The New York herald., 1865-05-28

Je6. Davis-fIis Grimes and His Pr0ba-
BILE Puntshment.
JEFF. Davis, the deposed despOt Of tho late
so-called Confederate States, is In position
not much better than was that Of the Turkish
Sultan Bajazet, when exposed by his captor.
Tamerlane, in portable iron cage Davis lies
immured in one of the casemates Of Fortress
Monroe, no longer an object Of admiration to
his followers or Of terror to his subjeots, but
q theme Of universal derislon and contempt
From the height Of bis lawless power and I'm
perious pretensions he has fallen, like Lucifer,
never to rise again. Enclosed by stone walls
and iron bars, he lies under the accusation Of
murder, and an indictment for treason. As
fellow consplrator with league Of assassins,
ifproved guilty, there will be no Communication
Of the sentence; bat II legally absolved Of this
crime, he may, perhaps, escape the extreme
penalty Of tho law as traitor, although there
is still another charge, which, II prosecuted,
may bring him TO the gallows.
Davis is not on trial with Mrs. Surrstt and
her accompllces for the murder of President
Lincoln, although he is charged, together with
Sanders and others, ~ "conspiring, concertng
and procuring" the said murder and the al
tempted murder of the Secretary of State. Nor
do we suppose that Davis will be tried as par
tcipant in these crimes. Under his indictment
as o traitor, he will be condemned as traitor,
and whcthor the doath penalty for treason shall
or shall not be his fortune will depend upon
the Judgment of President johnson. The tes.i-
meny in reference to the parties now on trial at
Washington will serve to show, meantime, in
the eye Of the law whether Davis is legally
guilty or not Of conspiring with them in their
comprehensive scheme Of murder. That he is
morally, If not legally, guilty we think, cannot,
consistently with the fearful facts against him,
be doubted.
That fcrocious Southern conspiracy for o
Southern pro-slavery oonfederacy, of which Da-
Wis was the anointed chief, was, from the be-
ginning. associated with plots Of arson and as
sassinaton. The very 1rst blow projected for
Southern independence was tho assassination
Of President Lincoln. Nor has any war In
modern times, except among savage tribes,
been marked by such cruel and syste-
matc barbarities as those practicod by
the government, the leaders and armed forcos
of the late rebellion. Tho evidence is morally
overwhelming against Davis and his ruling
Richmond junta, that our soldiers, taken by
them as prisoners OF war have been delibe-
ratcly and systematically put to death under
the cruel tortures OF starvation, exposure,
nakedness, 9th, aud the poisonous exhsla-
tions Of their reeking prison pens. Our
colored troops falling into rebel hands have
been as cody murdered by bullet or bayo-
net. It Is upon these charges, We apprehend,
that Davis has reason TO be most fearful Of
his life. He may not be proved guilty In The
eye Of the law a. an accomplice In tho unr-
der Of President Lincoln; his crime Of treason
may be commutod on high political grounds;
but II brought to trial with others more d.
recty concerned in the murder Of our poor SOL
diers In bis prison pens. from present ap-
pesrances, he can hardly escape the hAltor.
But the simple truth is that tho whole syS-
tom Of Southern society, under that pcricIous
social institution Of African slavery, was
poisoned aud demoralissd with the elomenis ol