New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1856-12-31
$40 We 10 distinguish between crime add insanity 7
II h plnip from the testj uouy of Huntinx ton o


Hh plAin, from the Testimony Of Huutinston's
father and the other evidence in relation to bis
childhood and youth, that - q child and schcolboy
he showed on several occasions q want Of moral
sepslbilify. But there does not appear to be any
thing testified to in this respect which goes at ali
beyond the usual freaks Of thoughtess aud rockies.
school-boJs. Cases much more striking might, we
think, be furnished from every school of fifty or
hundred pupils. 1t seemed in fact, to be admitted
that these incidents Of bis youth, standing by them
selves alone were Of little moment, and that j. was
only by connecting them with subsequent incidents
that they could proofs Of an unsound mind
In the early part Of his career after leaving home,
nothing appears of 90 unusual char acter that ny
potbesis of insanity seems necessary to explain it.
He went into business. and failed, paying ten cents
on the dollar-sn incident quite in the ordinary
line. He started good many business projects,
and on the strength Of these projects succeeded in
obtaining from friends and acluaintances advances
to the extent of more than hundred thousand dol
lars, all Of which be sunk-running in debt at the
commencement of his more recent operations, q
year or 90 ago, to that amount or more. Now the
only thing very remarkable about this is, bis having
been able to induce others to intrust him with
money to such an amount, and which he employed
with results so little beneficial to those who ad-
vanced it. The ability TO do that may prove re-
naksble powers of persuasion, and good deal o.
reckessness in his assertions and representations;
but bis success in doing it does not seem very con-
sstt mt with the suppositon of insanity. There are
many curious stories told of particular instances OF
art ard cunning prac,iced by insane persons, but
the medical books record no instance, thit We know
of any crazy man who ever managed to get himself
intrusttd with large sums of money, advanced TO
b m BIZ business men for business operations.
It appears that in the course of these operations
be- did MT scrupe to commit three or four forgeres;
but the same art or skill, or persuasveness, which
ever il was, which had enabled hn to obtain credit
TO so unusual an extent, enabled him to smooth
over these affairs and to escape prosecution. He
wa, however, indicted for setting on fool fraudu
lent bank; but from that indictment he escaped
without trial. 1t is impossible to say what effect
such experiences might have produced upon
crazy man. but upon a sane man whose moral
faculties were rather obtuse, it il not difficult to
conjecture how they might have operated. They
might naturally have given him strong confidence
in his capacity to in luce other people to orust him
with their money. They IN ght naturally have rem
dered the idea Of detection in forgery, and of in
dlctment for fraud, less alarming to him than to
others. Operating in this way, they might natur-
ally have induced him TO venture upon new line of
speculation, the basis Of which, on his part was
bis power of securing the confidence Of other men
as the originator and conductor of profitable bust
mesa operations, and his readiness to take advan-
tage Of this confidence to pam off forged paper for
real
To establish insanity, it is not sufficient to show
conduct such as sets reason and conscience at de-
fance. Daily experience proves that men are fire.
quently subject to the influence of motives sufi-
GENTLY powerful to draw them off from the re-
straints of conscience and reason, and often to
plunge them even into crime. If q man acts appa-
renty without any of the motives which usually
prompt such actions, there may be ground to con-
clude he is insane; but how is it possible to predi
cate insanity of actions apparently resulting from
precisely the very motives by which in human ex-
PCiicuCC ouCh oic aiWoys Piouuccui
What is there to distinguish the case Of Hunting
ton from that of any other person who obtains
money by fraudulent meansl The reckless way il
which he spent bis money only proves the force Of
the tenn ptations operating upon bin 70 drive him to
get money-money at all events-hoDestly if he
could, but money any how. 1t appears that he I'M
fortunately had taste for fine Clothes fne furni-
ture, jewelry, horses, equipages-in all of which
he seems TO have been connoisseur. Such tastes,
however innocent in themselves, have driven many
people into dishonesty beside Huntington. He
made great deal Of psper'-to borrow the ex-
preston of one of the witnesses. But for what
did he make it Was it merely in obedience to an
insane impulse, or did he make it to get the money
on it So far as appears, bis impulse to make this
paper was entirely regulated by his success 10 get
ting advances upon it. The things in which Hunt
pgton's insanity is supposed to have manifested it
self were, his method OF getting money, and bus
me thod of spending it. But why resort to sup
position of insanity, when his whole conduct in
these respects may be amply explained without any
such superstition To hold him insane, it would
seem to be necessary to show either motives eper-
ating in his case, such as never influence sane men,
or the absence in bis case of the motives by which
sane men are ordinarily instigated TO such acts.
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