New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1867-06-02


deep interest excited Dythc reform question
had tempted him from her bedside But in
the midst UfDisraeli's speech the twOpriuces
disappeared, and were soon atterWard
found in private box at the Alhumbra
theatre, house at which no decent women
eyr are -ren, and to which gentlemen go
only rosa. These are tritles-Out they
are the KIND OF trltics that indicate import
ant things. At the time when the people of
England have attained political power
they never before posscssvd-at the time
when they can, if they will, sweep away
any and all abuses. and rid themselyc7 of
any and all useless membranes at this
time, the royal family of the kingdom have
allenatcd themselves from the people, and
the people from them and have left moth
ing to bind them to their subjects but the
vague and liteless traditions OF loyalty, and
that fear OF change which is one OF the
strongest influences that control the English
people. This tradition and this fear will do
well enough so long AS the skies are bright
and the seas smooth; but when storm
arises they will be found to be utterly
pOwerless.
Its not very surprising that QuecnNictoria
should have succeeded in so completely
weaving the affections of her people from
her. She is not English. There is scarcely
any English blood in her veins, and less in
her chlldren5. She is thoroughly German,
and all the love she has for any one outside
of the circle of her own home, is Law.
ished upon Germans. II is said that lately
she has bestowed much time and research
in endeavOring to establish her descent
from the Stuart race, and that her indlgua-
ton was greatly excited by an article that
appeared not long since in one OF the maya
zines, showing that She must 20 back six
generations before she could claim any
English ancestor. Her second son, Prince
Arthur, Is the only one Of the family IN
whom the people feel any pride. The lite
OF a sailor, which he has chosen, is one for
which all Englishmen entertain apartiality
and the young prince has displayed excel
lent qualities IN his profession. 1t is pity
he is not the heir ofthe crown. The nation
Is tired of the queen; but they do not look
forward with any pleasure to the prospect
OF the reign Cf Edward the Seventh. The
young gentleman who will bear that title
is now twenty-s'X years old; the queen
is forty-cight. She appears to be
much older but she is strong
and hearty yet, and twenty years may
alapsc before she surrender, the crown.
And in twenty years many strange things
may occur 1t may be that England will
never nave another king or queen, But
enough Of representations of the future.
1t is not thought that the death sentences
pronounced against the Fenian leaders will
be carried into effect. So far as the prison
crs are themselves concerned, | do not
doubt but they would prefer death to the
slow torture of penal servitude for life,
which will be the shape in which mercy
will be extended to them. if extended at all
England no longer transports her conviCts
to her colonies; she shuts them up in i'm
mensc ilils at home, and condemns them 10
life OF breaking stone, picking oakum, and
walking the trcadmiil. The change that
has occurred in public sentiment in regard
to capital punishment is very remarkable.
Not many years ago murder and treason
we're always punished by death in this king
dom. Now It is very rarely that we have an
execution, although horrible and atrOClOus
murders are frequent Attempts are
made at every session Of parliament
to abolish the death penalty alto
gcther: and at tn. last session a
royal commit sion was appointed to examine
and report upon the ACCESSIBILITY of doing
so. The report OF that commission has been
made to the present parliament. 1t con
tains recommendations that, if sanctioned.
viii 90 far toward abolishing capital punish
mcut altogether. The most frequent form
that murder assumes here is infantiCide
Nearly every day the unmarried mother OF a
child Is arrested for its murder. Juries are
unwilling to hang these poor wretchcs,
whose crime, great as il is, IS less than that
OF the men who have betrayed them, and in
nine times out Of ten the guilty creatures
are pronounced innocent in the face of the
law and the testimony. 1t is now recon.
mendcd, therefore, that the crime Of infant
eide be reduced to the grade of man
slaughter punishable only by an imprison
mcnt at the discI elton ofthe judge-it beioe
| thought that iures who refuse to hang
poor girl for killing her infant would moi
object to sending her to Jail for a rev years
to eXpiate that crime The newspapers, how.
ever, point out that If the law be enforced
In this manner, a large number Of new iais
will have to be built. The commission also
recommend the adoption of a new definition
of murder, to be punishable by death-a def
milton so drawn that lawyers say it will be
almost impossible to convict a man under
it. As it is considered certain that parlia.
ment will sanction these changes in the
law, the home secretary appears to consider
that there should be no more hanging; and
not long since he committed the sentence OF
one Wager. who killed his wife under cir
cumstanccs of the greatest atrocity, to i'm
prisonmentfOrl life, giving as his reason that
parliament was about to abolish capital
punishment. II is the prevalence Of this
feeling against the death penalty, and the
vague idea that, after all. the Irish are not
to be very severely blamed for trying TO
tighten the burden of their expressions,
that will most probably prevent the horri-
bic sentence of the law being inflicted on
the Feniau rebels. One of the most curious
things about this last Irish rebellion was,
that in England there was no popular in
dignation against it. The people seemed to
care very little about it; they were not half
SO much excited as they were about our
own rebellion in America. They, perhaps,
were certain that the queens troops would
soon suppress it. But If it had been neces.
sary to call for volunteers from London to
20 over to Dublin to fight the Irish, doubt
whether they could have been raised with.
out difficulty. And | do not think they
would be generally dissatisfied now, If
General Burke and his confreres were par.
doned, instead OF being hung.