St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-02-14
Thoughts on the Hugues-Morin Affair.
m the London Worl,

From the London World.
1t is commonpl place to say that the verdict
of the jury in the Hugues-Morn affair in
wolves an outrageous paradox. We are told
that of the twelve jurymen empaneled to try
the case six were in favor OF a verdict OF
guilty, four of an acquittal, while two were
neutrals. The verdict, therefore, actually
given does not represent the honest opinion
of the entire jury. But how should it, when
there was no doubt as to the fact, and whep
Madame Hughes openly gloried in being the
assassin of NORM? What the verdict really
does is to illustrate the triumph of sentiment
over logic and law, to set up a false standard
of what sslegitiuate and illegitimate, and by
confusing the distinction i'll the popular
mind between what the law sanctions and
what it forbids, to create a stan dard outside
the law to which the populace may refer its
actions. This would be only possible, it may
be said, in a country where the dignity and
authority of law are habtually compromised;
and, indeed, France may be compared to an
individual who regulates his existence by no
principle, who acts as he is prompted by the
emotions of the moment-tempered possibly
by certain mercenary regard to eXpedieucy
and who has, at the best, only a kind of
artistic sense of virtue and its opposite. And
yet. however much this national temper may
be deprecated by Engshmen, who can say
that Madame Hugues'acqu does not elicit
here certain sneaking sympathy or ap-
proval! In the first place, whether the lady
did or did not kill the right man. whether, in
otcer words, it was NORM or somebody else
unn EoJ "a into br
his dastardly missives, the motive of her
crime was vengeance on the blackmailer;
and against the blackmailer, the curse of
households and the foe of society, most peo-
Pile would aver, if they were to speak the
truth, that any weapon was permissible. But
there is another con sideratioH which may
well be present to the more cody introspec-
tive Briton in his estimate of Madame Hughes
crime. The right TO kill is not asserted in
England in the sensational and melodramatc
manner that it is in France, and such pic
ture as that called "Une Affaire d Honneur,"
which was exhibited in last years Salon, and
which represents two cOcottes stripped to their
waist, fighting duel with rapiers, in the
presence of seconds of their own order, is the
outward and visible sign of q state of feeling
which does not exist in England. AT the
same time, the annual average of violent
deaths that occur in England is probably, not
withstanding the sauctity with which human
life is invested by us, AS large in France.
According to aparagraph in morning news
paper on Monday last, "the carnage Of
Christmas as it is quantity called, includ-
ing thirty-four violent deaths, ''manner not
specifed;'' sixteen by sufrocaton, fifteen
suicides, sixteen found dead six deaths as
consequence of fighting-fOur by stabbng,
two by beating-and two by poisoning.
When we recolIect that, in addition to these
stems, pugilsm, cock fighting and other
similar forms OF refined amusement are now
ilourishing once more, almost as much as In
the palmy period of these sports, we may
perhaps pause, before plucking out the mote
which is in our neighbours eye, to examine
the beam which Is In our own