The Sun.
London, England, 1850-07-19 00:00:00

01- Itteartil 241111

LONDON, FRIDAY, JULY 19, 1850:

A more desperate effort at political repression than
any hitherto adventured upon by the counter-revo-
lutionists has just been made in the French Legisla-
tive Assembly. By a law introduced under the aus-
pices of the Reaction, journalism has been effectually
gagged. Journalism, be it remembered ! Journalism,
the voice of popular opinion ! Journalism, the organ
of the multitude ! Journalism, that vast and almost
übiquitous power which has thrice shaken down the
bulwarks of royalty, laid bare the " official holy of
holies," and rung the tocsin of three tre-
mendous revolutions ! It is in these magnificent
antecedents that we can alone recognise the reason
of 'this daring and most flagitious enactment.
It is in consequence of the vengeance inspired by the
previous achievements of the press that the most
cowardly of all factions, the faction of reaction, has
found courage at last, from the very desperation of
its atrabilious temperament, to grapple with that
visible Genius of Democracy, whose grasp has
already strangled the elder and the younger branches
of the Bourbon dynasty, and whose struggles against
oppression have from time to time convulsed the
whole surface of Christendom. Madmen that they
are, 'they cannot recognise through their infatuation
a fact otherwise patent to the dullest com-
prehension, the fact that in thus boldly
entering the lists against journalism they
are, like their pedecessors, dooming themselves to
inevitable destruction. As if that terrible truth had
not been proved in bloody characters during the
reign of terror and the days of the guillotine ! As if
journalism, even when enervated with licentiousness,
and degraded by cruelty, and debased by its associa-
tion with death and criminality, had not shown that
its vitality defied all the forces of despotism, and
evaded all the artifices of retrogressive conspirators !
Why, the Pere Duchene itself—that literary incar-
nation of all that was infamous, that cos,
pilation of indecencies and slang, of blackguardism
and blasphemy—set at naught the repressive influence
of a censorship not yet quite extinguished. The
Vieux Cordeliers, with its incendiary wit, and insur-
rectionary declamation, assisted in smiting down the
laws which had been created for its own destruction
and for that of its contemporaries. The Ami du
Peuple, though written as it were on the headsman's
block, with a bayonet for a pen, and for ink the gore
of the victims of assassination, survived the combined
attacks of the administrative and legislative authorities.
Nor can these things be regarded as any matter for
astonishment when it is remembered that journalism
—even journalism such as this—is the utterance of
large masses of the population, and that to drown
these utterances is as desperate and futile an aspira-

ion as to quench the filmes of a volcano, or to allay

the ravages of an earthquake. Yet the counter-re-
volutionists of 1850 are insanely endeavouring to
repeat those exertions which have resulted in the
total discomfiture of their precursors ; and this, more-
over, when the press of France is represented not by the
ferocious squalor of MARAT, or by the sinister cruelty
of ROBESPIERRE, or by the inflammatory fanaticism
of DESMOULINq, but by the ability, the probity, and
the sagacity of some of the most distinguished men
of our generation. The tyrannical enactment just
passed by the counter revolutionary majority of the
Legislative Assembly becomes enhanced in severity,
in our estimation, when we consider that its penalties
are held in terrorem, not over tho heads of demons
like the Septembrists, bat over those of the witty
MARRAST and the accomplished GIRARDIN, over
the conciliatory graces of the feuilletonists,
over the charming JANIN and the indefatigable
SOULIE. Bearing these facts in recollection, no ar-
gument is assuredly requisite to demonstrate the
excessive folly of this most atrocious innovation, or to
justify us in designating the Loi stir la Presse the
most suicidal proceeding upon which the reactionists
have yet adventured. The disfranchisement of three
millions of voters throughout the Republican popula-
tion of France was of itself an act sufficiently cha-
racterised by its audacity. Yet even that flagitious
movement of retrogression, when contrasted with the
law affecting the press, sinks into utter and absolute
insignificance.

