The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1859-06-08

THE CASE OF Mrs. FANNY DEANE HALsEY-
ANOTHER SPECIMEN OF "CRowNER's QUEST
LAwr-The inquest held on the body Of the I'M
fortunate woman cast upon the beach near Fort
Hamilton was concluded yesterday, and the ver-
dict rendered was the usual stereotyped one of
"found drowned" No new facts we're de-
veloped, no clue followed cut, no attempt made
to trace the career of the poor creature from the
hour when she left her house in West Twelfth
street, on the afternoon of Wednesday, the LIST
instant down to the time when she, probably
under the influence Of shame and remorse,
Rashly impor .unate went To her death,
If, indeed, as appears most likely, her death
was that of the suicide.
On the contrary, 80 far as the inquest went, it
was the merest sham ever perpetrated in the
solemn name of Justice. Facts which would
throw light on the circumstances preceding
and leading to the womans death were
suppressed, and the persons who must necessarily
have known most about them, and who were in
custody pending the proceedings, were al
lowed to keep their mouths closed and
were not asked single question. The hus-
band of the woman had been placed under
arrest on suspicion of having been a party to
her death SO had been also the man whose al
legged improper intimacy with the deceased was
the turning point of the tragedy. There is not a
probability that either of them was directly in
strumental in it. But they knew more than per-
haps any one else Of the preceding and attendant
circumstances Why were they not examined?
Why was not Mr. Halsey made to give an account
ofhimself during the Wednesday of his wife's dis
appearance, and to say whether he had seen her
after his parting with her on the morning of
that day? And why was not Mr.. Wells
placed on the stand and examined as to whether
this woman, with whom it was asserted he
was in the habit of making designations, had not
sought him out, after she had left her husbands
presence for the last time.
With that astuteness and intelligence so
characteristic of coroners in all ages and coun-
tries, the official who conducted this investiga-
ton declined to examine either Mr.. Halsey or
Mr.. Wells. He declined also to examine the
officers who had been active in collecting im-
portant facts. A conductor on one Of the Brook
Ign railroad cars remembered that on Wednes-
day or Thursday evening he had taken up near
the City Hall, lady whose strange demeanor
and efforts at concealment attracted his attention.
From the descriptions published of Mrs. Halsey,
and from conversations which he subsequently
had with her sisters he felt positive that she was
the same person; and yet, although he was pre-
sent, he was not examined, nor was any oppor-
tunity allowed him to identify the body and thus
furnish clue to the mystery. 1t was known to
the officials that the deck hands of one of the
Hamilton avenue ferry boats had also on one of
those evenings observed well dressed woman,
laboring under excitement, cross and recross the
river several times. None of these men were
produced to be asked whether they could iden-
tify the body cast by the tide on the Fort Haml-
ton beach as the same. In brief, all glimpses Of
light were carefully excluded from the investiga-
tion and of course the result was that unmeaning
verdict of "found drowned"
From this plain statement Of facts the public
will see how far this investigation, in the case OF
Mrs. Fanny Deane Halsey, has been full, CON-
plete or impartial, and will learn to appreciate
more highly than ever the beautiful administra.
ton of Growers quest law" in this region.
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