The Sun.
London, England, 1856-07-21 00:00:00

,ONDON, MONDAY EVENINCts,
,ItTLY 21, 1868,

to
t} rants,
earnetsst, la,ot s,ega ? p
gland now takes a deeper
n freemasculine
in ,in
a
tei, ofd 'the
t,
continent that she will
no longer endue Int( 3rvention against their sub-
jectscrowned ? We m .ay bl sure that such a determina-

tion on the ?ari tt; of England, one so plainly
reasonableolut i
o and j' at, would be the precursor, not
of v
t of improvement in the behaviour
ren, b
of Autocrats fre in the Atlantic to the very borders
of Russia hers( a

After a Flo tient and searching investigation,
the jury hay e convicted WILLIAM DOVE of the
wilful murder of his wife. The prisoner had
every possilal e advantage that any man placed in
his unfortun ate position could desire. His de-
fence was ca aducted by counsel of the highest
rank in the profession, and the ability displayed
was worthy of the well-established reputation of
those eminent: gentlemen. There was manifestly
no want of fu no s to meet the necessary expenses,
and every wane ss, who by any possibility could
testify in favour of the view chiefly relied on, was
brought forviTzi 1 without regard to the heavy
outlay. The perfect fair play accorded to the
most atrocious criminals is a portion of the
British Constitution of which Englishmen may
woll be proud. No man is entrapped into de-
chtrations, to be subsequently used against him-
self. The more atrocious tie charge, in fact, the
greater the facilities given to the prisoner to show
that he is not guilty of that which must be, to a
certain extent established, before he can even be
called on for a defence.

As to the facts, that Mrs. DOTS died from the
(dfects of strychnine ; that it was administered by
the hand of her husband, the man who had vowed
solemnly to love and cherish her ; and that it
was so administered with the deliberate intention
of causing her death,—they were established be-
y and the possibility of doubt. There could be no con-
flicting opinions of medical men as to the cause of
death ; for the fatal drug was so clearly detected
by a number of different tests, that the learned
counsel for the defendant could not venture to
ague against the assumption. The only suggestion
was that it might have been accidentally adminis-
tered on the last occasion when the act was con-
summated, and that, on all the previous

times, when precisely similar symptom's were

manifested, they arose from hysteria. This sug- I
gestion, ingenious as it was, could not persuade I
an intelligent jury. The manner in which the
prisoner obtained possession of the poison, and his
entire conduct during what was well termed the
fatal week, placed the entire matter beyond
the possibility of reasonable doubt ; and if the
matter remained in that state, the jury could
have had no alternative but to return the verdict
that would consign WILLIAM DOVE to an igno-
minious death on the scaffold.
Accordingly we find the chief efforts for the
defence directed towards proving that the pri-
scalier was not a responsible being—that he was,
in fact, subject to delusions which would render
him not accountable for his actions. For this
purpose a number of witnesses tracing his career
from childhood were produced, who clearly
showed that he was a wicked and mischievous
child, delighting in acts of cruelty, and dull and
stupid in his intellectual faculties. But if these
facts could be taken as a justification there
would be no protection for society. The
usual practise of attempting to show that
tie party had maintained a good character
should be set aside, and the available defence
would be that he had always been incor-
rigible, and proceeded from bad to worse in the
course of an atrocious career. The throwing of
oil of vitriol or other corrosive substances on cows
or cats, for which he ought to have received
severe punishment at the time, could not be held
to justify the subsequent poisoning of his wife,
under circumstances of the most atrocious and dia-
bolical cruelty. Had he been severely chastised at
first, he might not have indulged his malignant pas-
sions to such an extent as to have involved him
in the awful position in which he is now placed,
30t1 d it is possible if juries had on every occasion
displayed inflexible firmness poor Mrs. D OVE
might now have been alive and well.
The object of penal law is not the punishment
of the guilty, but the protection and security of
the innocent. It is not vengeance on Dove
that is required, but such an example
as will show others who have a strong
impulse to crime that they cannot carry their
malevolent desires into execution with impunity.
Persons of that temperament are peculiarly sensi-
tive to consequences falling on themselves, and
Dove's acquittal on the score of insanity might
cause the murders of many innocent persons,
and the necessity of similar trials in other parts
of the country.

