The Sun.
London, England, 1851-07-14 00:00:00

THE SUN,

France, and the United States. The particulars
I upon which the argument referred to is built up
have been culled, remember, from official documents,
printed in those countries by order of their respective
Governments. The deduction drawn from the argu-
ment is such as to command the serious scrutiny of
every individual interested in the salubrity of our
I metropolis. Setting out with an allusion to the an-
tiquity of London as compared with New York, the
writer in Bentley's Miscellany remarks, with extra-
ordinary emphasis, an emphasis that not only appeals
at once to our reason, but stimulates, moreover, and
that in a very remarkable manner, the powers of our
imagination—" London was London when St. Paul
was a prisoner in Rome, ten years before the destruc-
tion of Jerusalem." Adding immediately thereupon,
" Sixteen hundred years afterwards, when New
York was but just named, London lost some seventy
thousand by the plague, and more than thirteen
thousand houses by the Great Fire, and hardly missed
-them." Since that period, it might be added, the
capital of England has spread in all directions to an
unexampled magnitude, and contains from 2,000,000
to 3,000,000 as the number of its population. Mean-
while New York, within a circle whose radius cannot
extend beyond three miles, embraces only three-
quarters of a million of inhabitants, being in truth,
as here expressed, " a mere JONAR'E gourd" com-
pared with the British metropolis. Yet, vast as the
difference is which is noticable between the two
cities, New York possesses an enormous advantage
over London in having a supply of pure water for its
inhabitants, more than sufficient to satisfy the re-
quirements of a locality thrice as densely populated.
Sixty imperial gallons each twenty•four hours to
every inhabitant," is surely a bounteous supply,
especially valuable seeing that the water in question
is of the purest description, being convey ed from the
Croton river, six miles above its mouth, by means of
a superb and costly aqueduct. Tnis reminds one of
the engineering labours of LEONARDO at Mortesana,
and of those other beneficent efforts of genius and
munificence which are recorded in the mediaeval ages
and in the ages of antiquity. By means of the
splendid enterprise evinced in these particulars not
only are the citizens of New York supplied with
copieus draughts of wholesome and invigorating
water, but their capital is through its instrumentality
plentifully irrigated in its drainage, its principal
streets, moreover, being adorned with fountains.
Read the account of the New York aqueduct fur-
nished through Bentley's Miscellany, and you Will be
reminded of those colossal works of the subterranean
channels built many centuries ago in the Eternal
City, and portions of which still remain to gratify,
the curiosity of the traveller and to excite the admi-
ration of the antiquary. Speaking of this huge con-
duit of hydraulic masonry of stone and brick, at the
time of its original construction, the writer observes,
" the commissioners and chief engineers passed
through its whole length on foot as soon as it was
completed; and when the water was admitted tra-
versed it again in a boat built for the purpose." By
such magnificent structures have the authorities o
the American metropolis provided against the poison-
ing of its inhabitants through the use of polluted and
consequently deleterious currents, and this while
London—with more than double its wealth—has been
draining year after year, up to the present hour, the
filthy streams employed by its population both for the
purposes of nutrition and sewerage ! Against the
latter detestable system we have, again and again,
argued, but hitherto, unhappily, without beholding
any intimation of even a probable change for the
better, either with or without the primary interfe-
rence of the Legislature. Within view of us, while
we are writing, is the Thames reeking in summer
heat with the execrable exhalations resulting from
the perpetual influx of the sewage of London and ,
Westminster. Immediately under our window is an
intramural graveyard, filled to very repletion with the
decaying remains of the departed. Tide after tide stirs
up the abominable refuse poured into theriver; month
at ter month additional corpses are added to those already
crowded into the graveyards. With these evidences
of the melancholy system of indifference perceptible
in regard to the sanitary reforms so long required,
under our own immediate observation, and this snore-
over uninterruptedly as it were, surely there can be'
no great marvel at our fruquent and untiring allu-
sions to a matter which admits with impunity of no
procrastination or indifference. Until we perceive
some beneficial change actually accomplished, we
shall not cease to protest against the perpetuation of
practices which we regard as detrimental, not only
to the health, but to the morality also of the popula-
tion of London and Westminster.

The recent trisl of JAMES HUGGINS, at the Central
C,iniinal C )urt, for arson, and the attempt that wi.s
made to set up lunacy as a defence, has again directed
public attention to the very unsatisfactory state of
our law in all that relates to lunatics, or
alleged lunatics, or to pretended lunatics. We
have frequently had occasion, and we fear we
shall frequently have occasion again, to direct
public attention to the disgraceful state of the law
as it, affects persons not criminals, who are alleged
to be lunatics. On the present occasion we would
fain direct the attention of our legislators,
and more particularly of the law officers of the
Crown and the Home Secretary, to the equally uns
satisfactory state of the law as it regards the proof
of lunacy when lunacy is set up as a defence to a
criminal indictment, and the utter worthlessness of
medical opinions as guides to the jury in their
decision on such cases. This defective state of the
law is clearly illustrated in this case of JAMES
HUGGINS, who was tried and convicted of arson on
Friday last, at the Central Criminal Court. JAMES
HudGies is 39 years of age, is a shrewd, sharp attorney,
was possessed of considerable house property, and having
purchased an old house and insured it for 1,5001., which
was considerably more than its value, he, in the most
artful manner possible, contrived a plan for the burn-
ing down of this house, so as to pocket the insurance
money, which plan he was two months engaged in
putting into execution, devising machines for facilitat-
ing the ignition and speedy destruction of the building,
utterly regardless of the lives of his two servants,
who were residing in it, and whom he seemed quite
prepared to sacrifice, provided by such sacrifice he
could put into his own pocket 1,5001. These facts
are proved at the trial, they are not controverted
by the prisoner or by his advisers ; but it is considered
that it is a sufficient answer to the indictment to say
that the prisoner was not of sound mind at the time
of and previous to the commission of the act, and to
support this defence some witnesses were called
who deposed to certain acts of eccentricity which any
shrewd man contemplating crime might, and
probably would, affect in order to lay the foundation
for a defence, and several medical gentlemen
who all declared that in their opinion
the prisoner was of unsound mind, or on
the verge of being of unsound mind, but
none of whom ventured to go the length of saying
that the prisoner did not know right from wrong.
Now we would most respectfully a,k any
and all these witnesses whether, bad not Mr. HUGGINS
placed his life in jeopardy by his criminal act,
they would, any of them, have ventured even
to hint an opinion that this shrewd attorney was of
unsound mind. Most fortuniste it is for them that
they did not say on the 30th May (the day before the
fire) of and concerning the mind of JAMES HUGGINS
those things which they said on the 11th July, or most
assuredly they would each and every of them have been
I served with a writ in an action for defamation at the
suit of the said JAMES HUGGINS, who would (had
the fire not happened in the interim) have recovered
swingeing damages for the injury that such state-
ments were likely to occasion him in the
practice of his profession as an attorney.
Fortunately, the jury were men of plain common
sense, who could not be induced to believe on a
w
medical
asauthoritya that the commission of the crime
charged
proof of lunacy. Such, however, un-
happily is not always the case, and we shall too often
this
find, until some alteration takes place in the law, that
notice, will
which at present is always set
up
withoutdefence
will enable many atrocious villains
to escape the
Punishment justly due to their crimes.
It appears to us that a very simple alteration in the
mode of criminal procedure would effect a very great
improvement in the law, and
go far to remedy the
evil of which we so justly complain. We would sug-
gest that a Bill should be passedart of enacting that
whenever it is intended on the Part
set up lunacy as a deface to a prisoner to
diotment such