The Express.
London, England, 1865-07-22 00:00:00

Witt entrews.

TO 00EZESPONDIMS.
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d, nest be at tba Mae, IS, beaverbaiereet. Tye
irk co the dig et pabliaattaa.

rsuccriem
mg IMMO, NIAIMAINGS AND FIDDLIATRINGB.
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IL Vs'Wombat. D. Maher, D. Rum, Beitos, ftaries • WA D.
gleadosalt sad Mr IL (Niver.—A64 AN AIIPLI APO.LOGY.

MITTANItIA.
TITI Immo, THZ DIAMOND; OZ, THZ BYE
07 LIGHT I Mu al CONIC C MApphaz—THE
YOLUNTRUIL—And HISS/ TEI HUNT=

!UGH WATTS AT LONDON-31 MM
Touusow Moods& IL 300.....A/orsua. Us. Us.
TUB Mx Moeda& S. lillia.—..Abinum. U. sb..

LONDON. SATURDAY. JULY 22.

YESTERDAY was another day of Liberal successes
at the poll, four more county seats having been
won, and none lost. In Hertfordshire, the Hon. H.
COWPER has been returned at the head of the poll,
while Mr. ABKL Sims, lately the third Con-
servative member, has last his seat. In North
Essex, long the classic soil of Toryism, Sir T.
Wiurraiut has fought a gallant battle, and won the
seat lately held by the redoubtable Major BERES-
FORD. And finally, both the seats for the
Southern Division of the West Riding of York-
shire have been won by the Liberals. This is the
first election which has taken place since the con-
stituency had a separate existence. The undivided
West Riding, which returned two members, was re-
presented in the last Parliament by Sir J. Ruts-
DEN and Sir F. CROSSLEY. The latter gentleman
and Lord F. CAVENDISH were returned for, the
Northern Division this day week without opposition,
and yesterday Lord MILTON and Mr. BrarmoN-r
were successful at the poll, so that the representation
of the Riding, now that it is doubled, is still
wholly Liberal. The result of the polling yester-
day attests the energy and vitality of the Liberal
party, which three weeks ago, owing to a misun-
derstanding explained at thetime,waa without candi-
dates, and it seemed for a while as if Mr.DENisoN
and Mr. STANHOPE were to be allowed to walk
over the course, and the division to be grievously
misrepresented. The public spirit which has
been exhibited alike by the Liberal candi-
dates and the electors has repaired temporaryerrors,
and been rewarded with complete success. The
polling for several other English and Irish coun-
ties took place yesterday, but without in any cue
changing the general character of the representa-
tion. South Durham and North Wilts have each
again returned a Liberal and a Conservative ; Tip-
perary and Kilkenny two Liberals ; and South
Warwickshire, Deblin, and Donegal (the latter
without a contest), two Tories each. To these is
to be added Orkney and Shetland, for which Mr.
DIINDAS, a Liberal, was returned yesterday unop-
posed. The polling for the City of Cork and the
County of Monaghan was appointed to take place
yesterday, but the returns had not been received
from either at a late hour this morning. To-day
palings take place in South Derbyshire, North
Hampshire, Merionethshire, Leitrim, King's
County, and Wexford. There are only six seats
besides these to be filled up to complete the
elections—those for Antrim and Meath, the nomi-
nations for which counties take place to-day--and
those for North Leicestershire, where the polling is
appointed for Monday.

TIM strange story of a crime once thought
inscrutable, and even yet inexplicable, drew yes-
terday towards all but its final stage. Coxersram
KENT, refusing to withdraw her confession of
guilt, and repeating it at the formal demand of
the Court, was of necessity sentenced to death.
There arises at first a natural feeling of relief
that the course adopted has spared the necessity
for repetition in evidence of the horrible details of
an appalling crime. But mingled with this there
is at the same time a certain sense of dissatisfac-
tion, that a sentence so terrible and irrevocable
has been passed without that full assurance of its
propriety which investigation before a jury alone
can give. These are sentiments which are wholly
independent of all the circumstances which make
this crime at once so horrible and so pitiful.
They were felt by the public when Witmer
was, two years ago, sentenced to death, and
hung, upon no evidence but his plea of guilty.
They cannot but be strengthened when the accused
is so youthful, when her sex draws compassion,
when she has been brought to her present position
not by the force of evidence, but by solely her own
voluntary confession, made under the influence of
religious impulse. Yet none of these things should
sway our minds further than reason warrants. Let
us, then, in order that we may find out what course
public opinion ought now to take, inquire what
are the reasons on which such sentiment of dissa-
tisfaction rests.

