The Press.
London, England, 1857-01-10 00:00:00

THE PRESS.

practical businesslike sense, which show that
the heart of the country is thoroughly sound,
and which promise for it a career of illimitable
greatness and glory.
• In place of magnifying the Dictatorship of
Lord PALimairrox, which is due much less to
his personal qualities than to the intuitive
good sense of the public that recognised the
necessity of reposing great trust in whoever
was called to the helm of State while the war
was in progress, his partisans had muoh
better consider what answer they have to
make to that part of the New Quarterly
reviewer's statement which charges him not
only with trickery, but with absolute falsehood
in the course of Lord DERBY'S negotiation with
him. The main facts of that negotiation were
stated by the Noble Earl in his place in the
House of Lords • but the reviewer states some
circumstances which, if authentic, place Lord
PALMERSTON'S conduct in a most unfavourable,
if not dishonourable, aspect. He says that
Lord PALMERSTON had arefully impressed Lord
DERBY with the conviction that whenever
opportunity occurred it would give him great
pleasure to serve under the Noble Earl. It is
matter of history that when Lord DERBY had
his interview with the Queen, he at once re-
quested permission to ask Lord PALMERSTON
and some of his friends to join any Adminis-
tration which he might propose to form.
From the Queen's presence Lord DERBY went
direct to Lord PALMERSTON. The latter readily
fell into the idea that ho should join Lord
DERBY. The conversation went so far, said
Lord DERBY, in his explanation to the House
of Peers, that the post which the Noble
Viscount should fill was named. That post,
the reviewer states (we know not on what
authority), was President of the Council.
I ord PALMERSTON feigned that the work of any
department of real labour would be too much
for him; but it was discussed that he should
lead the Commons, Mr. DISRAELI having re-
linquished his pretensions to that honourable
distinction in Lord DERBY'S proposed Ad-
ministration in favour of the Noble Viscount.
It was also proposed by Lord PamitErisTox, and
agreed to by Lord DERBY, that two of Lord
PALMERSTON'S late colleagues, Mr. GLADSTONE
and Mr. S. HERBERT, should be solicited to
join the proposed Administration ; and Lord
Pm.mErisTox undertook the part of communi-
cating with those gentlemen, Lord DERBY
being left under the impression that the nego •
tiation would thus have greater chance of
being successful.
Now, it is an inference irresistibly suggested
by the very plain and distinct narrative of the
reviewer that Lord PALitEnsToN throughout
this interview was acting the odious part of a
hypocrite ; that he never intended to join
Lord DERBY ; that he was looking to the
Premiership himself while he feigned to be
unequal to any real work, and would be glad
to sink into the side-post of President of the
, Council.

If the facts irresistibly lead to this conclu-
sion, we must then suppose that Lord
PALMERSTON had a double object in soliciting
Lord DERBY that he might be the medium of
communication with Mr. GLADSTONE and Slr.
HERBERT, soliciting them to join. Ist. He
absolved—so far as Lord DERBY was con-
cerned—s )me of the chief members of Lord
ABERDEEN'S Ministry from blame, and thus
partly neutralised the condemnatory vote of
the House of Commons. And, 2ndly, and
chiefly, he prevented Lord DF.nnv from enter-
ing into any direct communication with Mr.
GLADSTONE and Mr. HERBERT.
Lord DERBY left Lord PALMERSTON with the
full conviction that the arrangement discussed
would take effect. In any case, Lord PAL-
MERSTON was bound to fulfil the understanding
he had come to with Lord DERBY. He was
bound to ask Mr. GLADSTONE and Mr. HER-
BERT whether they would join with him. This
was what—beyond all question—Lord DERBY
expected Lord PALMERSTON would do.
Lord PALMERSTON broke his faith, and broke
his word with Lord DERBY. Instead of writing
to Mr. GLADSTONE and Mr. HERBERT Soliciting
them to join him under Lord DERBY—as the
Noble Earl most clearly understood he would
do—ho wrote to Mr. GLADSTONE and Mr.
HERBERT stating Lord DERBY'S offer, and
adding that, so far as he was concerned, he