According to this enactment of the Legislative As-
sembly, influenced by such men as TUIERS, MOLE, and
BERRYER, the French newspapers are henceforth to
be not under the jurisdiction of a Censor of the Press,
but under the thumb of the Prefect of Police. That
official becomes empowered by this shameless system
of retrogression to suppress at pleasure any journal
or periodical whatsoever, reserving to a few select
favourites the advantage of the consequent

monopoly. Henceforth, moreover, no book or
pamphlet consisting of merely three sheets can be
legally issued without undergoing a tax of one sou
per sheet prior to publication. Neither can the
daily journal of Paris be adorned with its customary
roman- feuilleton, unless graced with an additional
stamp of one halfpenny ! Farewell, then, to the
diurnal joys of the women of France, to the volup-
tuous imaginings of EUGENE SUE, and the romantic
encyclopedias of ALEXANDRE DUMAS. Even the
Constitutionnel, it is to be feared, from the size of its

sheet and the cheapness of its subscripton, weighed down
byu
feuilleton,s p al
ed tdebidtyi ottnhhaeel noe
vrpesolasttil
eewe
eianl
nl t
dl bye compelled to leave
perennial commenced
genius in itso f
LAM.IRTINE. The most remarkable clause, however,
in the whole of this extraordinary enact-
ment is the one rendering it necessary for each indi-
vidual article in a newspaper to be authenticated by
the signature of its contributor. It is intendedrnal.
by this arbitrary arrangement to deprive journalism
henceforth and for ever of its anonymous characterm
and it is conjectured that by so doing it will be most;
effectually denuded of its enormous influence over the
multitude. Whether this be the inevitable conse-
quence or not of the above tyrannical contrivance yet
remains to be demonstrated : but, proven or not
proven as to its result, the intention of the act
is sufficiently obvious and sufficiently execrable as
one of atrocious despotism on the part of the counter-
revolutionists. As such it will be sedulously borne in
remembrance by the people, and its recol-
lection carefully cherished for the ultimate
day of retribution. In reference to this the
concluding words of the oration delivered by General
LAmoructEßE were prophetically significant,
when on Tues lay last he exclaimed to the Legis-
lative Assembly :—" I have but one word more to
say to you, to you who desire to maintain
the Parliamentary Government : since the day when
you had satisfied, by your repressive measures, all
that was required is the name of order and
security, every blow that you direct against li-
berty will ultimately turn against yourselves !"
The repressive measure affecting journalism was
formally passed into a law while the walls of the

Assembly were yet resounding with that prediction.
Meantime Democracy remains serene in the midst of
its invulnerable princi:Aes ; it can afford to await in
patience the hour of its fulfilment.

Our impression of. Wednesday contained one of
the most remarkable confessions relating to a tragedy
of real life that ever fell from a convicted criminal in
any part of the globe. It is the statement of Pro-
fessor WsusTEa detailing the full particulars of the
melancholy transaction by which one gentleman, a
man of education and learning, was suddenly hurried
into the presence of his CREATOR, " unanointed,
unanealed," with all his sins fresh upon him, and
without any preparation for the momentous change,
and by which another, of considerable acquirements,
and who bad previously occupied a peaceful and
tranquil position, imparting scientific instruction to
tho3e about to become members of a learned profes-
sion, has forfeited his life to the offended laws of his
country. Although some time has elapsed
since the discovery of the murder of Dr.
PARKMAN, and although it occurred in ano-
ther hemisphere, and could not therefore be
supposed to excite so deep a sensation of horror as
a homicide committed in our immediate neighbour-
hood, at our very thresholds, much interest was felt
even in the country respecting the fatal occurrence,
while among our Transatlantic brethren it created a
feeling not surpassed by that occasioned by the acts of
RUSH or the MANNINGS in merry England.
The entire transaction was enveloped in the deep-
est mystery. Many persons gave implicit credence
to the assertions of the accused, who in
,the strongest
terms protested his entire innocence of any participa-
tion in the sanguinary outrage. There was no direct
testimony that his had been the hand to deprive his
victim of life, and afterwards, by a refinement of
what might be considered cold-blooded cruelty, to
dismember the lifeless corse, and make away with the
disjecta membra, the mutilated and scattered remaks.
But there was a mass of circumstantial evidence that
could leave no rational doubt of his guilt—no link in
the chain was wanting, arid, after a patient and pro-
tracted investigation, the verdict was pronounced
which must consign Professor WEBSTER to a painful
and ignominious death, unless the parties to whom
the prerogative of mercy is entrusted by the Repub-
lican institutions of the United States, should believe
that there were extenuating circumstances which
would warrant them in mitigating the capital
punishment, and dispensing with the extreme penalty
of the law.

