The sun., 1873-07-04
The Walworth Case.

The Walworth Case.
The result in the WALwoRrH case will
perhaps upon the whole satisfy the de-
mauds Of an intelligent public sentiment.
Though the facts would have warranted n
verdict of murder in the first degree, and
though il is rumored that when they re-
tired II decided majority of the jury were
in favor of such n verdict, nevertheless, in
view Of the general reluctance to inilict
the penalty of death, and the pressure
brought to bear in favor of the acquittal
of the pariicide, the friends of good gov
crnmcnt may congratulate themselves up
on a decision which consigns this mis-
guided, hardened, dangerous culprit to
the pcuit"utiary during his life.
The escape of this prccocious hoy from
the halter is due To his youth Had he
been five or six wears older ne would GER
taiuly have been convicted of the higher
crime. The letters from MANSFIELD TRACY
WALwoRTH To his wife. which, by the by.
were got into the case under n secondhand
plea of insanity, and in n mode which
every lawyer must regard as IA clever de-
vicc-thcsc letters doubtless helped IL good
deal in producing the milder verdict. Still,
/ lu's siibibfu llbl lH'
of the murder; and though TO the last
degree coarse, brutal, and abominable,
their reiterated threats of killing, suicide,
and determination generally of the whole
WALwoRru race were treated 10y all the
| family, except the haro-brained FRANK, ~
the wild wande'ings Of n fantastic man,
who seemed To take delight in insulting
and annoying family upon whose mem
bers he never dreamed OF innicting the
slightest personal injury.
The fatal meeting between the father
..Hd the son proves this to u demonstra-
ton. The son, who so far rs the purposes
of the recent trial were involved pretends
to have dreaded eXtermination at the
hands of his ferocious father comes down
from Saratoga, two hundred miles away,
arsrd with revolver, and writes note
summonhlg the father 10 meet him. The
father, who has been breathing out threat
enngs aui slaughter for two or three
years, goce to the place of meeting armed
with nothing except his sons written iu-
vitation. And there the son, with scarce
ly preliminary word, holds the revolver
to his fathers head, extorts promise
from his lips, and then puts four bullets
n,o his body. Does not everybody see
from this thn the threats of the father
contained III those letters, We're the merest
vaporings?
But il is mainly for another reason that
the friends Ot impartial justice and fair
dealing NAV congratulate themselves
upon the resE.it Of this trial. 1t was ap-
aren't from The start that an effort would
lie made TO surround the contest in the
forum with dramatic incidents : I'D scnsil-
tions that should deftly impress and ire
sistibly influence The Judge, the sury and
the witnesses. Th,o done, the attempt was
To b made to carry the parrcdc safely
! through the terrible ordeal on the shoul-
dcrs # the respectab!iity of his relatives
and the high standing of his ancesto 5.
To this end great reliance was placed
upon III fact that bs was the grandson of
the lat Chancellor WALwoRTH. Now,
both upon general principles and the mar-
its of thu particular case, we are glad Il at
4 this efIor utterly broke down. Let us
hope that always hereafter the rich aad
the poor, IL ose whose auces tors have riseR
tc the highest stations and those whoss
phogenitors fre shrouded in ob4curity, will
stand upon the same lesol in courts of
justice
REUBEN HYIE WALwoRrH, ase grand
father Of the parricide, was m6oe Cir
cult Judge of tie Fourth DistIiea under
the old Constitution in April lsS3. He
then resided in the county of Clinton.
Piye years later, on the appointment of
Chancellor JONES to the Chief Justiaaship
of the Superior Court of this city, NAL
WORTH, TO the surprise of the bar Of ahe
State, was appointed Chancellor IL hap
pened in this wise. In February, 1893, DE-
| WITT CLINTON. then Governor, died, and
the office deyolyed upon Lieut.-GOv. Ma
THANIEL PITCHER. He was weak, mar
row minded man, and lived in one of the
northern counties, which complained of
having been neglected in the distribution
OF patronage by Gov. CLINTON. So, when
in the following April the seals of the
Chancellorship dropped into his hands,
them to the meddlesome, restless, grasping
REUBEN HYDE WALwoRTH.
On taking his seat WALwoRTH addressed
the bar, saying among other things the
following; Brought up farmer until
the age of seventeen, deprived of all the
advantages of a classical education, and
with very limited knowledge of cham
Gerry law, find myself at the age of thirty
eight suddenly and Unexpectedly placed
at the head of the judiciary of the State"
II the successor OF JAMES KENT had had
no drawbacks to the suitable administra-