SATURDAY,

had declined to join ; and he made this state
ment literally correct by despatching, a missive
to Lord DERBY stating that he did not think
he could give any material assistance to any
Ministry which Lord Derby could form.
Wo do not think that there is, in the annals
of English statesmanship, any example of
equal deception. It was successful ; and by
those who think that the end justifies the
means it will be defended. A narrative
plairay setting forth these facts is not, how-
ever, te be got rid of by glorifying Lord PAL-
MERSTON as Dictator. The question is, how
did he obtain his Dictatorship ?
In the speculations of the New Quarterly
reviewer—particularly criticised by the Globe
—as to what Lord DERBY might have done,
it would be useless to enter. We must think
the judgment of Lord DERBY, on the actual
circumstances of the time, entitled to far
greater weight than the poet:facto criticisms of
any anonymous writer. The patriotism of
Lord DERBY at that crisis is unquestioned ;
and the highest kind of sagacity usually goes
band in hand with the highest kind of prin-
ciple. The noblest intellectual faculties and
the finest perceptions of honour are rarely
found apart, whatever Lord PALMERSTON'S ad-
mirers may say to the contrary.

HOW TO DEAL WITH OUR CRIMINALS.
WE are glad to see that Mr. CHARLES PEARSON,
the City Solicitor, has promised the Lord
Mayor that he will bring the subject of the
proper mode of dealing with our criminals
under the notice of the citizens. Mr. PxsasoN
has shown himself, on more than one occa•
sion, a man of good sound sense, and he is the
first to propound the wholesome doctrine
that the criminal should be made to pay the
cost of his apprehension and trial. We say
" the trial," but in doing so wo run some risk
of injustice to an author who has preceded
him, and gone somewhat beyond him, even in
this attempt to do justice on the criminal and
on society. The writer to whom we allude
conceals his name, but evidently from no fear
of giving utterance to strong and comfortable
doctrines. His work is entitled, " The Evils of
England, Social and Economical, by a London
Physician," published in 1848. We extract
from it one passage, which shows to what
extent he has anticipated the City Solicitor :

The citizen who has been robbed has a right to demand
restoration to the uttermost farthing. And here your
prison comes into play for all crimes attended with loss of
property or with its wilful injury. 1, for my part, can con-
ceive no moral discipline equal to this discipline of re•
storation. It would be infinitely more efficacious than
sermons or personal exhortations of any kind; and as
restoration could only take place by labour in prison, you
would get that too. But a necessary condition of this
system of labour in prison, for the purpose of restoration,
must be that the prisoner shall earn not merely the means
of repayment, but the cost of his board, lodging, and
clothing. This expense must be first paid, and the res.
oration of the stolen property must come out of the sur-
plus. From this surplus fund,too, ought to come all the
estimated costof the apprehension of the offender, including
he time of the policeman. and an allowance to witnesses.
The food supplied to each prisoner ought to cost a defined
fraction of the money earned by him, whatever that might
be. The work done should be as various as possible, that
it might suit the capacities, previous employments, or
habits of life of the culprits; and, in order not to compete
with the labour of the rest of the community, should be
devoted to the reclamation of waste lands belonging to the
State. The slight loss sustained by the labouring class,
in consequence of this displacement of labour, would be
amply compensated by the money thus paid back to the
nation's labour•fund. It can scarcely be necessary to state
that the wages paid for all prison labour should be the fair
current rate of wages for the same work performed else-
where.

Substituting the word " restitution " for the
word "restoration," we think these views de-
serving of attention. There is another point
in which the author's views bear strongly on
the suppression of crime, and in which he is
still more original, and not less deserving of
attention. He strives to prove that the indis-
criminate almsgivers are the great culprits of
the community, by keeping in existence the
great classes dangereuses, the mendicant thief
class, which supplies the staple of all our great
criminals, as well as of our lesser offenders.

JANUARY 10, 1857.

