The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1860-07-14

murderer, put to death his unsuspecting vic
Tins, Captain Burr and crew, on board the
sloop Z. A. johnson, for the sake of the few
paltry dollars in their possession and the
clothes and other property which they wore
he has suffered the penalty Of his crime, In the
presence of ten thousand spectators, and sur
rounded by the element which was the scene Of
his bloody work. and ia view Of the very craft
which he defied with the blood Of his ship
mates on that dismal night Of the 2lst OF
March. If any circumstance could add to the
anguish Of the criminal in his last moments 1t
must have been the sight of that sioop. which,
with her colors flying triumphant over him,
seemed thing of life-an avenging angel CT
justice, winged and swift. No eye but that OF
the Allseeng witnessed his crime and the
bodies of the slain consigned by him to the
deep, beyond human reach aud where their
death wounds could not testify against him
Yet his own sin found him out, and for the
deed which he performed in secret and 10
darkness he yesterday paid the forfelt Of bis
life in the sight Of the sum- and in the midst OF
our beautiful bay.
Hicks had concluded that as there was nc
witness of the bloody business and the dead
bodies could not be found he would escape The
long arm of the law. But the plumber for
which he committed the atrociOus crime was
the instrument Of his conviction. He fed with
his booty, but was pounced upon in his hiding
place. The property was found in his posses
sion and fully identified.
A point Of law was raised for him in the
newspapers, which, had the murders been per-
pctrated On land, might, when urged in court,
have saved his neck, and probably would, ow-
ing to the extreme liberality with which our
judges interpret every law in favor of the cri-
minal where there is peg to hang the slight
est doubt upon. The point was that in case
of murder the dead body must be found, or
there must be witness Of the DEATH leaving
no doubt that the corpus deficit, a it is called,
has been really committed. To obviate this
difficulty, the District Attorney decided not to
try Hicks for the murders, but for piracy, which
robbery by violence on the high seas is defined
to be- and as the penalty was death, the result
would be the same as if he were convicted of
the killing. OF the piracy there could be no
doubt and he was speedily found guilty.
OF his preparation of the murders there was
also little doubt in the minds OF the community;
and If any did exist, it has been removed by his
own confession. made when be became convinced
that there was no hope for him in this world
But the manner in which he turned this to &C.
count shows that his confession did not spring
from penitcnce, but from a desire to make
money out Of it (the ruling passion was strong
in DEATH, and perhaps a desire also to make
himself famous after death-another Captain
Kidd-the only solution which can be given of
the motive Of his lying account Of the perpetra-
ton Of zone hundred murders" Such extreme
and appalling depravity argues great def
cheney of intellect, and iamentable want of
education
The old adage that murder will out" seemed
to have lost its meaning in New York. This
case has done much To vindicate its general
truth. But 1t must be borne in mind that Hicks
was not convicted under our State laws, but in
the United States Courts, under the federal laws
enacted by Congress. The crime having been
committed on the high seas, within the jurisdic
ton Of the United States government. the case
was tried In a federal court, and hence the
speedy and satisfactory result. In these courts
there is not the same facility of appeal Is in our
State courts. and there Is but one Court Of APP
peals instead Of two or three. Had Hicks been
brought TO trial In one Of the State courts,
which the counsel for the defence labored hard
to accomplish the chances are ten to one that
he would never have been punished. The gene
raj incompetence Of judges, their leaning TO the
side OF the criminal, the tricks and bubbles Of
unprincipled lawyers, jurors who make them
selves convenient, and che progress of corrup-
ton which is tsinting the stream Of justice
at its source. have all combined to render
trials for capital offences as so many farces in
this city, where murder with inpunity is the
rule, and punishment the exception. In the
first place, the criminal very frequently
escapes without arrest owing to the ineficiency
of police force which costs more than any
other in the world. Walton and Mathews were
murdered on the same night by the same hand,
at short interval Of time and place, In the
mos, frequen.ed thoroughfares, and at an hour
when the streets are full Of people. Yet the
murderer escaped. The vigilant, active off,
GERS, who are 30 jealous in their forays against
candy shops and lager bier saloons on Sun
days. were nowhere to be found when this
double murder was committed by firearms. and
cry raised after the assassin. The chances
are that he will never be discovered. This Ia
only specimen Of the way in which justice is
bafled-one Of the thousand evidences OF the
insecurity of life in this community.
IL an assassin is arrested. and even caught in
the fact. as was the case Of Cancemi, the odds
are greatly against his punishment. If the
District Attorney thinks proper to bring him
to trial, and If, wearied out with Imprisonment
the criminal does not execute justice on himself
like Macdonald, a jury Is cmpannclled, every one
OF whom must be so ignorant that he does not