Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1859-01-25 00:00:00

prisoners convicted of grave crimesth,'ring the late
term, .he observes,
"
convitce the rowdies
"
and ruffians who int 4 this et,
nimunit that the
law is not to be violated,
their Y
own' wild pas-
sions indul
with impunity, while he occupies
a seat upon the bench of the criminal court.
Tlie crimes Most, 'prevalent at the present day
seem to be burglary, and stabbing with the
knife, and upon all the prisoners convicted of
those offenees Judge Russell inflicted the, heaviest
punishment ":--justly adding that " the leniency
which has been so lono- exercised towards cri-
minals has unquestionably emboldened that class,
and impressed them with the idea that the law
and the forms of our courts were mere mockeries."
And so they frequently have been. And so, it is
to be feared, they will be again, so long as the
judge and jury system remains in its present
state,—exposed continually to all sorts of corrupt-
ing and justice-defeatino- influences.
There is a great deal, however, in example ; and
the frauds which are being constantly committed
in official. situations are crimes, the successful per-
petration of which has a very baneful effect. It
appears that the very last New. York Grand Jury,
before concluding their labours, indicted several
officials and late officials in the Street Department
and Bureau of Assessments—the same parties who
were before informally and unsuccessfully indicted
On charges of fraud committed in the performance
of their public dutieS. And, with reference to
their case, the New York Herald remarksT" there
1- is no doubt that plenty of grounds exist to . find
indictments against these individuals, and there is
as little doubt that foundation can be
had for indictments against the majority
of the Common Council and Corporation
officials, for the past five or six years,
in which period some fifteen millions of the public
money have been stolen ; and if all the facts
necessary to produce a conviction could be pre-
sented in these 'cases, it would'be a good thing to
press them on." Most certainly it would, if only -
as an example. But as the delinquent parties are
great and popular politicians, there would, after -
all, be considerable difficulty in doing full and
exemplary justice.
A great push is now making to complete the
line of railroad between Chicago and New Orleans, .
which will secure a continuous route by rail and
boat from New York to that southern capital.
There are lines now open from New York to
Chicago, the distance being about 1,000 Miles ; and
from Chicago to 'New Orleans is . nearly another -
1,000 miles. The route from Chicago consists of
several lines, which will make connections as
follows :—The Illinois Central, from Chicago to
Cairo ; steamboat on the Migsissippi to Columbus,
a little town in Kentucky, twenty miles from
Cairo ; The Mobile and Ohio Railroad, from
Columbus, Ky., to Jackson, Madison county,
Tennessee ; Mississippi Central and Tennessee
Railroad, from Jackson to a point in Tennessee
called " Grand Junction," on the Memphis and
Charleston Railroad, fifty-two miles east of
Memphis ; the Mississippi Central Railroad, from
the Junction to Canton, Mississippi ; and lastly,
the New Orleans and Jackson Railroad from
Canton to New Orleans. The only uncompleted
portion of this route is a distance of seventy
miles, on one portion of the Miisissippi Central
road. This seventy miles is already graded, the
ties, trestle work, and bridges are progressing
favourably', and the iron for the track is purchased,
and is to 'be on the ground before the first of July
next, The, whole will probably be completed
before the Ist of 'December, '1859. At present .
a line of excellent stage coaches run over
the seventy miles. When all the railroad
work . is finished, .the whole journey from
New. York to New Orleans will be performed in
four days. The amount of transit and business
traffic cannot then fail to be
.immensely increased
It will be the longest railroad route in any one
country in the world.

A curious movement, in connection with phy-
sical
science, is now being set on foot in the States.
Its object is to ascertain the comparative animal
strength, size, and proportions of the men of
America and Europe respectively. The Academy
of National Sciences at Philadelphia have taken
the police force as a fair representative class of
men, and a set of scientific tests have been pro-
vided, by which their strength and general phy-
sical condition can be ascertained. Inquiries will
be directed to the following points : age, birth-
place, birth-place of parents, weight, height,
complexion, size of limbs, dimensions of chest,
strength of lungs, size and developments of the
head, &c.