The Sun.
London, England, 1849-09-05 00:00:00

2init

LONDON, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 1849.

The arrests of GEORGE FREDERICK and of MARIA
MANNING, the parties charged with the murder of
PATRICK O'CONNOR, at Bermondsey on the 9th of
August last, exhibit in the strongest point of view the
efficiency of the English police for the detection of
crime, and the absolute inutility of the abominable
and vexatious system of passports adopted on the
continent. Asthose persons have been made amenable
to justice, and are even now awaiting their trials,
we shall not at present say anything on the subject of
their probable guilt or innocence. Their cases will
be decided upon before a competent tribunal. Every
fair and reasonable opportunity will be afforded of
offering their defence to the formidable accusation,
and it would ill become a public journalist
to puejudge the casevor to bias or influence the minds
of those who are to sit in judgment on the accused
and to de eri-niae the awful question of life or death—
a painful and ignornini')us death upon the scaffold.
IL is, however, legitimate to prove from their examples
bow utterly impossible it is for parties suspected of
a serious crime to evade the close and unwearied
pursuit that will inevitably be instituted, or to escape
the avenging arm of the law. The passport system
can only be justified on the single ground that it is
essential to the safety of the nation, and that unless
all were satisfied to submit to the annoyance and em-
barrassments incidental to the daily and hourly sur-
veillance gf the police, great criminals would
escape the punishment they had merited,
and justice would be brought into con-
tempt and disrepute from the comparative impunity
that would be extended to guilt. If, however, it can
be shown that under a more constitutional and less
vexatious system there is an equal certainty of the
detection of crime, the argument in favour of pass-
ports at once falls to the ground, and the inquisitorial
praetice must be speedily and fur ever abolished.
Another good result may follow the inquiry. We
know that the certainty of even a minor penalty is
more efficacious in the repression of crime than the
possibility of the most severe and stringent punish-
ment where there is a reasonable chance of impunity.
The case of the MANNINGS will strike terror into the
hearts of would-be criminals, and convince them how
utterly futile must be the hope of escape, when once
the keen scented beagles of the law were set upon
their tracks, and the warrant for their apprehension
been handed over to the lynx eyed detectives.

The first point worthy of notice is the detection
lthe body of the unfortunate man O'CONNOR. No
eyes, save those of the parties implicated in the
crime, had witnessed the murder. The lifeless
corpse had been cautiously secreted where it was
supposed that it could never be discovered ; and from
the quick-lime with which it was surrounded, a few
days must have removed, if not every trace of the
skeleton, at least the possibility of its identification,
Nothing was known as to his fate. But from his
unaccountable absence from business gloomy ap-
prehensions were entertained. A relative of the ,
deceased, accompanied by one of the detective police
in plain clothes, called at the house in Minver-place,
on Monday, the 13th August. The coolness of Mrs.
MANNING for a time lulled the suspicions
of the parties, but it was clear that the strictest
search would speedily be made, and the female
sought safety in immediate flight, leaving even her
husband in perfect ignorance of her intentions. She
fled to the metropolis of Scotland, vainly supposing
that a journey of nearly 400 miles, and a change of
name, would be sufficient to blind her pursuers.
This was on Monday. The husband remained until
the morning of the following Wednesday, in order
to obtain funds for his journey by the sale of his
furniture, Mrs. MANNING having carried with her
all the available funds. That morning he fled by
the South-Western Railway to Southampton, and
thence to Jersey the same evening, where for some
days
he also appeared to consider himself in perfect
On Friday the discovery took place. The
flight of the parties, and the desertion of the premises
revived and strengthened the suspicions that had pre-
viously been entertained, and a strict search was
determined upon. No mark
arkwas apparent that could
t
lead a casual observer believeThthat any extraordi-
nary event had taken place. flag stones under
Which the body was deposited hada been
over
erefully
releid, and the entire floor had been rublied v
hearthstone. The quick glance of " the detective,''
however, discovered some sl;ght variation from the
usual appearance. The cement between two of the
stones appeared a little brighter and fresher than in
the remain 16r of the apartment. This was sufficient
to induce a closer search, and when on testing it with
his knife it was found to be softer than the remainder,
the awakened suspicions were almost converted
into certainties. Tools were speedily obtained,
and the quantity of mortar under the stone
convinced him that it had not been deposited by a re-
gular bricklayer. The corpse was then discovered, and