The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1868-07-27

nity-viz., either that the proportion of crimi-
nally disposed persons is greater in the me-
tropolis than in other cities of the United
ton are inadequate to impress sense of their
majesty upon that class of people. The State
provides the death penalty for the crime Of
murder in the first degree, and to the credit
of our juries it must be said they are fearless
in the discharge of their duties in melting just
punishment for the offence. But it is after
conviction that the greatest probability Of the
escape of the criminal arises, due to the fact
that our highest courts in their minute dis
ordinations are overawed by the persistent
and ingenious manner in which counsel for
the prisoner harp upon theories Of ''fxed
frenzies" and hair-splitting metaphysical de-
auctions as to the sanity of the prisoner at the
'instant" of the commission of the act (though
his sanity had never been questioned by
living being during his whole lifetime prior to
this inflnitesimal ''instant" in which he became
murderer This art of conveniently prov
ing man to be lunatic, if it advances within
the next quarter of a century as it has during
the past, will eliminate in an absolute demon
stration that no murderer is morally, and
therefore not legally, responsible for his crime.
third and also very successful method of
cheating the gallows and outraging the rights
of civilized community is by picking to atoms
an Indictment in search of flaw, or turing
the rulings or final charge of the Judge in
manner to show that the judge must have been
ignorant and incapable of impartially trying
the prisoner.
These theories can never be developed
until the close of the trial and the convic-
ton of the criminal, and as time is needed
in which to perfect these purely colorado doc
trines writ of error and stay of proceedings
is necessary, and is, unfortunately, too easily
obtained. In this latter fact the "error" lies
if it exists anywhere. By the existing law Of
this State the prisoner is entitled as a matter
Of absolute right to this writ and stay, without
showing one single shadow of cause or even
probable reason why it should be granted.
And this privilege belongs to him upon &c
parte application merely, without any notice
to the District Attorney. Pending the action
of this stay of proceedings counsel work up
their oftentimes trumpery but subtle doctrines
of terror On the first appeal to the Su-
preme Court on these false points of defect,
if the judgment of the lower court is sustained,
counsel proceed to elaborate their specious ar
guments and go to the Court Of Appeals. 1t is
rarely that decision in such case is reached
in this latter court in less than year or fifteen
months from the date of the original convic-
ton. Within that time many things may and
do frequently occur which eventually defeat
the ends of justice-such as the death of i'm
portant witnesses or their removal beyond the
jurisdiction of our courts the exertion of
political influence in behalf Of the condemned
and the creation Of mawkish public SYM
pathy for him while his victim rots unavenged
in the grave, tears and sympathy in the latter
behalf being forgotten or exhausted. Such
case as is here depicted is to be found in the
case of Maurice Lanergan, convicted year
ago of wife murder and sentenced to be hanged
on the 9th Of August, 1867. On a technical
plea of error new trial was obtained, to the
surprise even of his counsel an important wit
ness has since died, and the once condemned
man, out on bail, mingles every day with the
community. Let the law be SO modified that
the granting of writ of error and stay of pro-
ceedings shall be discretionary with the judges
ofthe Supreme Court upon reasonable cause"
shown, and on notice to the prosecuting officer
of the county that application is to be made,
and the gallows and the swift retribution
which it will insure will become substantial
terror to lawless ruffians, instead of threat
ening shadow from which there are many
probabilities Of escape.
Our Mexican and South American News.
Our latest news from Mexico and certain
parts of South America where the mixed races
predomn ate, is as bad as it well can be, and
just as like the news we have been used to
any time, during the last thirty or forty years
as any piece of news can be like any other
Mexico grows worse and worse Venezuela il
in revo luton, which promises to be chronic, and
Colon bia is quite as bad as Venezuela OF
Mexic o. To these we might add Chile and
Peru, the Argentine Confederation, and, to take
in larger range, Hayti and Dominica. 1t Is
CT rious and noteworthy fact that all the
Spa ash settlements in the New World are in
the same condition, and that in every case the
roc of the misery, the cause Of the hopeless
ne IS is the same. Spain made the grand
II istake of encouraging miscegenation. In
lace of clinging to the idea that the races
we're different, of various orders of excellence
and that they ought to be kept apart, the races
were allowed to mix, and the inevitable result
has followed. There are creoles some ant
Indians some but in every case the mestizos
mulattoes, zambos and other cross breeds are
in the majority. It is to this hybrid character
of the population that oil the wreck and ruin o