, 1874-05-02

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TILE INCREAaE OF CRIME. =
Tho horrors OF murder nre atrlkingiy illua-
tratod BY tho dreadful details which nro brought
in cvory days budget Of dispatchos andj in tlib
connection, the render will have noticed Of late
not only THO great number Of ,cri1noB committed
but tho peculiarly atrocious character OF many
Of 'thom. It is but few days ago that the talo-
graph brought the intelligence Of the murder Of
little child at Dorchester, Masa.,' by a boy not
yet out Of hts toons, in. whom .ovory moral in:
stinct sooms to have boon blunted, ,and who tor.
tnrea'and kills just as the, boast doos :porhar6
oven more atrociouRly aud cruelty thau tha beast
as tho latter seldom l,lla except WHOM aetnatod by
proyocatlon or hunger, whi1o, in tho case Of this
human monster, thoro was no proyocation OF any
sort, except such as aroae from Ills abnormal'aul
monstrous passion for blood Yesterdays issue
Of TIE TRIBUNE, added three moro. horrors,
which were 1narited'by peculiarly aavago and In:
human conduct. "A well-t to:do and highly-ro,
apooted fairnor living noar pittsburgh,a hawife|
two littlo children, and u boy who rms employed
on tho farmi .werc murdered: In their own houRe
on Wednesday, tho unknown murderer mnti1at.
ing tho bodies in d frightful manner, and then
setting fire to the house to, concoal tho
orimc Ii '.New Brunswick, a VITA, pre-
vailed upon hor paramour to kill her husband:
80 thct ;thoy can marry. THO wrotched brrutq
consented to do the wor! and, meeting the h,1s-
band IN tho woods, killed him with III, az, oven,
while tho victim was inploriug for timo to con-
fess lis sins to priest. Tho last Of thoso hor-:
rora is tho casc Of 4 murderer, alroaay scntoncod
to bo hangcd, and with only twehty:four hours
between him aud etornity, who killed. his
keeper. '%': s.-'
the face Of this alarming prevalence ofcrime,
thero arc mauulin people c1amoring for lonienoy,
to tho murdorers, and social philosophers Of tho
Doyoo stamp who can sit. down annd, loaving
tho murdered victims and their grlef:strlokon
frionds out Of tho calculation, coolly-
speculate upon tho crimes and advocate tho abo-
lit1ou Of capital punishment: In thoir mode OF
speculation, the ovimo which has hoon commit
tod and tho victim who has beon killed. do not
figure st all. They are dropped. out Of sight en:
tiroly. They sec only tho murderer, and thoir
o6orta aro confined to al1oyiating his condition
by securing all possible lenienoy tor him,-in any
event to Aaye him from tile gallows. There nre
only two ways in which crime can DO. Vowed.
and, theeo' two conditions probably cover
eyory murdor which ;. Is committed. Ono
class murders for :revongs; and holds h,1-;
man lifo. of such. small yaluo that:
it can coolly calculate and plan murder for. tic
resentment OF any injury Or affront, or Tor tile
acquisition Of money or otlior property, or to
crafty passion. This olaaa. us It aota no value
upon tho lives Of Others sets no value upon It's
own, or at lenat, 40 1itto that it isroadyto carry
out its desperate purposes and tako tho chances
of the laws uncertainties and conflicts ot test-
laoiy lo cBcapo punishment by death,, anl per-,
hapa secure Il comparative immunity from pun
isllnont ct all. Tho other class, Of wlijoh tho
Dorchester nonster.ia tho most prominent typo |
of modern tinaes,-a typo which belongs
to tho school OF tho Thug and Ya,npyre,-las be-
come SO hardened by constant indulgonco in tho:
worst passions of human natu1o, by. years or |
cruelty, sometimes aided BY hereditary taint,
TINT it's whole naturo is. changed ,ovory moral
instinct iB deadoncd, anl the desire to kill be-
comon an oyorru|ing passion, against wlicl,
there Ii no obstacle eithor III tie promptlngs of
oonacenoo. tho action OF the will, or tho uatural
affections of tho heart. In,thia oass, tho desire
to kill, tho appetite for blood, and tho un-
consclouanoss Of guilt, aro simply tho proofs
Of diaoaBo amounting to insanity. 10th olaases
arc beasts.. Tho ono is u boast with reason, act
Ing for revenge or for the acquisition of sono
valuable consideration. The other Ia a bcast
without reason, acting from uncomfortable im.
pulAo, like Il mud dog or inf,iriatod bulI Now,
It iB cloar enough to any ono that both olaaseB
should bo restrained from tito opportunity ever
to commit orimo again; and that society has tic
tight to be protected from tl'om Just at this
l,ont tho msudlin sentimontaliasu cry out, "no.;
liberty; imprlHon them for lifo"' But
lhoro Ii no suoh thing known as Imprisonment
for life, Or restraint Of ;liberty,"in tito sense
these aontlmentallsta Bivo to IT, Tho average
confinement Of murlereEs sentenced to impr1aou-
nent for lito Ia but aovon yoara. ThfB, ot courao
Ia no punishnaont 1t all; no protection Of
society from the murderer; no reatratut upon
4Is brutality, whloh during these few yoars is