The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1859-06-09

weapon Of the sms!e assassin. The criminal
records Of every cosntry show hat in the
large majority Of cases, the husband is the
victim Of the fatal draught, while there is
almost always paramour behind the cur
tain to insiigate the deed or to share its
gains-an accomplicc in the motive, il not
in the act itself. The case Of ANNE BILAx-
SKY, who was convicted on Friday, after a
trial of ten days duration, Of the murder Of
her husband by the administration Of poison
at her hands, is, in all its circumstances the
repetition Of q tragedy, which has been
enacted all the world over, wherever wo-
man, bad nough to be harlot and bold
enough to be murderer, has wished TO re
rid of husband whom she disllked, for
paramour whom she preferred.
Murder, always the most horrible Of crimes,
is thrice horrible when it seeks its victim
through the sacred avenues Of private friend
ship-or ambushes in the confidential inter.
course Of married life; while, Of all means
of murder, poison is the most appalling and
the most atrocious, because il is the most
insidious and unsuspec,ed.
The midnight assassin who steals upon
the sleep Of his victim, and kills him with
dagger or club, must at least br ak pas
sage to his prey through guards which might
have been made an etIectual protection but
against the murderess, who lies with the inter
locked caress of simulated love upon the bo-
sem which she stabs, who plans the death OF
the husband in the domestic attentions Of the
wife, no human precauton can avail, nor
human foresight, guard.
II the interests Of society and the in
sticts OF social justice demand the blood OF
the first, what shall be done with the last,
Fortunately for human nature, happily
for the existence OF society, the crime is not
now so frequent that We need to devise new
remedies for its occurrence or new punish
ments for its perpetration.
For, if the motives to the use VI poison as
an instrument of secret murder may possibly
be no less abundant, than they were ages
ago-though We may well suppose that mod
ern facilities Tor obtaining divorces have at
least diminished the more imperative mo-
tiyes to crimes Of the class under considers.
tion-yet society owes its present comrar-
alive security from the frequent recurrence
of tragedies OF this kind TO the wonderful
extension of chemical knowledge in the last
century, which, from the nfallible positive
ness OF its tests for the detection OF poison
in any Of its combinations, has almost
divested it Of its availability as an agent OF
secret murder.
The absolute certainty of detection where
there are any moral causes whatever to lead
to q suspicion that poison has been the cause
of death was never better illustrated than
in the case for which ANNE BILASsKY now
taudsconvicted Of the murder OF her hus-
band.
On Friday, the llth day Of March, STAN
rsLArs BILAxsXY, middle aged man, one
of the Oldest settlers OF st. Paul, Polander
by birth, died after . weeks illness. A
few months before be had married woman
who had been recommended to him for that
purpose by Oh obigiDg friend who figures,
under the pane OF WALKER, and with
whom, both before and after her marriage
with BILAxsKY, she had been VIGOROUSLY as
sociating in Illicit intercourse. With this
woman be had lived on bad terms, which
had not been mended by bis discovery or
susp cion Of her connection with WALKER
She had attended bin 10 bis illness without
much apparent sympathy for his sufierlngs
had refused proper medical attendance, and
from her general bearing towards the DE-
ceased and the symptoms Of bis illness,
suspicion had already grown among her
peigbbors that be had come TO bis death by
poison. A has,y inquest over the body which
ELECTED nothing, was all that came o. THIS
On Saturday the body was buried but
the sod which covered the remains could
DO. bury the fearful suspicion which like
the ghost Of unforgiven crime still haunt
ed the freshly dog grave. A Mrs. FrrzrAr-
RICK, q neighbor and intimate acquaintance
o,u,s Ru .xarv remembered accompany.
ing the latter, q few days before the illness
Of her husband, in . shopping EXCURSION
when she purchased some arsenic ossensibiy
for killing rats. she would not mind
giving the old man pill" the murderes'
remarked face,iossly to Der friend. At the
inques, Of Saturday, Mrs. B., taking
Mr. FrzrArRIcK, who was present. into
..u .ouo,c ,nL her not IN mention 70 \