Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1876-05-18
ENIGMAs OF JUSTICE.

Paul Feval, in one Of his subtle and
sensational romances, 10 which the intri.
cate web woven BY q doctor in crime
is traced beneath an apparently simple
tragic event, arraigns French justice and
Judge a. too much absorbed in system
and theology. The courts are the slaves
Of appearance; the obstruction" or pre-.
liminary examination of crime moves
in the narrow grooves TO which it has
been confined BY tradition. The motto
Of Fevais remarkable novel, lie Der.
nier vivant," Is to show how easily,
under the French system, . mastery
conjurer in crime can divert the eyes
of justice from the real criminal.
Indeed, the history of English and
American, as well n of French justice,
is almost as notable for its miscarriages
as for its trumphs. 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-
mount, who was condemned to death
for the murder of man who oppor.
tunely turned up alive and well on the
eve Of the execution of bis supposed
assassin, are exceedingly rare. If JUS
tice arrests and tries an innocent per.
son, the restrictions of the law are COM
monty sufficient to protect him BY at
least giving him the benefit of doubt.
The failures Of justice more often con-
sist in letting criminals free for want
of evidence. Men of whose guilt the
outer world have no moral doubt, es-
cape 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 timidi-
ty, and even the prejudices or corrup-
tion of juries.
Justice is human, and therefore prone
to err. It would be treating justice
uniustly 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 for
get that the struggle between the bliud
goddess with the even scales and crime
is always an uneven one. Crime is
dark, tortuous and crafty. 1t often
chooses its own ground. It 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. 1t is cas-
ier for a nan to hTSassaa usenoil - r'steI,
or knife-than for forty men to find IL.
Before q criminal is taken he knows
that he is suspected; he is aware, to
some degree at least, of the steps that
are being taken for his detection. He
is more watchful than the most skill
full detective. for, if the detective is
laboring to sustain q 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 a 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
circumstances. In such cases the lia-
bility of justice to err is almost indefi-
mite, the prospect of certainty is more
or less dim, experience shows that Of
ten accusing circumstances envelop and
close around All innocent mau.
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 lim-
its 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 Ev.
idence" 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 dark
ness Of the night, in the solitude of the
forest or the ocean, or in the misty re-
cesses Of the impenetrable past" must
be discovered and brought home by
proof Of a chain Of facts, the conclusion
from which is irresistible, q conclusion
to which every discovered fact must
point, and 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 q dis
position or character of the accused in
dicating motive; to preparations for
the crime; to opportunities to commit
it; to instruments for the work: to the
violation of some person or thing; to
the possession of tue fruits of the
crime; to coucealment of it; to the fear
Of discovery; and, finally, to confess
sions made of its commission.
1t is our purpose to narrate some Of
the more remarkable cases which have
occupied the attention of justice, and
wherein circumstan,ial evidence has
been employed to secure conviction
Some show the errors into which Jus.
tice may fall in following the path in
dicated BY this kind of proof; Others
demonstrate the overwhelming force
With which single thread Of eircum.
stantial evidence sometimes crushes an
accused Person otherwise shielded, by
his own running os BY fortunate &C.
cidents from the detection of his deed.
OF the former sort Was . case Of mis-.
taken identity which occurred many