The Morning herald., 1876-08-17
TRANsMIssIBILITY OF CRIME.

TRAN00l0S1B1L1TY OF CRIME.
We notice in many Of our exchanges
articles upon the transmissibility Of crime,
or rather the hereditary disposition to
commit certain crimes; they are based
upon the romantic story Of the anGH5ther
the notorious Fish who. x; unleAcas'iy OF
England a few d-<e 1 fieNas executed in
and mura :'e lays ago for the outrage
,5st aes 8! Of Emily Holland, lite girl
The case may be remembered, from the
fact, that bloodhound, called Morgan,
was mainly instrumental in discovering a
part of the remains Of the murdered child
in the barber shop Of Fish, the murderer.
The English newspapers, as also many Of
the leading journals of the United States,
have sought to identify this man Fish, with
the once more notorious criminal Fiesche,
who attempted to murder Louis Philippe
by means of an internal machine on the
2Sth Of July, 1885. The Philadelphia
Evening Telegraph" publishes the fol-
lowing:
Fish, it is said, was of Italian origin, and
q descendant of j. Marco Fieschi, who in
1885 attempted to take the life of Louis
Philippe, Of France, and afterwards made
his escape to London, where he assisted in
carrying out other murderous schemes.
Feschi's daughter married one of these
men some years after named Orsini, who
subsequently left her. In London she work
ed as sempstress, and afterwards went to
Lancashire, taking up her residence at Oar
wen. There she had son, and shortly
afterwards died. The child was taken to
Blackburn workhouse, and kept there in the
name of Fish his mothers name having been
turned to Fish, until he was taken out by a
barber, with whom he was an apprentice for
some years. The wretched man was affiict
ed with passion for inflicting cruelty that
amounted to disease"
These are the assumed facts on which
the whole argument about the transmissi-
'bility Of crime is founded, but a critical
examination Of the story which looks so
we'll in print proves it to be absolutely
baselass and without foundation whatso-
Fiesch, so,fsr from escaping to London
was executed in March 1886, with his tive
fellow conspirators, Pepin and Morey at
Place de Ia Barriere, st. Jacques in Paris.
There can be no mistake about these facts,
nor their authenticity, as they are vouched
for by Louis Blanc, in his history of ten
years, volume second, page 400. The mar
riage of FieschIs daughter to one Orsini
and the birth of Fish from this connec-
tion is equally as mythical as Fieschi's es
cape to London. Fieschi was a Corsicar
and perhaps the world has never borne or
its surface 80 unredeemed a william. NJ
year of his life passed without the commits
sion of some crime. fit were true tha
Fish was descendant Of his, a strong case
Of the transmissibility Of crime would
have been made out. As appears by Loui
Blanc and also by the "Causes Celebre.'
Fieschi never was married, but lived TO
many years with woman named Lau
renee Petit by whom he had one daughter
Nina Lassave. Fieschi was suspected o
numbering his unfortunate mistress ant
subsequently seduced his own daughter
who was living with him at the time Of hi
attempt upon the life of the French Kin,
This woman had no children as she diet
unmarried and childless in Paris within
short time after the execution other father
All these facts are to be found in the au
thorities already quoted.
1t is therefore manifest that the theor.
Of the Telegraph" and other leading
journals, English md American q, to tn
tranmisibility Of crime, is atleast in thi
particular case compounded Of fancies and
not in any particular built upon fact A
strange and queer story has always an at
traction, and writer's whether Of newspa
psn or books seize with avidity upon an,
Gnci1dl story which would commend itsel
% ne imagination sof realers. The Ii
( cUcssA in modon becolnes for All tim
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