The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1850-08-05
The English View OF Professor webster's
Case.


From the London Times Julyls
very terrible story has lately bcen under inves-
tipation before one of the criminal courts in the
United Staies-that of Professor Webster We do
not, for obvious reasons, often choose the Causes
ceie brt Of any country bur our own for comment
The Old B alley sessioDs and The various dssizes,
uDhsppily furnish US with TOO ample opporun les
for commenting upon the various developments and
msn,fel Id foIms Of crime. Sometimes, ind. ed, a
case will occui-such as that Of Mad ,mr l. ,firge,
or OF the Due de Praslin, among our French neigh
bors-when the crime OF an individual interests the
Imagination and arouses the Indignation of all
Europe. We cannot, however, remember the
occasion when any great crime committed IN the
Uni ed States proved OF much interest ON this side
of the Atlantic. From time TO time stories reach
us of bloody acts perpetraled by the rough who
have thrown themselves into the wilderness in the
vsnward Of civilization. Two persons engage IN
mortal combat for some tumpery atiront or contra
dictiou, and probably the friends of the slaughtered
combataDt vow reve nge against the family of the
assassin, and carry out the feud IN asprlt worthy
of The wandering tribes OF the desert or of thu Cor
sican Vendetta. A short para graph in Il new paper
from the United States is condensed into one sui
shorter in one other of he English journals, aud
that is all the notice taken of II crime which, had
il been perpetrated among ourselves would h ave
mono olised public attention for months The
reason of this apparent carets>ness is clear Such
crimes are felt 70 belong to a state of society in
which ourselves do not move We read of
the IN az might read tale of our own Border
foreiathers, or of the Highland catertns, whose
achievements exercise d strong a fisciu alton
over the Imagination of Walter Scott. The suf-
fcTers have little hold on our sympathies, the
asshssins upon our txecrhtlOn.
Not so IL the case at Professor Webster Here
we find person in the position of gentleman,
man. too, Of very considerable scientific attain
meBts, who, at midday, and 10 the heart of c-n-
siderable population, invite his creditor to call upon
HIM al The rooms in which he has just been deli
verisg a lecture, and AT such an hour and in such
plac. knocks him on the head, as You would
strike an OK IN the shanbles, and kills hun with
blow. There IL nothing of the prairie about this
crime, nothing If the back woods nan about its per-
petrsfor. IL nigh, have happened here in London,
al well at the place where 1t actually com
med, and Therefore IL II that the horrible Diet Ills
OF this ssassinaon may no; lmproblby prove of
interest There was much OF NV 5tery about the
whole story hItherio-it se' med 20 impo sable TO
assign any adequate motive Tor The aci, Or 10
deislsnd how the murderer could have chosen such
n spot and such an hour for the COMMISSION at his
me, thai after the ve.dict OF the jury. II WAS
cult 10 throw the tale into any IntrlhgIblr form
Many persons At Boston, and The hmiiy of Prof -
soT Webster, without exception, were convinced
that he was guitiees at the offence ut which he
had been convicted. Their CONVICTIONS have proved
Z" hr erroneous. The unhappy man has made n
partial confession Of his quit; we SAY part Al
confession, inasmuch as he admits that DR. Park
men fell by his hand, but declares that the fatal
blow was struck without preDedrauon, aud
at II moment when h. had be-u stung to m Id
ness by the threats aud insults of his creditor
Nothing that we can say, cs.n by any posi-
bIhty, exercise the slightest Influence over the
fate If thr criminal there il therefore 10 reason
why WE should abstain from The remark that Pro-
ftsor Webster as vehemepily protested IN the first
instance that he had no share whatsoever ia Dr.
PaikHHb's desih, AZ he now dues that the fiial
blow was Inflicted without prem. ditarion aud in q
momeDtni hcnzy. Ii Is, undrnidble, however, that
many of The circunstsnc attendant upon thu per-
I"uaiion at The crime would lead us to suppose
that II bad heen deliberately oil nned lrseenis, IN
deed, scarcely econciiesbe with all We know of
the cunning with which Intentional mnrdrrers
draw viciIfn into Their sparrs, that Proi-ssor
Wehsier should have gone, an hour or two before
the crime WIS committed, 10 thu house OF the d.
c,ased-that hr should have left a mr ssaer wit
his want d-sirIDg DR. Parkmsn To csIl upon h'ia
NJ the lecture room just when hs classes 81 b-en
dnnIiss. d-sDd that b~ should have Intended
Throughout To- murder hun Hs soon as he presented
himself. This seems, al fr.t sigh, scarcely probs-
bic. Without attaching the sghtre, weight 10 the
contvtsion ~ he ASSASSIN. We casnot but admit
That there ~ much about the case which would m
dnce The belief that the staying of Dr. Pa'kman
was rather AN act OF manrlsugh r-r than Of inien.
bonal aud delihrrair murder, according o. the ie-
gal o, hnItIop 81 the term great deal Of i'm por-
taner we attached. at the tra to the fact OF hire
having been lighted in Oh. lower well as IN the
ulqrt laboratory, ss though Profrs -or Webster had
made every prePar,iion heforeh md TO destroy the
evidence of his crime. This circumstance cef.ain-
~ app ans strange, and would seem 10 show IN At
ID. bloody deed was not the mere consequence of a
ncpsbi al rxci'em' nj. Our knowledge of the case
T., f0utvtr, tar too imperfect 70 admit al our de-
lv-rng any very authoritative opinion AS On the
shsouir sTd Entire guilt par Il nosc- ncs of the
ms ASSN. We can hut takr the facts ~ we lind
them stated IN The copftsso aud sdd. by way "
comment, that u II was murder, Prof ssor Web
su n has certainly ,ignausd himself by the COM
me- sion al The mcst caring crime upon record.
Tothe confession itself we lsviie attrnrioo-it
will be found IN spothrr portion cf oyr columns
Tins daN
We cen bnv. po usnner OF doubt that 10 this
county Professor Webster woul have been con-
wet, d of murder. There u, iDdrrd, much IN his
conl. tsiop Which might ny possibility be- true, but
world, IN EoRlsDd, be- disturbed in consequence Of
sucb statement.