
trem gesiaad or America, affords any justification for
&deign any illiAllier•0011 with the soutanes of the
law." .

Tto general nature of the 'Adam in favour of
Leman is certainly not such that it would facilitate
the task of the Homo Secretary In coming to • decision
on the car, or remove the objections of those who
&moats the throwing of such a heavy responsibility
upon a single and not necessarily judicial mind. Of
came, we suppose that the law officers have given the
assistassoe of their advice to our virtual 0111141141 T of
jests.; but their ogroperatioa will not have been
obvious to the public, so that the eventual decision
will appear to be that of a single executive official.
The maU question now rained in the Lams in case is not
one whkib edema simply the unhappy prisoner, but
one of principle in dealing with a Tory large class of
oases. little while age it appeared sill the Amen-
can widows would chisel, relate to • plies of congenital
amain, whloh would have raised a comparadvely
sant, lane, personally confined to Lamson. II
It could have been shown that the various near
relatives of the prisoner hal been all omd with in.
sanity, apart from the effects of accident, or of age,
that would have raised • presumption that the
prisoner's crime might have been toe result of •
aiee.sd mind, if the circumstances of that crime were
In conformity with such an hyp scholia But the bu,k
of the Anmerian oaf of the !Molten evidence, so far MI
made pliant moms rataer intended to support the
plea that Lagoon was mentally deranged iron ths
excessive use of maybes by way of iiypoderoco
=The evidemose is pretty ample that the un-
man did use morphia In this way to an extra•
regality excessive silent; and the testimony is also
strong that he was subject to strong* aberrations
of Wad. As to scientific medical judgment on
this mailer, D:. Coghill, who from professional
service in China " had unusual opportanitees for
Wooden familiar professionally with all the symptoms
and adepts of opium smoking or wing," says without
heitation that "any one in the habit of using opium
be the extent that 141111100 did would be ingaipaole of
ordinary salcontrol, and would have his moral senses
and powers of jessismasat deteriorated to • degree ran-
risen him laovia of resisting morbid impulses."
We have so doubt of the °Greatness of this opinion.
But then the some thing might be said of a person
IsL"Vg in the inordinate use of alcohol, and
yof strong spirits. An: abnormal habia
unduly attack the nerves of sonattoowlll
madam to brain disease. But it is a gross
question whether jostle* ought to take account
al such self -indizted Incapacity. If a proved baba of
SISSISsiVeI/ using opium of which morphia is a form),
awl roved mental deterioration resulting, is t save •
from the gall iws, then we cannot consistently
refuse the same Dort of plea for of aces c =mitred
under the baneful Wanes of drink. locate drunken
meals would then be • defame to any chargeof sudden
Nolan's, and mental depravation produced by a habit
of drinking would be accepted in excuse for mere
deliberate aims. In obviously extreme sod exoeptional
eases, it is no doubt right and humans to take am must
of the mental and moral perversion that may ensue
from abuse either of opium or of alchooL But than
the oirounstanoes of each Nes must be taken into
eousideration, and it should be careful, o sosidersd
Mother the particular onion in question appears to
have been onaunitted as the act of au inmate person.
Where the dad was obviously prompted by sad lee
Irritation, or where motive is palpably Insufficient or
sot apposed, there might seem to be rine facie
reason for suspecting inanity. But where the crime
1/ deliberate, the moaner of the criminal appugently
rational, and them also such as would actuate a simply
evil mind, the consideration of a plea of hiss gity
beconmesa perpieri mg psychol igical problem which very
few minis would be capable of solving satisfactorily.