The Sun.
London, England, 1857-05-27 00:00:00

THE BURDELL Air"RDEB TRIAL.

The Burden trial, weica ler the last few weeks
has excited so much speculation, is at an end, and
we shall now probably only hear of it as one of
those mysterious events which for generations fur-
nish subject for wonder and awe to fireside listeners.
We question whether the causes celebres of any
country make mention of any case more singular
or memorable. When we consider the unparalleled
boldness and fearlessness of the deed, the little
apparent effort resorted to to escape detection,
and the mystery in which it continues involved,
notwithstanding three protracted investigations,
it will be regarded either as one of the most success-
ful crimes or as one of the most lamentable failures
of justice on record. With the verdict of the jury
we have no fault to find. It was strictly in accord-
ance with the evidence presented to them. Re-
garding that evidence in all its legal bearings, we
are bound to arrive with the jury at the conclusion
that Mrs. Cunningham is innocent—innocent, at
least, of any direct participation in this murder ;
and that conclusion, of course, also legslly absolves
her partner in the accusation, Mr. Eckel. Mrs.
Cunningham is therefore, by the law, formally re-
stored to the position from which the law tempo-
rarily degraded her. She will resume her place
among her peers of Bond-street and the fashionables
of Saratoga Springs, and it is probable that the
celebrity attached to her by this trial, so far
from injuring, will enhance the social successes of
herself and daughters. New York society is so
singularly constitueed that we must be prepared
for all such startling inconsistencies. Passing
from the immediate results of this acquittal to the
parties concerned—to the more important interests
involved in it, we are compelled to say that the
management of the case furnishes a melancholy
commentary on the manner in which justice is ad-
ministered in New York. With the exception of
the conduct of the presidingjudge, which is de,erv-
ing of all praise for its even temper, impartiality,
and decision, we do not recollect any important
criminal case which has presented such a display
of imbecility and inefficiency on the pact of the
legal persons employed. The prosecution seemed
afraid of proving too much ; while the defence was
weakened by its efforts at exaggeration. After the
strong statements made by the district attorney in
his opening speech, more was expected from the
evidence for the prosecution than was disclosed in
the testimony taken before the coroner. Instead of
the promised developments, we find to our amaze-
ment that not only is there nothing new to add to
the evidence against the accused, but that much
that wa spreviously considered important is withheld.
The testimoney of Farrell, the evidence regarding the
purchase of the dagger, and the testimony of Dr.
Blaisdell, are shut out from the record. Omissions
like these of course furnished an arm of strength to
the defence, and contributed in no small de-
gree to a triumph which the little skill arrayed on
that side might have failed in obtaining. It is im-
possible to read the opening statement of Mr. Hall,
and to compare it with the evidence presented in
support of it, without arriving at the conclusion
that the case for the prosecution was either got up
at a band-gallop, or prepared with a carelessness
which only finds its parallel in the usual mode of
transacting business in the district attorney's office.
We believe it to be a fact that at the present mo-
ment there are from 1,500 to 2,000 indictments,
the accumulation of the last three years, lying
perdu in that office, the parties criminated enjoying
all the time full immunity from the penalties at-
tached to their offences. Is it surprising that in
such a state of things our city should within the
last few years have been made the theatre of half-a
dozen atrocious murders, and that the authors of
them should have been allowed to escape punish-
ment ? Ought we to wonder that our streets are
infested by armed bullies and rowdies, who pis-
tol nnoffending parties, or that respectable citi-
zens should occasionally be made away with by the
midnight assassin, leaving no traces of their fate ?
We may feel wounded by and resent the commen-
taries of the European press at the inefficiency of
our judicial system, but we cannot alter the cha-
racter of these facts. As long as prosecutions are
conducted in the loose, bungling, and inefficient
manner in which this Burden trial has been
managed, as long as crime is suffered to thrive with
impunity, and defaulters and swindlers are per-
mitted to flourish and live honoured in our midst,
so long must we be content to bear with patience
the remarks and sneers of others, and submit as
best we can to the more serious consequences of our
i own bins of omission.—New York Herald.