Middletown transcript., 1876-05-27
ENIGMAS OF JUSTICE.

ENIGMAS OF JUSTICE.
Paul Feval, in one of his subtle and
sensational romances, in which the in
tricate web woven by ''doctor iu
crime is traced beneath an apparently
simple tragic event, arraigns French
justice and judge as too much absorbed
in system and theology. The courts
are the slaves of appearance /; the ''in-
struction' or preliminary examination
of a crime moves in the narrow grooves
to which it has been confined by tradi
ton. The motto of FevaPs remarkable
novel, lie Dernier Vivant," is to show
how easily. under the French system,
a mastery conjurer in crime can divert
the eyes ofjustice from the real criminal
Indeed, the history of English and
American, as we'll as of French justice.
is almost as notable for its miscarriages
as for its triumphs. 1t is true that in
these days justice seldom errs in hang
ing or imprisoning the wrong man ~
Such cases as that Of Bourne, in Ver-
mont, who was condemned to death for
the murder Of man who opportunely
turned up alive and well on the eve Of
the execution of his supposed assassin,
are exceedingly rare Ifjusticc arrests
and tries an innocent person, the re-
strictions Of the law are commonly
sufficient to protect him by at least Civ
ing him the benefit of doubt. The
failures Of justice more often consist in
letting criminals free for want of evil
dence. Men Of whose guilt the outer
world have no moral doubt, escape by
the inadmissibility Of evidence which
would convict them, by the fine-spun
reasonings and artificial theories of
crafty counsel, and sometimes, doubt
less, by the pity. the excessive timidity,
and even the prejudices or corruption
of juries
Justice is human, and therefore prone
to err. 1t would be treating justice un-
Justly were we not to recognize the
various intricate, bewildering difficult
ties by which. especially in cases of
grave crimes, it is surrounded While
insisting that justice should do wise
and thorough work, we must not forget
that the struggle between the blind
goddess with the even SCALES and crime
is always an uneven one Crime is
dark, tortuous and crafty. 1t often
chooses its own ground. 1t has ample
opportunity, before it strikes, for con-
cealment and defence. It is easier to
PROFOUND puzzle Of which you have
the key than to guess it out. It is
easier for man to hice a utcnsil-a
pistol or knife-than for forty men to
find it. Before criminal is taken he
knows that he is suspected be is
aware, to some degree at least. of the
steps that are being taken for his detec-
ton. He is more watchful than the
most skillful detective, for, if the detec-
tive is laboring to sustain a reputation,
the criminal is defending life, or at
least liberty.
So justice is almost always in pres
ence Of puzzle. which criminal inge-
nuity, sharpened in proportion to the
stake at issue, makes as complicated as
possible. Almost every mysterious case
Of crime is to be solved by what is
called "circumstantial evidence" That
is, it is crime which no eye except
those Of the criminal and his victim has
seen committed. the guilt of which
must be fastened by differences from the
proof of surrounding and accusing cir
cumstances In such cases the liability
Of justice to err is almost indefinite, the
prospect of certainty is more or less
dim, experience shows that often ac-
cusing circumstances envelop and close
around an innocent man.
Yet. the collection and array of cir
cumstantial evidence have become. in
process of time, science. Not only
authorities strictly technical and legal,
but writer's Of learning outside the limits
of the legal profession, have arranged
and classified the methods of solving
the commission Of crime and the iden-
tify of its perpetrator. Greatest, per-
haps, among these was Jeremy Ben
than. whose Rationale of Judicial
Evidence" is an admirable analysis of
this species of proof The crimes which
are committed "far from any human
eye, ear, or dwelling place, in the
darkness of the nj ght, in the solitude of
the forest or the ocean. or in the misty
recesses of the impenetrable past" must
be discovered and brought home by
proof Of chain Of facts, the conclusion
from which is irresistible, conclusion
to which every discovered fact must
point, ard with which every such fact
must be consistent According to Ben
than, every crime witnessed must in
clude some or all of the following cir
cumstances, and no others: They must
be proved by reference to disposition
or character Of the accused indicating
motive to preparations for the crime
to opportunities to commit it; to in
for the work to the viola
tion Of some person or thing to the
possession of the fruits Of the crime to
concealment of it; to the fear of dis
covery; and, finally, to confessions
made of its commission
It is our purpose to narrate some Of
the more remarkable cases which have
occupied the attention Of justice, and
Wherein circumatantia1 evidence hoa