THE RAILWAY MURDER AT DUBLIN.
Tun period has now arrived when the public
ate entitled to ask for some authentic in-
formation about the course which the Go-
vernment has pursued in reference to the
murder of the late Mr. LITTLE. The Times of
Thursday, under its Dublin ;correspondence,
seems to be of opinion that the authorities are
completely baffled ; annl we can well under-
stand the anxiety felt by many lonely cashiers
in various great towns of the empire who arc
often till an advanced lhour of the night
making up their money-parcels, and who are
us liable to secret and undetected assassina-
tion as poor Mr. LITTLE. That there has been
mismanagement in the whole inquiry is
lamentably certain ; and, on a retrospective
view of the whole case, we are surprised at the
utter incompetency shown by the officials. It
is impossible that public examination into the
conduct of the Government can be prevented;
and we know that most general discontent
prevails on the question in all circles of
society at Dublin. The subject is English, as
well as Irish. The crime could be as easily
repeated in London as at Dublin; and as
English detectives were employed upon the
case, we have a right to discuss the whole
question from first to last.
The building in which Mr. LITTLE was
assassinated stands at the termini of the
Midland Railway and the Royal Canal.
Built of granite, pierced with few windows, its
architectural aspect is at once gloomy and
handsome, and its sombre massiveness
suggests the idea of an enormous sepulchre.
The internal arrangements of the station are
in the usual style of great railway buildings.
A winding stone staircase conducts to the
corridor which traverses the upper floor. On
turning to the right, after ascending the
staircase, the visitor passes three or four
rooms at either side, and sees a padlock loosely
driven into the doorway of the last room at
his right hand. On opening the door an
apartment, about fourteen feet by twelve, pre-
sents itself to his view. It is lighted by two
windows. A great bass mat is cast on the
floor, exactly on the spot where the corpse of
the murdered man was found. Large black
patches discolour and darkly stain the mat all
over, and are by a practised eye at once recog-
nised as human blood. By the mat and
around the floor are torn and trampled en-
velopes, addressed to various officials of the
railway. The room is unswept and uncleaned.
It is lighted by two windows. That to the
north was nailed down at the time of the
murder, and it was through that window the
carpenter entered on the morning when the
body of Mr. Limn was discovered, the door
of the apartment having then been locked.
The other window looks to the west, towards
the Phoenix-park, and over the plains of Kil-
dare, and along the western chain of the
beautiful line of hills which add such pic-
turesque beauty to the landscapes around
Dublin. The room, divested of its horrible
associations, is light and cheerful, and entirely
free from aught that would make it an appro-
priate scene for a dark tragedy. But a prac-
tised eye at once detects something which
certainly calls for explanation.
We said that the room is unswept and un-
cleaned, but it is not undisturbed. Marks along
the floor and on the wall show that there has
been some recent dismantling of the apart-
ment, and that fixtures have been removed.
The cashier had provided for his safety, as he
vainly thought. A very limited space was

THE PRESS.

assigned by him to those who came to transact
business with him. A counter and a tall
railing had been erected, the latter being so
high that a Grenadier would have difficulty in
overlooking it while standing at ease. Inside
the railing was a large cashier's desk, and
right through the centre of it was a gas jet,
which lighted the apartment at night. The
spot where the gas-pipe penetrated can still be
seen in the flooring, but the table has been
taken away, the counter has been removed, and
the railing carried off!
Now, why was the room thus disturbed?
What possible object had the officials in thus
dismantling the chamber? The inquiries we
now put will occur to any one of sense on
visiting the room ; and we know that some
officials have expressed surprise at the way in
which the standing testimony to the appre•
hensions of the unfortunate cashier wore
removed. We should like to know whether an
exact model of the apartment was made prior
to the removal of these fixtures.

But other and more serious inquiries re-
main. " Private investigation " was decided
upon by the authorities, and, in our experi-
ence, never did we hear of such a " private "
inquiry. What the Government were doing,
and saying, and suspecting, and thinking,
was known to scores of families in Dublin.
It was not a " private " investigation at all ;
although the newspapers were not officially
acquainted with the facts, a number of families
in Dublin were kept furnished with the last
authentic intelligence on the case. The public
mind was cruelly poisoned, "privately," against
one gentleman; and the officials are certainly
to blame for their precipitate suspicions in
one case, and their fatally slow apprehension
in another instance. They are also much to
blame for not having kept their own counsels
with more secrecy. The wives, daughters,
and sisters of various officials were briefed
with the evidence, and one had only to go, at
Dublin, to Mrs. Factotum General That, or
to Miss Deputy Gossip the Other, or to any of
their non-official relatives, in order to know
what the authorities were doing. An arduous
responsibility devolved on journalists, and it
was not by the public press that the character
of one ill-treated gentleman was aspersed.
It is said, however, by the friends of the
officials that there were peculiar facts which
influenced them. It was, certainly, an unfor-
tunate circumstance that a predecessor of Mr.
TATTLE was unjustly accused by the Midland
Company of not having been faithful in his
dealings. The person so accused brought an
action for defamation against the company,
and gained large damages. Such a circum-
stance, along with some other personal con-
siderations, helped to exaggerate the caution
which the authorities pursued. Yet facts
came out from time to time which should have
made the authorities more prompt.
Amongst these facts nothing was more
remarkable than the finding of the bag of
forty-six pounds in silver in the locomotive
department. It was concealed in a hamper,
and was dripping with wet. An order had
been issued in the morning that certain tanks
should be cleaned out, and the bag of money
was taken by its hider and placed elsewhere
for further removal at a convenient hour. Is
it not strange that under such circumstances,
along with several other suggestive facts
(which we shall not now mention), Government
made no arrest of a certain person ?
We attach great importance to the anxiety
of the murderer that the bag of silver should
be secured. It proves that booty was his object.
He had succeeded in taking away 3501. from
Mr. LerTLE's room, as much. probably, as he
was able to carry ; but the fact that he had
left behind him (without removal) a large
quantity of gold, made some persons adopt an
ingenious, but unsound, theory that the murder
was committed for the purpose of silencing
Mr. LITTLE for ever about (alleged) irregular
transactions. We believe, on the contrary,
that it was a mercenary murder, and that the

