The New York herald., 1874-07-27
CHILD STEALING.

Ing mas existed and been severely punished when
the thief has been brought within the power OF the
law At first thought the mind Is not apt to receg
nize motive sufncent to lead to It's pcrpetratiOn
with incident risks but on reflection 1t Is obvious
riat there are many reasons which may make 1t as
natural as the theft OF money, horses or Jewels.
Among the rude, savage and barbarous races chill
dren stolen both to increase the numbers or
the rObber tribe and as revenge upon the parents.
Later children were stolen from motives OF
gain, which was made by selling them into slavery.
Thus Joseph, son Of the patriarch Jacob was In.
famOusiy entrapped and sold a captive to Egypt
by his jealous brothers.
Victor Hugo, In the ''Man who Laughs" paints
graphically the nefarious trade OF the outiawed
Comprachicos whose devilisn trafic led them to
torture and dsfgure their victims that even the
mothers who bore them could not see In their dis.
torted features or dwaried iorms the semblance OF
the children OF their affection and pride. devil
ish singeing converted an intelligent face into
ieering mask OF astraght-backed boy nroa sprawl.
ing squat nunchback Severe penalties were
enacted against these beartess scamps, who or
money trained the human form into hiaeous
shapes, the gardener trains o tree espaiier
against o wall. Still. In those rude ages there
were often urgent reasons why q particular child
savage CoD,prdchtcos 1ourished in spite OF the
rigOrs Of the law ana the canons OF the Church. In
more
MODERN TIMES
the system OF large estates In European oOun-
tries, with laws OF inheritance, whfCh still retain
many features oil the Olden times. has led to the
strange disappearance OF many child, either done
to death at The hand OF the assassin or delivered
to the child stealer for the advantage OF some
vlous relative These scenes have formed the
theme OF many startling novel or lfe-like drama,
In which sometimes the stealer Is made to Consgn
his own offspring to death or hopeless loss, and
remorse thereat has played the Nemesis OF his last
weary years. Even IN our own country, where the
rfv fiunQ fnrtV 1FU n or
child out or tue way are certainly small, there
nevertheless exists the tendency to steal children,
as will be noted by all whose memory retains the
news which daily meets the eye in the al-rep porting
press Below Will be found some OF the most nOta-
se d which IL M be IN
thas the recent Philadelphia sensation Is not
unlque:-
KIDNAPPING AS A CRIME.
There are many old severe laws against this
offence. IL was frequent at comparatively late
period IN Scotland and Ireland. where on ac-
graphical facilities, severe laws were directed
against it In vatn BY the act OF tenth OF George
w., chapter 34 1t was made punishable with death
in ireland. This was mitgated to transpor tation
by the acts Of the filth ana sixth OF Victoria, chap
signed in England to 1t fourteen years earlier by
81. Robert Peels Consolidation act.
II Is provided ~ the s act OF inn ninth George lv
either by lOrce or fraud lead or take away, or en-.
tce or decoy away, or detain any child with IN
tent to defraud the parents or others having law.
ful charge OF such chlid or Shall detain receive
and harbOr any child stolen or entlced away,
shall be held guilty Of a felony to be punished by
transportation for seven years or by mprison.
ment, with or without hard labor, for any term
not more = than two and male to oe
THE SCOTCH LAW,
as laid down by Sir Archibald Allison. in his
'Prlncple5 OF Criminal Law" the stealing of q
Child is held capital offence, crime OF the very
greatest atrocity, from She unequaed agony and
fortunate parents, who are In this cruel manner
deprived or their offspring. From the earliest
times Scotch law punished this crime with death.
Nor was 1t accepted as defence, or as reason Tor
the soltening OF the penalty, that the motive was
affection for the child and not the hope to secure
pecuniary profit. 1t was held thelt and being
positively prohibited, 1t was not required that the
prosecution should show any motive in order to
fix the responsibility upon the abductor.
The Mystery of Kaspar Hauser.
Kaspar Tor Gaspard) Hauser, mysterious boy
was found by citizen In the streets OF Nuremberg
in 1928, utterly destitute of all the common senti-
ments and attaInments which distinguish hu-
manity from simple animal life. He was almost
utterly unacquainted with speech. but, when
asked his name. wrote In fair characters, "Kaspar
Hauser.t He bore in his hand letter addressed
to an ofcer OF the garrison saying that the bearer
was born in 1912, and that his father had been In
the military service OF Bavaria, in the same regi.
ment as the officer addressed. On being relieved
by public charity and instructed by q professor OF
StanhOpe placed in q subordinate position In
bureau oil the Court OF Anspach. Here his assas
sination was repeatedly attempted by persons to
whose identity there was no ciew ObtanaDle.
Finally person with whose features he was not
familiar came to him, and, under pretence
OF q message from his English benefactor,
Lord Stannope, decoyed him into An unfrequented
place, and then stabbed him in the side. Kaspar
escaped and, though weak from the loss OF blood,
was able to relate the story OF the attack. He died
the next day, and his murderer was never DIS
covered This boys dim recoiiectiOns Of his life,
which, from his subsequent relations, was passed,
from infancy till his sixteenth year, IN cave or
cellar almost void OF light, led and tended at long
intervals by person whose face he never saw,
who spoke to him only in the tersest terms, and
who bnaliy, Just before releasing him, taught him
TO write the name by which he was afterwards
known, have formed, with speculatiOns his
parentage aud estate, and philosophical deduc-
tiOns the tendencies OF his mind, brought thus
late under cultivation, the themes OF several
volumes by some OF the aDlest pens OF Germany,
and were nifty years ago an admirable theme Tor a
standard newspaper sensation. only that at that
date the popular newspaper mad not been created
but waited for American enterprise.
The American Bourbon.
When the people of France, stung to desperation
by long and cruel wrongs under the monarchy,
which for 800 years had ensaved and Inundated
them, in 1893 deposed and put to death their
sovereign, LOWS XVI, and mis- queen, the beautiful
Ant iore