The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1870-12-08
IHE PR E SIS.
Thursday Morning, December 8, 1870
he Verdict in the Iaesven Case

he Verdict in the Eacsweh Case-
Maine occasionally vindcates the appro-
priateness of her motto. Here the laws 10
respect TO the rights of married women with
regard to property were modified, so as to
make them in some degree consGnant with
modern civilization at an early day-in fact
before so radical changes were made in any
other State, il we are not mistaken. Here,
the laws of evidence were liberalized little by
little, and the absurd restrictions of the COM
mon law removed, before any other State ven
tured upon a like reform. Finally the al
legged criminal himself is permitted to take
the stand, and testify in his own behalf
This last reform has been initiated extensive
ly in other States, and the result has quite
uniformly justified the forts that the present
Chief Justice of our Supreme Court put forth
for the purpose of securing its adoption. Of
the Maine liquor law we need not speak,
The verdict of granddaughter" against the
respondent in the case just finished at Au.
guata, is to be added to the above list as
another instance in which Maine has reas-
serted her claim to leadership. That verdict,
though not entirely satisfactory, breaks for
the first time that long series of judicial de-
cisions by which it had become the common
law of the United States that efenses against
chastity might be punished summary with
death by whoever might choose to consider him
self aggreved. The precedents warrant even a
broader statement, for they so to the extent
ofjustifying murders committed upon mere
suspicion of improperly. The list of these
precedents embraces every variety of circum-
stances, as the recapituation of the Sickles,
Harris, Mcfarland, Cole and Baker cases will
show, but the principal underlying them all
Is the same in one essential respect-the hom-
icide is justified by the alleged misconduct of
Its victim.
We believe that here in Maine the people
may be regarded as entertaining correct views
on the subject of adultery. No general lax
ity of morals in this respect has disclosed it
SELF But the power of moral discrimination
has not become so feeble as to cause us to
recognize such an enormous disproporlion be-
tween the crimes of adultery and murder as
has beel found to exist in other States. We
are opposed to adultery, but not in love with
murder. There has no good reason yet been
given why the sixth commandment should be
sacrificed to The seventh. Certainly no good
reason has been given why suspicion of the
violation of the latter should justify DELHI
crate violation of the former. The long line
of decisions to which we have referred might
well be regarded as establishing common
law for the encouragement of murder by rem
dering it safe.
Finding Hoswell guilty of msnslaughter is
one step toward reform. We imagine that
a Discrimination to find man guilty of
crime which is punishable by death, may
have something to do with the failure of the
jury to convict him of murder, though there
are of course differences of opinion on that
point.
We cannot attribute the first conviction of
lnanslaughter ever obtained under circum-
stances like those iu the Hoswell case, solely
10 the consummate ability displayed by At
torney-General Reed and County-Attorney
Whitehouse, though all who have watched
The progress of the trial Fnow how much is
due to their skilful performance of their un-
pleasant duty. The result is, we are glad to
believe, due to healthy state OF public
opinion. In Maine adultery is not left to be
punished by some chance avenger, but has its
penalty prescribed by law, so that there is not
the slightest justification for the commission
of one crime for the sake Of Furnishing
another.