Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1857-08-14
The Administra,ion d Iu,tis..

The name Of Mrs. Cunningham will not be
soon forgotten ia The melancholy records Of
crime and her Position excites as much at
t~sntioa from the 1egal principles involved, az
he Romantic interests Of these transactions
We eLdssvOr, as Ear as possible, not II inter
fere with the administration y j~ns'iee, ex
cept when improper motives are evinced b,
those who are ID responsible situations-whei
Judges lend themselves and their official fuuc
ton to effect a political coup or pettifog way
the leading maNims Of juTispruCsuse 10 a riouo
OF technicalities.
Mrs. Cunningham nay be a bold, bad wo-
man, bat We have no desire TO exult in her
misfcriaues or crimes. It is but a short i'm,
AGO that she was tried for A terrible murder
and though a grave suspicion rested on her
The evidence was deemed by the Jury insult
cient for her cohVietioH.
She = row aeeused Of he crime OF having
ProdIced . suppostitious child, to. claim the
property Of the man she was accused Of mur
dering, and to whom she alleges she was mar
RED That a guilty intent viii Be proved con
e~lusively against her upon the testimony. il
beyond 2 FefadrehluFe ! ii remains to be SEE
whether there = snythins more. Mrs Cur
ninghan, it is said proposed to simulate a child
birth, and bring forth an infant a. her own
10 case her marriage with Dr.. BurdeIl was ju
d~iciously established, this child Weuld be ths
Presumptive heir of his Property.
Just as soon, however, as The guilty though
was intrusted to tbs ear Of The person who was
selected as the chief instrument for c%arryins
It out, be disclcses the design 10 the publ,
prosecutor. Hsnceforward the administrator
Of public justice 20 bsId and hand With MIs.
Cunningham in supplying DR. Bgrdsli with =
spurious heir. Justice, through its represan
t%ative, enteTs into a Partnership Of crime Nitf
Mrs. CuhhlI gbam justice lures her on ; JUS
I flrr amunNnnE aerNaaurfT nn arH - Haef Fha. hrHF
and at tao moment when Tie false mother. IT,
a feignfd transport embraces "her darling
BABE" justice steps in, rerlsims the child, and
arrests the entrapped woman.
Now we do not deny that the Stste has q
right 10 take the participants or accessories 10
a crime ard make them witnesses and iyrani
cal governments have employed inf)rmers o.
JOIN themselves to couspiratoTs add c~onspira-
cies and worm out Their seeretsi bat even the
hardly goes to the length bf nursing the mere
germ Of criminal Intent into the overt act. III.
precedent Is a most dangerous one. IL the
ministers Of justice can on a mere hint thus
supply the means Of eriminaliiy and tempt ID.
haTborer Of a guilty thought t. destruction
then We shall soon i~egalizr the practice aIn
e~snoniEe the name Of Jonathan Wild.
In the presentrase MIS-. cunningham NAV
insist that no crime was committed. even adj
hitting every Inference that can be drawn from
a. onAEAlEnAo VI Anc hlLIttbt1s AuNN may
probe Der design, but the ouly act VAS hei
taking a child from the hand Of the agent OF
The public prosecutor, and with it going tbrougl
the farce Of e pretended travail. Suppose that
she had designed to poison an enemy, and the
physician whom she supposed was her assist
ant, but who was ia the confidence Of the Off
GERS Of the law, supplies her the material
whether poisonous or not-she receives il ano
disposes it for the victim, but at the moment
she lays 1t down she is arrested.
But whether Mrs. Cunningham is guilty o.
10, IN the eye Ct the lsv, is entirely secondary
70 The great question whether the department
70 which is assigned be detection aud prose-
cution Of criminals should connive At their acts
and tempt 70 The preparation. Il has berI
said that it IL better that ninety-nine guilty
persons should escape, than that oas innocen
man should be punished, bot should il not b.
equally desirable that the State should be pur,
from all participation with eTims2 Even the
appearance Of evil is q stain on the admins
tration Of justice, but when fraud and false
bood are a rart Of the means employed for The
entrapment OF an sccus. d not into the discov
cry but The commission Of crime, We mas jns.l,
consider Il as iffsmouB-R J. Nfrs.