Such a confession as that, which we pre-
sented to our readers on Wednesday, must
ever be received with suspicion. The
criminal even at the last moment of his
existence, when all earthly hope bath passed away,
even at the very moment of resigning himself into
the hands of the executioner, is often nervously
sensitive respecting his character, to divest the
" affair" for which he has been condemned of its
most atrocious incidents, and to cause himself to be
regarded, so far as practicable, as " the victim of
circumstances" over which be had no control, and
thus to obtain the public sympathy for himself and
his surviving family. This suspicion mast neces-
sarily be increased when the confession is made, not
merely to gratify the public curiosity after his death,
but also as a means of inducing his judges to take
a lenient view of the case, and thus to obtain
an extension of mercy for himself—a prolongation of
his own miserable existence—although it may be
dragged on in a dungeon, in the most deplorable
wretchedness. The document must therefore be
scanned with a curious eye. Every point must be
subjected to the closest scrutiny, and if it does not
hang well together, if there is anything strained or
improbable that is not consistent with the various
acts that have been elicited during the judicial inves-
tigation, and with the previous dispositions and cha-
racters of the parties concerned, of the murderer and
his victim, it must be altogether rejected as unworthy
of credence, or so far received only as it may be sus-
tained and borne out by the ascertained facts.
But the narrative- to which we have referred will
bear the application of the most stringent tests.
There is a verisimilitude, a vraitemblance running
through it, that may defy the most acute and even
prejudiced critic, and convince the world that it
has heard an " ower true tale," descriptive not
only of the death of Dr. PARK.MXN, and the subse-
quent proceedings of his murderer, but also of the
motives and causes that produced that untoward re-
sult which involved several respectable families in the
deepest misery and suffering. A strong moral may
also be deduced, warning with a voice of thunder
against the dangers of indulging in abusive language,
or suffering the angry passions to obtain uncontrolled
dominion, so that one hasty and ungoverned act may
lead to a labyrinth of crime and mendacity, from which
extrication is impracticable.

The entire circumstances of the case must be 110
fully in the recollection of our readers, that it is un-
necessary to make more than a brief and passing
allusion thereto. Dr. PaRKMAN, a highly respectable
medical practitioner, was suddenly missing from his
usual places of resort in the latter end of November
last, and after his absence was unaccounted for a few
days, the most gloomy anticipations were entertained
as to his probable fate. Strict inquiries were instituted,
and it was ascertained that the last time he was seen
alive he was about visiting Professor WEBSTER, who
was indebted to him in a considerable amount,
the non-payment of which had excited Dr
PARILMAN'S anger in no ordinary degree.
He was traced to the lecture-room of Professor
WEBsTER in the middle of the day, about half-past
one, r.m., on Friday, the 23d of November. No
tidings of him could be learned subsequently to that
visit. He had unquestionably entered the fatal
apartment, but it could not be discovered that he
had ever emerged therefrom ; there were
" Vestigia nulla retrorsuni."

It is almost unnecessary to say that the apartments
of the Professor and all the places communicating
therewith, in which the body, or even any portion of
the property of Dr. PARKMAN could by any possi-
bility be concealed, were subjected to the most strin-
gent scrutiny, and at length the mutilated remains
were discovered, partly concealed in a sink and
partly buried in a cellar, to which there was
means of access from the lecture-rooms of

the Professor, who was thereupon taken into cus

tody , and subsequently convicted of the murder ;
a writ of error, which had been preferred on his behalf,
being decided against him. There is now pending
a petition for the commutation of the punishment, and
the confession under notice, purporting to give an
accurate account of the entire transaction, has been
brought before the Council, whose decision will be
conclusive as to the fate of the prisoner, by the Rev.
Dr. PUTMAN, who is styled his " spiritual adviser."
For these facts we refer to that extraordinary docu-
ment which appeared in extenso in The Sun of Wed-
nesday. It will he seen that the convict acknow-
ledges the homicide, but positively asserts that
it was wholly unpremeditated—that it arose, in
fact, from the momentary impulse of passion,
occasioned by the gross and unwarrantable language
of the deceased. It is scarcely probable that if the
murder had been planned with malice aforethought
that Professor WEBSTER would have invited his in-
tended victim some days previously to his own lee-
ture•room, in the most public hour of the day,
when the precincts of the place intended to be con-
verted into a human shambles would most probably
be crowded with students—and that by an unsealed
note; and that he would have called at Dr. PARK..
maa's house on the very morning. had the murder
statement
would
afvnellnbwesenn
naturally enough.
The remainder of
Ko-f
pthlaec
AN, on hearing that he was not to receive his money,
m burst
into a torrent of vituperation, calling the
Professor " scoundrel and liar, and heaping
s in on him
the most bitter taunts and opprobrious epithets. " The
debtor who, according to his own statement,
was
"irritable
and passionate," who declares that "as a
been
a and brief violence of temper had b
a besetting sin of his life ; that he had been an onlyen
child, much indulged, and had never acquired the
control over his passions that should have been ac-
quired in early life," speedily grew indignant in
turn. lie ceased to Apologise, and at length on Dr.
PARKMAN "thrusting his fist in his face," he seized a
stick that happened to be lying by, and with it dealt
a single blow, which speedily proved fatal. In the
deepest terror and remorse he endeavoured to re-
animate his victim, but in vain. Life bad fled, and
he found himself a homicide without the possibility of

establishing the extenuating circumstances of the case.
The other revolting facts, the dismemberment and
concealment of the body naturally followed the first
fatal error, and afford a further illustration of the
truth of the old adage, " 117inzo repente fuit turpis-

sinius."

