The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1857-08-06

ciples of Justice and humanity, as England does,
the government of India, az at present constitut-
ed, is the most inhunan and atrOcious
The Revelation In the Cunningham Case.
The city feels as though an astounding piece
of good fortune had just happened to all of us.
When the news few round that Mrs. Cunning
ham had been detected in q villanous attempt
to palm off bought baby as her own, men be-
gan to breathe more freely, and excessive JOY
was manifest in almost every face you met.
For the curtain was lifting on one Of the most
atrocious and abominable crimes ever committed
in this country.
Though the xamination-which is reported
elsewhere-and the consequent legal proceed
ines are likely to last some time, we shall not in
| hereafter than we do now. The broad fact,
indeed, that Mrs. Cunningham was prepared to
pay largely for the Use of a baby, and did &C.
| tually procure one for the purpose Of defraud
ing the Burdell heirs of their property, and OBJ
tanning, as tutrix to her infant, an estate which
did not belong to hers all that the pending
investigation and the late discoveries of Mr..
facts grow out of this one? To begin with,
the coloripg, as to motive, which this will
give to the evidence in the marriage litigation
before the Surrogate would probably suffice,
independent of other considerations, to defeat
her attempt to establish marriage. II Is
indeed likely that the Surrogate had long
since come to the conclusion that she was
not the wife of Burdell; but if he had any doubts
left on Tuesday morning, the events of that day
will have dispelled them She will lose her case
and will be thrown out of court As to the muir
der, that cannot be re-opened. She has been lie.
gally acquitted, and, so far as the law goes is in
nocent of the murder of DR.. Burdell. But, in the
public mind, this late discovery will 60 far to
convict her Of the murder; it will be universally
said that DR.. Burdells assassin possessed Just
such qualities as Mrs. Cunningham has now
shown, had the same opportunities, the same mo-
tive, and the same will as that unhappy woman.
All the old reasons why no one but she or her
| instrument could have committed the deed, will
now be revived: society will howl at her as a
murderess And when the time comes for her
to stand her trial for this new offence, every one
will Observation-Disclosures she BE- convicted under
the clause Of the statute quoted in yesterdays
papers, or under that other clause which the Dis
trict Attorney yesterday proposed to use--tha.
her real crime was ono Of blood, not OF fraud,
and her punishment last effort to remedy the
orrors Of the law.
There can be no sympathy for her. She has
pursued her course stouty, impudently, defy
ingly; trampling down every thing that opposed
her, ard pursuing her end with marvel
lous dlreopess. Just fancy her assur-
ing the prison matron that she was
enccnte, long before her trial; and notifying DR..
Ubl at the same time that his services would be
required at the oocouchcHou! Then again what
wonderful duplicity! People were horror struck
at her throwing herself upon the half putrid lips
of the corpse of Burdell, and kissing them with
every token Of frantic affection; but what il this
to her screams for her Gown dear little baby, y
whom she bad hired In Elm street a few hours
before, and brought homo in a basket? And
then her rapacity Had the Surrogate decided
in her favor, as she evidently calculated he would
do, che would have obtained possession of her
dover, enc third Of the real property, which has
been roughly estimated at $4,000 a $50 900;
on one.third of this she and her children might
have gone away somewhere where their names
were not known and lived well and comfortably:
but no. she had jcopardizcd her life, and shc
would have the whole And now she has lost
all
Let US thank God that all crimes do not e.
cape. It isyet possible that some light may be
thrown on the horrid tragedy in which Burdell
lost his life; though perhaps il were futile to ex-
poet any unbendDg or any confession from Mrs.
Cunningham. But the trail In not lost.
And while they are following II up, the
public are curious 10 hear something more
about this DR.. Catlin, Who according TO DIR.
Ubl "sprinkled Mrs Cunnlngham's sheets with
blood and water 20 as TO aid the fraud,
and pretended to put on the bandagcs" TO a
child that had been bandaged long before. Who
| Is he, and what is the mysterious connection be-
tween him and Mrs. Cunningham, which induced
the latter to declare that he was quite in her
power? We sec that Mr.. Hall has accepted him
as evidence and we publish an important aflida-
| Wit Of bis in another column.
There never was murder that took such q
hold on the public mind Of this city as this Bur
dell affair Both the District Attorney and the
police officers will find il TO their interest to pro-
sccutc the investigation and pursue the trail now
discovered with all the zeal and all the acutenees
they can command; the public will certainly not
now rest satisfied with any more barren prosccu
tion., or trumpery scquittals