The daily exchange. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861, 1860-10-17
[ From the Albany Journal, Of Saturday.
NO PUNISHMENT FOR MURDER IN NEW
YORK


NO PUNISHMENT FOR MURDER IN NEW
YORK.
IMPORTANT DECISION OF THE COURT OF APPEALS IN RE-
LATIoN TO PUNISHMENT MURDER.
Among the decisions just made by the Court of
Appeals is one in the case of Mrs. Hartung, which
turns upon the construction of the new law in Ella
ton to capital punishment.
The Court holds that the statute of 1860 in its
application to persons under conviction at the time
OF lis passage Is unconstitutional and void as &C.
post fdcto, because it prescrbes different and in
creased punishment from that in force at the time
when the offence was committed To the punish
ment OF death it superadds one years Imprisonment
at hard labor.
The Court also expressed the opinion that the
new law, having abolished the only statute defining
hanging as the mode of punishment and itself pre-
scribing no new mode, there is now no known SEN
tence which can be pronounced against person
convicted of murder in the first degree Though
such persons to be ''executed," vet whether il
is to be by chlorofOrm, by poisoning in the ial
or by burning at the stake in front of the Capitol
or by hanging, rests in the discretion of nobody
knows Who-perhaps the Governor, perhaps the
sheriff.
The "eXecution" is to take place whenever or
dered by the Governor in office. If the Governor
does not order it., 1t never takes place. The con-
vict remains imprisoned for an indefinite term.
liable at any moment to be ordered to instant exc
cutlon in an way that caprice NAV dictate
There is prevalent idea that, although the
statutory provision is abolished, hanging remains
the punishment by common law. But where the
Legislature repeal statute which was merely in
athrmance of the common law, it cannot be nre-
sumed that they intended to retain the very thing
which they abolished.
In the case of Mrs. Hartung, the offence charged
was at common law defined as "petty treason " and
the punishment prescribed therefor was burning at
the stake 1t would scarcely answer to claim that
the Legislature intended to revive the common law
in respect to this class of cases.
1t may be urged that all murderers can, under
q ha nDrl atn Inf, H., IL
degree, for which the punishment is imprisonment
for life. But suppose the criminal, to evade this,
pleads guilty OF the crime of murder in the FIRST
degree, how can any court sentence him for a less
offence than that of which he is, by his own con-
fession on the record, guilty?
The decision in the case of Mrs. Hartung by the
Court OF Appeals, it will be seen, also applies to
the cases of Sanchez, and another, now under SEN
tence in the city of New York.
HEAVY FORGERY IN NEW ORLEANs.-The Delta OF
Friday says: forgery case in which son of an
oid and respectable citizen, who is partner in his
fathers house, is implicated, yesterday brought
to light. On Wednesday morning a check for
$4,000 was presented for payment to Mr.. Dear
mas, OF the Mechanics and Traders Bank 1t pur.
ported to be drawn by John T. Hardie & CO., OF
Carondelet street, and in favor of McGin & Son.
Ihelr name was endorsed upon it, and also that OF
Eugene Guirault, clerk of McGill & Son, and a
young man of excellent character.
Mr.. DeArmas paid the check, but subsequently,
IT was forgery. He went to the Office of the
Chief OF Police, and special officers Tom Boylan
and Smith lsard were detailed to look after the
matter. Boylan came to the conclusion that a
genuine check of Hardie & Co. must have been in
the hands of the forger. 1t was then ascertained
that ii. d Co. had issued check on the 9Th inst
In favor of McGill & Co., for $40, and which had
not been paid.
Boylan and DeArmas then proceeded to McGiP:
office, where they found Henry McGiil, son of the
senior partner of the firm. Mr.. DeArmas asked
Henry to allow him to see the check. He promptly
pulled it out from his pocket, with the remark that
he had forgotten to get it paid. While the CONVEX
satlOn was going on, Boylan had stepped behinC
young McGill and looked over his shoulder As
McGill raised his head he recognized Boylan, whom
he knew to be detective officer, and the palenes:
that overspread his face, and his trepidation satsf
ed Boylan that something was wrong.
McGill was asked if the check had been out of his
possession, which he denied, but said he had beer
intoxicated, and that it might have been taken
His replies were not satisfactory to Boylan wher
they were alone, and when they were parted, Nc
Gill promising to inquire into the affair." Bovlan go
special officer Howard to watch him.
An examination of number of Hardie d Co..
checks made it apparent that the forgery was eff
fected by copying the $l70 check, and McGill wa
arrested.
He confessed that he loaned the check to a per
son named James Stephens. who forged the names
and that he had an associate named Charley De
Forrest, He says he did so for consideration o
$500, which he had when arrested.
Both have beed arrested through the ingenuity
and daring of Boylan and Isard, and now safely
in custody. 81 800 have been recovered-S500 from
McGi $500 in Stephens possession $500 in hi
trunk, and $500 which he had left at Hollis.
NEeRo TROUBLES IN WINSTON Co., MIss-Th,
Mississippi papers bring US accounts of an attempt
ed negro instruction in Winston county in tina
State, plotted by white men, but fortunately dis
covered and circumvented through the revelation
OF negro girl belonging to Mr.. c. ID. Kelly
Thirty or forty negroes were arrested in the coun
ty, who, on being examined, told substantially thu
same story-that they had been instigated by whit
| men to poison their white masters and mistresses
and on election day burn their dwellings, take pos
session of all the firearms they could secure, ant
organize for war of determination against thu
whites. Great excitement prevailed on the dis
covery of the plot, and the citizens were forming
ton. One white man, an ambrotypist, named G