Strictly speaking, the Cortes were not prorogued.
The new Ministry, immediately after its forma-
I
tion, sent to the Queen the-following address
• " Madain, —The Ministry prelided over by the Duke
de la Vittoria having been dtkolved it consequence of
differences which have broken-out in it, and the direc-
tion of public affairs having been confided to the respon-
'4ible Ministers who have now the honour to submit the
present statement to yoiir Majesty, the first duty Of
the Cabinet was to consider with calmness and im-
partiality the situation in which the nation is placed
in consequence of the fatal and complicated con-
currence of innumerable causes, past and relent, Nehleh
places it in a situation more eetioiis arid ttiotO
than it has been reduced to during the present century.
To the excitement of passions, the shock of interests,
and the struggles of parties which aceompany and
follow the appearance of all political revolutions, are
added, Madam, since the triumph of the movement of
July, 1851, the absence of systematic political and alnii-
niqrative legislation, the renewal and the change of all
the public functionaries, the accumulation of questions
of great importance, either on account of their social
and religious aspect, the dynastic war recommenced in
the province of Arragon, the epideiny, scarcity, and
continued disturbance of public order in every part of
the monarchy. In order to complete this sad picture,
Madam, the late insurrections of an eminently social
character, which hey° affected the peaceable pro-
vinces in the centre of the Peninsula, have spread
like a plague into other provinces on the coast
and in the interior. It was in vain Madam (and
this is a sad avowal to make)—it was in vain that
the Constituent Cortes, in their intelligent foresight,
and the Cabinet which have retired, with zeal and
patriotism endeavoured to check the increase and spread
of these evils and of these disorders. Neither the pre-
sence, the authority, the co-operation of the Parliament,
nor the use of the power which, to the last moment of
its existence remained with the late Ministry, nor the
state of siege maintained or established on the great
territorial 'Jones, nor the action of military justice ap-
plied to the imperious law of necessity, have been able
hitherto to re-establish political and social discipline,
preserve public peace, and consolidate material order
for any length of time.
" This crisis, Madam, evidently demands a change of
system in the Government of the State ; it requires a
policy of union and conciliation between all men and
towards all the parties which exist in the constitutional
monarchy ; it calls for a just and efficient repression of
all the elements which agitate in the depths or work
on the surface of society ; it required, in short, Madam
the concentration and the firm unity of the public
power, exercising simultaneously its action on all
parties with prudence, but with vigour, in order that
that action might restore its lost spring to the principle
of authority, to the laws their respect, to the citizens
the guarantee of their most sacred rights, to the people
moral order, and to the monarchy internal peace.
"It was in no other manner that, under circumstances
incomparably less imperious and difficult, it was possible,
Madam, both in Spain and abroad, to save society from
dissolution, and nationalities from ruin.

"The Government, Madam, encourages the firm hope
that, thanks to the means which it proposes to your
Majesty, and to others which it has not now pointed
out, owing to the haste in which it submits this state-
ment to the high consideration of your Majesty, it will
be able promptly to attain the object to which its exer-
tions tend, and in which are summed up the most sacred,
the most imperious, and the most vital of the duties of
a constituted power.
"When it shall have attained it with the invincible
support of public opinion, energetically pronounced in its
favour, it will hasten to fulfil another duty not less
imperious—that of re-establishing normal order and sub-
mitting its conduct to the judgment of the Cortes, re-
ligiously practising in the administration of the State
and in its relations with the Parliament the principles
of respect for the law and love of liberty which have
the objects of the worship of your present advisers dur-
ing their whole existence.
"Animated by these sentiments, and founding our
conduct on these reasons, we have the honour respect-
fully to submit for your Majesty's approbation the fol-
lowing decree, and subscribe ourselves with the greatest
respect your Majesty's most devoted servants.
" LEOPOLD O'DONNELL,
" NICOMEDES PASTOR DIAZ,
" MANUEL CANTERO,
" ANTONIO DE LOS RIOS Y ROSAS,
"JOSE MANUEL DE COLLADO."
The above document, when published, was fol-
lowed by the following Royal decree :
"Considering the extraordinary circumstances in
which the monarchy is placed, and, in conformity with
what has been proposed to me by my Council of Mini-
sters, I decree as follows
Art. 1. All the provinces of the Peninsula and the

adjacent islands are declared in a state of siege.
"Art. 2. The Captains• General of Provinces will re-
sume, and exercise during the state of siege, the extra-
ordinary powers which in such a state are attributed to
them by the general regslations of the army, and the
laws and provisions in vigour.
Art. 3. The Government will render an account to
the Cortes of the use and application of those extraordi
nary powers.

" THE QUEEN.
(Countersigned) "ANTONIO DE LOS RION Y ROSAS,
Minister of the Interior."

The Madrid Gazette publishes the text of the re-
signation which the Duke de la Vittoria had sent
to the Queen, in addition to his intimation, viva
'cove to her Majesty to that effect. It is thus
couched:—

" Madam,—The shattered state of my health does
not permit me to any longer perform the functions of
President of your Council of Ministers. Will your Ma-
jesty deign to relieve me of that position, and I shall be
grateful for it as the greatest favour your Majesty can
confer on me ? May the Almighty guard during long
years the important lifo of your Majesty ! I have the
honour to be, Madan, your Majesty's most devoted

servant, 1‘ BALDOIIIERO- EBPARTERO."
The Madrid Gazette of the 14th brings ,offieial
details of the Ministerial crisis and the names of the
new Ministers. It states that at a Cabinet Council,
held after O'Donnell and Esoosura had given in
their resignations the difficulty that had arisen
was discussed at great length, and that at a second
Council, held at the Palace, Espartero expressed his
opinion that it was best both those Ministers should
remain or both retire. This was found impossible,
and Espartero then declared his intention of resign-
ing, and his colleagues went with him. The Queen,
says the Government organ, thrice advised and
asked him to remain and to settle the difficulty as
might best be decided by the Council, but he per-
sisted in relinquishing office, and her Majesty then
accepted the resignation of all the Ministry except
O'Donnell, to whom the formation of a new Go-
vernment was. entrusted. The following arc the
names :
President of the Council—O'Donnell.
Foreign Affairs—Pastor Diaz.
Finance—Cantero.
Public Works—Collado.
lnterior—Rios Rosas.
Grace and Justice—Luzuriaga.
Marine—Pedro Bayarri.

A supplement to the Gazette contains the decrees
of nomination ; also two others, by which Rios
Rosas is appointed temporarily to fulfil the duties
of the Minister of Grace and Justice in the absence
of Luzuriaga, and O'Donnell those of the Minister
of Marine in the absence of Don Pedro Bayarri.
The Gazette also contains the decree putting
Spain under martial law.