The Sun.
London, England, 1851-11-22 00:00:00

LONDON,

mistsken mercy of R. jury. has eaeapaa the punishment
due to his crimes. We should wish to see an asylum
built for criminal lunatics which, whilst it kept them
perfectly distinct from every other class of lunatics,
would admit of their classification into the convales-
cent class, who should be allowed every liberty save
that of leaving the asylum, and the insane class, which
latter class should be subdivided into various sections
at the discretion of the medical officer of the
establishment, whose duty it should be to present
once every quarter, to the Secretary of State for the
Home Department, a report on the state of the asylum
generally, in which report he should state the
name and crime of every patient which he bad re-
moved from one class or subdivision into another class
or subdivision, and the reasons which induced him to
order such removal. We think it would be much
better that these details should be left to the judgment
and consequent responsibility of the medical officer,
than that the jury should have the power, which Dr.
WOOD proposes to give them, of finding a verdict of
" Guilty under extenuating circumstances," in cases
in which they cannot conscientiously say the prisoner
is; absolutely insane, but yet consider that he
was acting under " uncontrollable impulse,"
that pet of the doctors and Mile neir
of the lawyers. We consider that it would
be most dangerous to give to juries any power of de-
termining the exact nature and amount of punish-
ment that should be inflicted on any convicted crimi-
nal. Their verdict has only to do with the fact "ay or
no !" "is the prisoner guilty or not guilty," and they
having declared the fact have nothing more to do with
the case, they are not responsible either in a legal or
a moral point of view for what may afterwards
occur, they having decided the fact of the prisoner's
guilt, the law, not the jury nor the
judge, pronounces his doom; it is true the judge, as
the administrator of the law, gives utterance to the
sentence of the law, but he is no more responsible for
the sentence in cases in which the law has affixed a
certain penalty to a certain crime (which is the case
in all grave offences) than are the jury and the wit-
nesses, who are the spectators in the court.
Now, the proposition of Dr. WOOD, that the jury
should have the power of returning a verdict of
guilty under extenuating circumstances, the effect of
which verdict should be invariably to release the pri-
soner from the infliction of the highest penalty of the
law, would be in fact to render them responsible for
the doom of the prisoner, would be inflicting upon
them the responsibility from which they are
at present relieved, and of which Dr.
WOOD complains as weighing so grievously
on medical witnesses in cases of capital offences,
in which the plea of insanity is set up, viz., that
the medical witness feels and knows that the life of
the prisoner is absolutely in his hands. The law has
wisely, we think, abstained from imposing any such
responsibilities on jurymen, and of thus setting their
humanity in opposition to their duty, and tempting
them to violate the solemn oath which they take to
"well and truly try and true deliverance make between
our Soveriegn Lady the QUEEN and the prisoner at the
bar, and a true verdict give according to the evi-
dence." We fear that " a true verdict according to the
evidence" would, were these ♦erdicts once permitted,
be a thing impossible to be obtained ; for, however
strong might be the evidence, we believe that in all cases
where the verdict of guilty was returned it would be
invariably followed by " with extenuating circum-
stances ;" except, indeed, in the cases of persons
charged with political offences, of a character ob-
noxious to the prejudices of the jury, in which
cases, although extenuating circumstances might,
and most probably would exist, no allusion would be
made to their existence in the verdict.

We would invite the public attention to the adver-
tisement of the Anglo-Californian Gold Mining Com-
pany, which will be found in our advertising columns
of this day. It fully confirms the opinions which we
long since put forward in favour of the board of
management against the untenable and unwarranted
attacks to which it was then subjected, when it
entered on the new and then untried experiment of
bringing joint-stock enterprise into operation
in California. They now have as resident director a
' Post Captain in the British Navy (Sir HENRY VERE
HUNTLEY), a gentleman of rank, character, and ex-
perience, whose reports may be received as emanating
from a trustworthy and unimpeachable witness.
Every promise made to the shareholders, or rather to
the community in general, by the promoters of the
undertaking, appears to have been fully and faithfully
redeemed. Not only have the services of Sir H. V.
HUNTLEY been made available, according to pro-
mise, but a body of experienced Cornish miners
hive been carried out, who are now on the spot, and
who have there " voluntarily retendered their ser-
vices" to the company. The company is now in '
actual operation, its works are going forward, and
dividends, which may possibly surpass the anticipa-
tions of the most sanguine are at this moment earn-
ing—nay, it is by no means improbable that the
first fruits are on their way to this country at this
very moment. The company have also entered into
agreements (for crushing and amalgamating the
quartz) that cannot fail to be lucrative, as they are
to receive one-half the proceeds of the quartz
lodged at the mill. On the whole, the report must
prove exceedingly satisfactory to those who have em-
barked their capital in the undertaking.

