National Republican., 1883-03-24
.componndinr pnblic Offences.

nal court of Baltimore on Thursday when the
counsel of public official for q libel on whom
the editor and the manager of the American
had been indicted, came into court and filed
the defendants written apology to the in
iurcd party. The indictment was for crime
against the pooplo-the crime Of libel The
parties and the court appear TO have treated
it as a pleading in private suit, which
private individual, for upon the ar
rangoment between lbeled aud libeler
being completed the judge congratulated all
hands "that so satisfactory n settlement had
been reached" The written apology, signed
by Mr.. Fulton and Mr.. Agnus, Of the Ameri-
can, declared that tho libel for which they
stood indicted was written without malice,
in the heat Of an angry political controversy"
and they "cheerfully admitted" its "gross in
justice" "They do not and would never
have deliberately imputed corruption" to
Mr.. Webb, and regret that such an imputa-
tion had been made in the american.
| The states attorney informed the court that
circumstances had occurred which justified
a settlement of the case" and he had "only
to ask the court to give its consent to his con-
Tossing " to n plea of mot gnilty.'" 1t is
needless to say the court consented Dog.
berry himself could have done no less under
the circumstances.
Here were two persons who had committed
public o1ense to which the law attaches
penalty. The law defining crimes and their
punishments is not intended merely to give
private satisfaction to injured parties. If
| Mr.. Fulton had committed the crime
of mayhem by biting Off one of
Mr.. Webb's cars he would have been indicted
just as he was for the mutilaton Of Mr..
Webb's reputation. Suppose in such case
! he had explained that the ear was not bitten
Off in malice, but only in the heat of anger
engcndercd by political controversy that
he checrluly" believed its removal was an
act of "gross injustice p that he never would
have bitten it off deliberately" and sim
| CtlClS TCgIetlCu nuNlnE DltlcH IL OH W ullJ
and, finally that the ear is returned to its
owner. Would this, together with any
amount of other " circumstances" have been
deemed n settlement so satisfactory as to
call for congratulations from the bench?
Where, all this time would have been the of
Tended majesty of the law? Would that have
been satisfied by the defendants "confessing to
plea of not guilty?' When was ever an in
'diGtment disposed of before by the confession
of the accused that he had done all the unlaw-
full things charged therein, and that he was
therefore willing to be discharged upon his
| further confession Of innocence? Dogberry
instructed the captain of the watch to Conn
| prehcnd all vagrom men, and bid them stand
| in the kings name" But if any one refused
to stand, then he badc the worthy officer to
| let him depart in peace, and thank God you
are rid of a knavc." In the case before US,
although the law declares libel to be n crime
against the people, the Baltimore court hears
the defendants written confession of guilt
and their apology therefor, hears also their
confession of not guilty, and upon the sug-
gestion of the injured party, to whom the
|, apology is made, bids them depart in peace,
The whole proceeding appears to have had
for its basis the idea that prosecutions for
crime are private quarrcls which can be
settled by the accuser and the accused 1t
was this understanding of the total absence of
the state or the people as a party to criminal
prosecutions that was the foundation of
the system just overthrown in this dis
trict under which thieves, through the
agency of those appointed to arrest and prose-
cute them, settled with those they had robbed.
Grimes are committed against the people. TO
compromise one that can be proven is to COM
pound criminaly with the offender, which is
itself public ohensc, If an offender should
be pardoned upon making reparation the
clemency should be granted by the pardoning
power, and not by the court upon the sugges-
tion of the prosecuting witness.