One of the chief grounds is undoubtedly the !
fact that confessions of guilt may be, and some-
times are, wholly false. Nothing is more .100103011
than that a person charges himself with a crime of
which be is innocent. The origin of such a pro-
reeding is of course weakness of mind, which in-
duces it to receive an impression that at last becomes
irresistible; and it generally happens that such
weakness is only temporary, and that when con-
fronted with facts, and realising the consequences,
the self-accusation is withdrawn. But it is evident
that this is not a necessary conclusion of the case.
Such a delusion may be more lasting, it may be
even permanent, while, perfect sanity exists on
all other subjects. In some cane, also, there may
be a motive to induce a confession which is not
the result of delusion. It is possible to conceive
that a diseased mind might choose to commit
suicide by such means ; it is possible that the
Eclat of dying for such a cause might overcome the
love of life, as we know that every extraordinary

suicide has a tendency to provlke
coarse all such suppositions are mu Youwialsorr
they may very rarely be true ; b*s when we
sentencing a fellow-creature to death, not on evi-
dence but on confession, all possibilities of error
must bid us pause. Thus, in his charge to the
grand jury, Mr. Justice Wiums laid down most
strongly that we are not entitled in any °sae to
take oonfeesions u oonclunive. lie says :

Admissions of this description ought always to be closely
investigated, and we aught, if possible, for the purpose of
Mlle WIN at a satisfactory conclusion of the guilt of a
prisoner who rya " lam guilty," to take care that such
an answer is not given on any miaapprehensioe, or upon
some motive other than the ooasscioneness of guilt and the
desire to make a oonfession. The proper way to deal with
each admission is lint to see whether it is a mere acknow-
ledgment of guilt, or whether it is circumstantial as to
time, place, and other things ; secondly. in a matter of so
much importance to the prisoner, to see whether the cir-
cumstances of the came established by independent evidence
do or do not confirm such admission.
- -

Now, undoubtedly in CONSTANCE KENT'S wee
the confession was circumstantial as to time and
place, and there were some circumstances earl>.
fished by independent evidence which tended to
confirm it. But then we are also to remember
' that it admitted only the bare fact, that it gave no
explanation of how the fact was accomplished, and
that the innocence of the accused was believed

previously, very much on the ground of the diffi-
culty of seeing how she could be guilty. And, in
the next place, it is to be remembered that the
circumstances which might be thought to confirm
the confession were so very slight in themselves
that they did not warrant her being even brought
to trial, and we do not hear that any fresh dis-
covery of evidence has since been made. Certainly,
then, to accept a confession, silent as to details
that might be tested, and supported only by facts
which in themselves were deemed so trivial and so
consistent with the supposition of innocence, is to
attribute to confession a degree of conclusiveness
which English law and practice has always, in
murder cases, wisely shunned to ascribe to it.
The fact that CONSTANCE KENT had the advice
I of

