New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1878-12-09

Slowly but surely the tolls are closing about
BENJAMIN Hunter, and hc has now no reasonable
prospect # ESCAPE from the galows. Chief Justice
Bcgsley's opinion, delivered last Saturday in the
New-Jersey Court of Errors. dspo,cs oleotu-
ally Of the nice legal bubbles advanced in
behalf OF tue CulDrit, who must now look
death on the 10Th Of next month steadily in the
face or as steadily he can. 1t will be observed
that The ample evidence produced at the trial left
ma doubt i'm any bOdys mind Of the guilt of Hunter.
He committed "a cruel murder from the basest Of
motives. aud as much deserves the extreme penalty
of the law as any wretch who ever mounted the
gallows Yet his lawyers, doing more
n,rhaps than their professional duty, have sought
70 save HIM, upon the ground that al
though the mortal blow was given within the
Jurisdiction of New-Jcrscy. the death which ensued
occurred beyond the limits of the State, and in
point of fact in Pennsylvania. 1t was assumed
that this IL the principle of the common law, point
upon which the Court did not think 1t necessary to
give an opinion. The statute Of New-Jcrsey estab-
lished quite contrary rule of criminal practice.
It's terms are "a follows: "Wnen any person shall
be fclouousy stricken OF poisoned within the iurs-
dctlon Of this State, and shall die Of such stroke or
poisoning upon the or any place out OF the jurs
dcton of this State in either of said cases urisdc-
gwen 10 tlle COuIlb VI AHiS W NY
punish said murdereTs" The sharp point made by
Hunters counsel was that " out Of the jurisdiction"
meant reference to some place where no organized
government existed, place outside the reign Of
law. This point did not commend itself to Mr..
Justice Beaslcys legal acumen and he preferred to
interpret the statute according to the letter. The
decision Is an important one, aud will control flu
ture cases in New-Jersey. ut least Of like char
acter.
A good deal of sympathy has been expressed for
Captain Schwcnsen, the commander of the Pom
merania. His long career in the service had been
specially free from casualties of every description
and he was personally and favOrably known TO
many persons on either side Of the His con
duct at the moment of tho fatal catastrophe was
excellent, and when it thought that
beng among the last to leave the ship
he had persisted through his own fidelity.
MANY handsome tributes we're paid to his
self-possessed and manly devotion. His en-
ployers, the Hamburg Steamship Company, may DO
supposed to have maGe full inquiry into the cir
cumstancos of the ships loss and they have not
only determined to retain Captain Schwensen in
their service, hut have assigned him TO the COM
mand of the Westphalia, a new ship which will
soon be ready for sea- Az they still intrust their
valuable property to him, We may regard their
sense of his merits as undated; while he bears
generous testimony to the galantry of those of his
officers who died while doug their duty.
There are few things in this world more uni
formly superb than Democratic impudenee. Moth
ing dsturbs its perennial flow. 1t il going on beau
ufully now about the problem of cipher invcsti-
CATION Every editor III the party Is calmly smooth
ing down his FURNISHED choOk and remarking that
if any Investigation il held 1t must be two-sded
one; the Republican side must be shown up as well
as the Democratic. We'll. what has the Potter
Committee been irving 90 do but to "show up"
tho Republican side . For what has 1t expended
| its S25, 900 approximation Who tried to got o