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no►fi swot f<n►u's was the motive of the ferocious
deed. Examined with scrutinising eye, there
are several conclusions which are of great
importance in this case.
1. The horrid act was obviously committed
by a person familiar with Mr. Lirrix's hours
and habits, and minutely acquainted with the
internal arrangements of the railway. 2 There
was a dreadful skill displayed in its commis-
sion, which proves it to have been the bloody
work of sonic mind of sinister ingenuity. The
murderer was obviously a man
.of calculating
brain, sagacious in anticipating consequences,
and the means which he adopted were " diabo-
lically suited to his ends." 3. He must have
been a person who had a right from his position
to ask Mr. LITTLE to open his door, after it had
been locked by the cautious cashier. 4. The
careful hiding away of the bag of silver in the
" locomotive department," which is about one
Hundred and eighty yards from the building
in which the murder took place, proves fami-
liarity with, and easy access to, the spot where
the money was found.
We believe that, in point of class, the mur-
derer was neither a gentleman nor a working
man. We think that he belonged to the class
commonly addressed as " Mr ," and that he
was in such a condition of life as that 350/.
would have been a capital to him. We believe
that his daily course of life at the railway made
him an ha'oitual frequenter of the "locomotive
department" and the buildings in its imme-
diate vicinity. We think that, with proper
skill and promptitude, there would be no
difficulty in fixing with precision on a certain
person, and saying with the awful voice of
justice, " Thou art the man !"
While COURVOISIER'S case was in the balance,
guilt was positively brought home to him by
the wife of a hotel-keeper at Leicester-square
hearing of some of the evidence against him,
and recollecting at once about a certain parcel
intrusted to her keeping. Not long since,
when a pseudo-baronet set up his claims to a
title and estates in the west of England, the
fact of his fraud and forgery was brought
home by an engraver in Oxford street tele-
graphing to Sir FREDERIC THESIOER, after
reading the account of the first day's trial in
the Times. The publicity obtained by remands
in this railway-murder case, had there been any
public exa►uinatiou, would probably have sup-
plied the necessary evidence, and we fear (from
what has reached us) that there has been ex-
treme maladroitness on the part of the officials.
We must remind the Attorney-General for Ire-
land that this is the third dreadful murder,
within a brief space of time, whose perpetra-
tors have not been brought to justice ! No
one has yet been punished for the murders of
Mrs. KELLY and Mr. CALLAHAN, and the man
who savagely killed Mr. LITTLE still coolly
walks about his business at the Midland Rail-
way station.

PERSONS WRONGFULLY CONVICTED.—The Rev.
John Davis, the Ordinary of Newgate, has just fur-
nished us with the sad history of a certain John
Markham, who, when walking in Oxford-street, was
mistaken for James Anderson, the man who is now
under examination at the Mansion-house upon the
charge of having defrauded the City banks. Mark-
ham and Atwell's brother were tried together for
forgery. Markham was convicted, and sentenced
to four years of penal servitude, while his
companion was acquitted. It was a case
of mistaken identity—the lawyers and police
had got bold of the wrong man. The poor creature
was obliged to sell every little article of furniture he
possessed in the world to provide for his unsuccess-
ful defence. His wife was reduced to the deepest
distress, and the man himself suffered actual im-
prisonment for six months. When the matter came
to be looked into the detectives found that they really
had made a mistake, and that John Markham was
not James Anderson. The result we give in Mr.
Davis's own words

By the exertions of the late Under• Sheriff Rose, whom
I gladly assisted, such evidence was placed before the
Secretary of State that, after its careful examination by
the detective police, the unhappy John Markham was,
with Mr. Mullen's consent, on the part of the bankers of
London, parduatil by Sir George Grey, and liberated.
Mr. Davis concludes by recommending tba case to
the favourable consideration of the Association of
Bankers, and no doubt, in the present unsatisfactory
state of the law upon this point, it is to them only
that John Markham can look for redress.—Times.

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