__ counsel before pleading, to which the Judge
alluded as a source of satisfaction, is not an ele•

meat that wholly removes the painful doubts which
apply to her oonviction. If she persisted in her
plea in spite of their advice, it can scarcely be said
that their advice has been of avail. Yet it is
hardly possible to believe that they could have ad-
vised her to plead guilty. There are cases in
which counsel will tender such advice to their
clients. Such are cases in which the evidence of
guilt is irrefragable, and in which the judge has a
discretion in the punishment, often exercised in
passing • lighter sentence on one who pleads
guilty. But there can be no such hope in plead-
ing guilty of murder. There is no penalty for it
but one, and since, by confessing, there can be no
proof of alleviating circumstances admitted, there
ought to be no hope of escaping that last dread
doom. But there always is hope that the case may
not be clearly proved if the prisoner pleads not
guilty. And no counsel is justified in advising the
throwing away of such chance, merely on the be-
lief in his own mind of the guilt of his client. To
do so is to place his own private, single, unautho-
rised opinion in the room of that unanimous opi-
nion of twelve men to whom the law has confided
the decision. Not even the private confession of
his client would justify such a course ; for he is
bound to remember that the confession may be
false ; may be the dictate of insanity, or the sugges-
tion of ignorance of the legal meaning of the offence,
as a prisoner may easily fancy that to be murder
which the law calls only man laughter. And we
cannot, therefore, admit the principle that in a
case where there can be no penalty but death,
counsel are justified in advising a plea which
forbids inquiry, and makes death inevitable.
It is, of course, in the present instance to be
considered thatthe sentence cannotbe allowed tobe
carried out. Not only is the evidence unsatisfac-
tory, not only is there mystery still hanging over
all the circumstances, and over the state of mind
of the condemned when she committed the deed,
or when she confessed committing it, but there
are the other elements of hope to which the Judge
alluded—her youth, the voluntary nature of her
confession, and its effect in removing suspicion
from others. But on these last grounds only
commutation to a punishment still terribly severe
can be granted, if even they could avail to procure
commutation where the crime was of such ghastly
atrocity. What is perhaps relied on by the
prisoner's counsellors, if she acts by counsel, is the
hope of satisfying the Home-office of her insanity.
Doubtless, it is almost certain that she was insane
if she committed such a crime. It is inconsistent
with sanity, for no conceivable motive could
sway sanity to an act so dire in its inhuman malig-
nity, its treachery, its profoundly cunning secresy.
The jury might well, on such evidence as would
have convinced them of the act having been done,
have found that it was done by one insane at the
time. But we cannot approve of the consideration
of these facts being withdrawn from that court
and jury which the law knows, to that Home
Secretary of whom the law knows nothing.
Commerce Kerr; it is clear, cannot be hanged.
There is no evidence against her but that which in
itself is to be looked at with doubt and hesitation,
and which is consistent with insanity. But it will
be unfortunate if the decision on the evidence
and on her state of mind is to be formed by one
man, sitting alone, rather than by a jury, aided by
the skill of counsel on both sides, and guided by the
learning and experience of the Judge before whom
the history is unrolled.

THE Al; HICULTURA L SHOW.—PLYMOVEH, Jose 2L
—The Royal Agricultural Society's annual exhibition closed
to-night. It bee proved very sucoersful, 87,636 persons
having visite-I the exhibition, 6.2711. Os. bd. hex been
taken, thus placing Plymouth fourth on the list of the moo.
ciety's exhibitions up to the present time for the number of
visitors.

TEE NEW PARLIAMENT AND THE PREMIER.--
The new parliamest differs from the lest in the acquisition
by the government of a more decided majority. Lord
Palmerston will fled the wheels of business run smoother
and sometimes be may perhaps regret the lammed effi-
°Macy of the break. There is a great convenieoce in Ont.
leg out to eager supporters the insurmountable obstacles
presented by a string opposition, and there are a few nem-
' Maas in which defeat is not necessarily disadvantageous.
Load Palmerston was saved by hi. opponent. from a mill-
! dun with the House of Lords in 1860, and from the onerous
duty of maintaining Lord Westbury in office at the close
lof the meet session. It will now be evident that, if the
! 'movement declines to propose popular measures, it will
mot he emceed by it. weakeess in the House of Oommons.
—Saturday Review.
Tag Courerr Cotorrrrumecirs.—The spread of
liberal feeling in the enemies, though far from mammal. as
• witness our crushing defeat in Berkshire, is still very re-
markable, and seems to be mainly due to two caused. One
' Is the great increase of immigrant voters, merchants, mann-
! factures., sod townsmen of all kinds, who now prefer
living in the [comb sir, sad are beginning, we mint add, in
eonsecisence to neglect the cities, and who are liberals
almost to a man. The other is the rapid item's.. of
high farming, a business which requires both more capital
and more ietelligenee than the old system of working
the land. The new farmers, though by no means always
liberals, hove a tendency to liberalism. particularly in mete-
Mesa& matters, and are exesedinaly inclined to foe=
independent judgments—a practice highly obnoxious to
genuine agricultural WIWI', which aocests as its first
dogma the necessity of faith in things invisible, viz., Lord
Derby's judgment and Hr. Hamel& patriotism. Let rents
only rim a little higher, sad we shall have conservatives
elismomiag for a ten-pound franchise in muntim in the
hope that the new voters may not be quite so enlightened
as the old.—Spestator.