New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1880-04-30
THE RIOT BILL BRIBERIES.

Mr.. William IL. hcmOle Is entltleu 10 H"'o
the plea which ne actually made to the 1ndlct-
ment for corrupt solicitation brought to the re-
collection of the community. 1t was as fol-
lows: Guilty ; but with the leave of the Court
files this protest that this is not to be con-
str1ed into an admission that the defendant
Gdid cOlruptly offer any money or thing OF value
ito any of the persons named III the bill OF IN
@dctment.n On Monday last, after sentence
had been passed, Mr.. Kemble, by permission
of the Court, said: 81 never pleaded guilty
@beforc this Court. I made plea, but the
GCourt chose to accept portion and reject the
crest There is nothing IN that which justites
" The claim of the Court in this sentence. There
" is nothing that am guilty Of" 1t is mclan-
choly to find man III Mr.. Kcmbles situation
thus ouibblng. The truth is that when he
made his plea to tho indictment with the
denial, the Court properly refused to receive it,
and Mr. Kemble's counsel then withdrewit; and
aftcrvard the plea Of "guilty" WAS entered
with the protest. But the protest was no part
of the plea, and could no moro be made
n matter Of record than any of the Wild
and incohercnt excavations which criminals
in the dock arc accustomed to offer What,
therefore, could Mr.. Kemble possibly mean by
saving. "Thero is nothing l am guilty of"
When he admitted that he was guilty, what sig
niHcance did he attach to flat word If he did
not know, his lawyer might have told him that
nc was before the Court for sentence upon q
simple plea Of "guilty," and that his protest had
no validity whatever. What his motives may
have been for entering this plea can only be
coniccturcd; but it would hardly have been ac-
cording to any law Of criminal Practice to permit
him to plead guilty" that Others might escape
the consequences Of his trial, and then to suffer
him TO 90 sc0t-free upon the ground that his
plea of guilty" did not mean anything. No
Cont which respected itself would permit such
childish trifling.
There seems to be general feeling III PCnnsyl-
vauia that the sentence passed upon Mr. KCmblc
and his coldiutors in crime is very severe
one. The Philadelphia Inquirer speaks of the
" exceeding great probability Of the offenders
"reccivng executive clcmency within short
time.D The Philadelphia Press says: "Very
likely the effort will be renewed at an early
" day to secure the interpOsltion OF the Board OF
"Paldons." Upon what special grounds elem
cncy will DO sought for it is impossible to con-
lecture. 1t will be time enough Tor us to con-
slider them when the application shall he made.
At present the finale of this prolonged judicial
process can only be regarded as wholesome
warning to the whole race OF lobbyists The
practIccs in this case were upon great scale,
but it is moro than possible that such crimes are
not confined to Pennsylvania. Whatever may
he the ultimate disposition Of the case, whether
these men serve out their full term OF imprisOn-
mnnt or not the verdict remains, the sentence
ia of record. infamy has followed public cor
uDiiOn, and public putty has been yindCated.
A pardon may enlarge n prisoner, but it can do
no more for Inn. IL does not eradicate the
stain uyon character it does not alter the fact
of conviction, except under very unusual cir
cumstances.
A good deal will be said Of the triumph of
tbe law in cOnvicting wealthy men of eminent
social position but we do not attach much i'm
portance to this. OF late years, in many of
the tribunals of this country, culprits have
found that neither previous responsibility nor
bish standing nor family status could save
them from the consequences Of their offences.
Indeed, we have sometimes thought that the
present tone of feeling rather placed prisoner
Of such antecedents at disadvantage. How
ever this may be, the lance of Justice no longer
falls hurtless when it is aimed ut gold-plated
crime. What will be mostly gained through
the Pennsylvania convictions is the definite
determination that bribery and corruption arc
as felonious as murder or arson, and that when
an interested adventuror or Spectator buys the
vote of representative, he does something
which may cOnsign him to a convicts cell for a
term of years. Such crimes will no longer be
regarded rs trifing anywhere and now that
the seal of judicial condemnation has been set
upon expedients which plumber the public treas
ury and impOverish taxpayers, sharp gO-be-
tweens will be little moro cautious, at least, In
distributing their barrels of money.
Some fussy philanthropists In Barnstable, Mass,
are making themselves unhappy over tho fate Of
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