The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1857-02-08
What Led TO the Murder in Bond Street.

would be resumed on Monday.
What Led 70 the Murder In Bond Street:
We have before US a file of papers Of various
kinds commenting in various senses on the Bond
street murder Certain journals published in
Boston and Philadelphia aud other countr ,
towns, appear to ascribe the nefarious deei
10 the unwholesomeness Of our New Yo,k
atmosphere, and TO the general appetite for crime
which pervades the New York community. Their
| theory is that there would be no more murders
| ii the MERCHANTS of the West and the merchants
Of Europe would only do business with the
smaller towns instead of this metropolis; and
they believe that were the people OF this city to
cease their efforts 10 spread enterprise and COM
merce, the result would be highly advantageous
to the people Of the Union. We give this theory
for what IL may be worth.
Again, We have Washington paper, the Star,
which, referring 70 some Of the more striking
portions of the evidence, asks if this be the
sort OF thing the abollionsts desire to establish
ia the souihY The theory OF the Star is evi
IDENTIFY that the murder Of Doctor Burdell is
due 20 the want OF slavery in New York;
and that were We TO re establish the patriarchal
institution Of the South in our midst we should
have no more murders. and no more need Of u
Coroner. This theory too deserves to be care
fully weighed and studied.
We have likewise two religious papers, the
IRdposdeHt on the one side, and the Christian In
ollgoHosr on the other, which, grouping together
the murder of Dr.. Burdell and the various crimes
at xfa la,,
ted in the city, or reported in sensation
papers, consider that the whole is due to the
mpeifecton Of our municipal institutions and TO
The loose manDer in which they are administered
The remedy which the Latlligeacer proposes is the
seward wing scheme for disirar chisiug the city
by transferring the control OF the police to AL
bany that recommended by the Hldepeadea, is
The convocation Of public meeting, (which
sball express public sentiment in a way that even
Mayor Wood will be compelled TO regard"
Space iorbds our continuing TO analyse the
theories of those other co.emporares who have
thought III io moralize on this horrible murder.
We have no doubt hat some Of the ultra free soil
journals regard Mr. Buchanan and the democra-
tic party as ansv cradle for il. The London Morn
mg Pot will not fail 10 improve Il a. an instance
Of the d" fatal consequences Of democratical
government" And We are prepared TO read in
the newspapers from Utah that the whole thing
would have been avoided bad we but accepted
the divine institution of poygsmy.
The tendency 10 ratocinate on events is not
always useful. There are events which are pure
ly accidental. and can be traced to no cause
Experience has exploded the theory OF the middle
age philosophers that there was DO such thing a.
chance. and that secret cause could be detected
for the most foriuitous events. No prudent think
sr at the present day, viii expect to find moving
principles for every motion which he perceiyes:
nor will be consider himself AZ fault il be cannot
assign a cause 10 every event which startles him.
so tar a. we can Judge. the murder OF DR.. Buriell
was sporadic ou:burs, Of criminal passion. II
flowed iron no general system or sweeping cause.
1t was produced by no agency peculiar TO tue
present age, or this locality the system Of laws
under which We live. II was an accidental fact,
with which reason can 10 nothing but wonder.
There was nothing in the deed TO distinguish Il
from the thousands OF murders which have been
committed in every country 10 the world since
the beginning Of time. II il proves anything. il
IL this only that in the heart Of mankind there
turks latent eriminaliiy which in certain organi-
cations viii, when adequately reused, dud ex-
preston in overt crime.
No doubt. a community can be imagined where
such crimes would Dc rare, perhaps rarer than
they ere here. But a community where such
crimes are unknown i phenomenon which the
sane imagination rejects as unnatural and inpos.
sible No doubt our laws are not what they ought
TO be- and If they we're better and better admins
tered ~ that punishment followed guilt more
speedily there would be les ofcrime. Aud, beyond
all question were the moral tone Of society higher
were the clergy more faithful 10 their duties
were the rich less proaigaie, and less deba-ed in
their fashionable instlncts-wcre the literature Of
the country purcr ard The bots Of small scuri.
lous and Obscene publications which now cxis
destruyed-wcrc the general community les de-
voted 10 money geiting-our police calendar
would be lighter and borrid crimes les frequent
80 too. IL this were a small instead of erca,
city. quiet rural town like Boston, ivtcad Of a
great commercial mart such A. Il IL we should
lead more pcaccable lives. Bot even were all
these conditions fulfilled. We doubt whether Il
would be prudent 10 disband our police o. make
up our minds never 10 hear Of such murder a.
that Of Harvey BuTdel or Of Dr Psrkman.