The fate of the murderer is as yet unknown in this
country. A salutary warning may, however, be
drawn from the entire transaction against the habitual
use of intemperate language, which occasioned the
death of Dr. PARKMAN, and against giving way to
angry passions, which has led to a man of education
and ability, and of great sensibility of disposition,
which rendered him beloved by all his friends and
acquaintances, being degraded from a respectable po-
sition in society to that of a convicted Murderer,
awaiting in trembling and agonised terror the final
decision which may consign him to an ignominious
death, or, under the most favourable circumstances,
must condemn him to perpetual incarceration, which
by many may be regarded as the more formidable
branch of the alternative.

THE FRENCH REPUBLIC.

We have received the Paris journals of yesterday.
The Assembly voted the payment of the dowry of
the Duchess of ORLEANS by a majority of 368 to 177.
The speech of General DE LAMORICIERE has caused
terrible alarm among the Enfans terribles of the
Elys‘e, of whom M. DE MONTALEMBERT is to be
reckoned as one. " The Empire without its genius, its
grandeur, or its glory, is one of those mots which
in France tell frequently more effectively than blows.
The disputes between General D'HAUTPOUL and
General CLIANGARNIER have become of so aggravated
a character that the former has, it is said, been forced
to retire from the Ministry
. of IVar ; it is added that
General D'HAUTPOUL in tends explaining to the As-
sembly the reasons which have led to his retirement
from office, and directing attention to the danger
to be apprehended from the misuse by General CHAN..
GARNIER of the enormous powers entrusted to him.
The Presse gives the following as some of the
results of the new Electoral Law in the depart-
ments :--

NUMBER OF ELECTORS.
• Under the Undei the
old law. new law.
Nantes 25,000 ... 7,460
Life ... 15,053 ... 4,524
Amiens ..„ ... 16,875 ... 5.505
Orleans ... 11,701 ... 5,038
Metz „.. 11,000 ... 6,000
Augers ... 14,000 ... 3,800
Rennes ... ... 9,000 ... 3,500
Dijon ... ... 7,364 ... 3,910
Laval ... ... 4,380 ... 2,236
Perigueux 3,000 ... 1,500
Angouleme ... 5,196 ... 2.293
Brives 2,578 ... 1,132
Macon ... ... 3,267 ... 1,852
Elbeuf ... 4,800 ... 1,4 M
F 4 lamp ... ... 2,716 ... 1,001
Charleville... ... 2,268 ... 1,231
Rethel ... 1,912 ... 1,116
Melun ... 2,057 ... 1,203
Compiegne ... 2,655 ... 1,221

Senlis ... 1,383 ... 843
Clermont (Oise) ... 1,101 ... 543
" Everywhere," says the Presse—"it will be ob-
served that half at least of the citizens previously
inscribed are excluded, whilst at Lille, Amiens
Elbeuf, manufacturing towns, the proportion is
much larger; nearly three-fourths of the electoral po-
pulation will be deprived of their rights. At Angers
and Rennes the loss is almost as great. The following
returns are from communes exclusively rural:—
Old lists. New lists
Trelaze (department of the Maine-

et-Loire) 1,175 ... 185
La Pommeraye (Maine-et-Loire) ... .1,280 ... 400
Pierin (Morbihan) ~, ~. 290 ... 103
Thus the electors of the country districts are, in many
places, stricken in proportion much more pitilessly than
those of towns."

PARIS BOURSE, JULY 17.—Closing prices : Five
per Cents. Renter, 96f. 20c.; Three per Cents.
ditto, 58f. 10c.; Bank of France, 2,375 f..
_

BUSINESS DONE IN FOREIGN RAILWAYS AT THE
LONDON STOCK-EXCHANGE, Ruff 18.
Boulogne and Amiens, 71,¢ ex in.—Great Indian Penin-
sula, I—Northern of France, 14.% ex in. and ex div.— Paris
and Rouen, 231,4--Paris and Strasburg, 65,4—Sambre and
Meuse, 21h.

SPAIN.
Madrid journals of the 13th have been received.
Their contents are unimportant.
MADRID BOLSA, JULY 13.—Three per Cents.,
33* ; Five per Cents., 12i money. Exchange on
London, 50 40. _