Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1880-09-29
Paris Letter.
ALPHA.
rFrOm Our Regular Correspondent

PARIS, France. Sept. II, 1880.
A letter addressed from Geneva to the
VoEtaire,i in reference to the recent journey
of the Gar to Livadia. throws considerable
light ON the circumstances attending the
discovery of a secret mine under portion
of the line Of route. The writer, presum-
ably member of the nihilist community,
says, "the nihilist executive committee had
known for some time that either by i'm
prudence or by treason General Loris
Melikoff had been informed in vague and
incorrect manner. of certain plans to be
carried out on the occasion of the cztr's
Journey to Livsdia; but. Notwithstanding
his cunning and pretended cleverness, he
was unable to obtain precise Information.
| You can therefore understand the fury of
the ex-dictator when the car. who had
also been warned, informed him that his
company was necessary on the journey.
I.oris Melikoff knew, in fact, that he could
prevent nothing if the executive commit
tee deemed the moment suitable for eX-
ecuting its plots. The means at the
disposal of the committee for attaining its
object defy all measures taken by the
police. Mines and preparation, such ms
those for the Moscow affair are no longer
necessary. Our party does not employ the
same measure twice. In few months
time the famous Melikoff will have con-
vincing proof of this" This extraordinary
statement terminates with the assertion
that the mine discovered by the police
agents was sham, and was prepared by
the secret emissaries of General Melikoff
in order to make Europe believe in the
astuteness of the dictator.
Every time criminal is executed in
expiration of some atrocious crime, the adj
vocates of the abolition of capital punish
ment take the opportunity of ventilating
their favorite theory. The ultra-radica
press is unanimousl in favor Of revision
of the law in this respect, and taking ad
vantage of the execution Of Menesclou
Yesterday NJ. Rochefort. on this occasion
adds his voice to the many which always
find expression in the columns of that por
ton of the press to which the Lntrdnstgean
belongs. NJ Rochefort treats capita
punishment as a relic of the system of tor
turing criminals, and maintains that i
ought TO have been swept off the face o
the earth at the time when the tortures o
the Inqusition were relinquished forever
He advances the following extraordinary
arguments in support of his theory: If {
malefactor steals your watch you would
not think of stealing his. When an un
natural mother sticks knitting needles intC
her child's arm. justice does not intlict ,
punishment of knitting needles on her
What is crime on the part of Peter, canno
be called Justice in the case of Paul unde
government. Menesclou cut poor littl'
girl in fifteen pieces. The executioner Gu
Menesclou merely into two. The onl.
difference between these two acts lies il
the number of pieces. This is fai
sample of the kind of argument contrbu
tors to the socialist papers provide for lhei
readers. The advantages and disadvant
ages of capital punishment have frequent
been discussed, and much is to be said O
both sides; but as capital punishment
resorted to as deterrent of future crime
not as a vengeance on crime committed
one cannot help feeling surprised that
popular leader should think fit to emplo,
such fallacious arguments on so importan
a social topic.