THE LATE KING OF HANOVER.

Lord Chamberlain's °face, 21st Nov., 1851.
Orders for the Court's going into mourning on
Sunday next, the 23rd inst., for his late Majesty the
King of Hanover, uncle to her Majesty the Queen,
viz.:—

The Ladies to wear black silk, fringed or plain
linen, white gloves, necklaces and ear-rings, black or
white shoes, fans and tippets.

The Gentlemen to wear black, full-trimmed,
'ringed or plain linen, black swords and buckles.

The Court to change the mourning on Sunday, the
7th of December next, viz. :
The Ladies to wear black silk or velvet,
coloured ribbons, fans and tippets, or plain white, or
white and gold, or white and silver stuffs, with black
ribbons.

The Gentlemen to wear black coats, and black or
plain white, or white and gold, or white and silver
stuff waistcoats, full trimmed, coloured swords and
buckles.

And on Sunday, the 14th of December next,
the Court to go out of mourning.

OXFORD, Nov. 20.—The Professorship of Poli-
tical Economy has become vacant in consequence of Mr.
Nassau Senior's term of office having expired. The profes-
sorship, which is tenable for five years only consecutively, is
in the gift of Convocation. Among the candidates named
to succeed Mr. Senior are Mr. Robert Lowe, late Fellow of
Magdalen College, and Mr. Neate, Fellow of Oriel. The
Rev. Henry B. Barry, Michel Fellow of Queen's College,
and Mr. G. K. Rickards, formerly of Trinity College, are
also mentioned.

Captain Spencer Robbins, a foreign service mes-
senger, has been appointed by Lord Palmerston to accom-
pany Lieutenant Pim, R. N., as far as St. Peteraburgh, on his
Arctic expedition in search of Sir John Franklin.

APOTHECARIES'.HALL.—The following are the
names of gentlemen who passed their examination in the
science and practice of medicine, and received certificates to
practise. on Thursday, 20th November :—Charles Joseph
White, Portsmouth • Charles James Morris, Hampton Wick;
Thomas George Fitzgerald, Army; Charles Christopher
Hewitson, Stanhope.

It is calculated that half a million sterling changed
hands at the last Falkirk cattle tryst. This is equal to the
whole amount drawn at the Crystal Palace, including sub-
scriptions, season tickets, and all. Large therefore as was
the su which flowed ito the hands of the Royal Commis-
sioners, how trifling it must be, after all, compared with the
amounts turned over in the ordinary transactions of trade.
.Edinburgh Advertiser.

of French Rentes at Paris, and also the
opening B y the t
astgmennsc r of the submarine telegraph the
rate of exchange on London, were po4ed to-day in the
Royal Exchai.ge at half. past two o'clock, and therefore
during the period of the meeting of the foreign merchants,
so that they could arrange their transactions accordingly.—
Times.
ANOTHER OXFORD SECESSION TO ROME.—The
Rev. Frederic Hathaway, M.A., Fellow of Worcester Col-
b•ge, Oxford, incumbent of Shadwell, Yorkshire, and for-
merly curate of St. Mary Magdalen, Oxford, has resigned
AhVi s Fel
o r cestle'rwsll College,
for
thetaken
purposetiis n
of
fme joiningff thethe
cbhohorkesh
eotf
Rome.
ROYAL SAPPERS AND MINERS.—WOOLWICH, Noy.
20.—Two sergeants joined bead, quarters here to-day from
the Orkney Islands, where they have been engaged for a
considerable period in a trigonometrical survey in that
quarter.
being Sir John
asked
Potter r
describe
r heribe
MODERN KNIGHTHOOD.—A Lancashire woman
who had seen
Majesty's late v
the process, said,
" Hoo tuk hold of a big whittle, hit hur wee
visit to to Queenlan chkensitgehr,t
it when hur were down, and ohouteci ' vet up, nion, and
don't kneel potteria them."'