The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-11-03

Trains isave from Central depot corn
a change of venue to our side of the Allan
tic. Our American jures take it for |
granted that a house owner or tenant mas |
right 10 defend his property by shooting /
a burglar In his tracks, or even TO Voiun-
teer the protection Of a neighboring buAd- !
ing after the manner of the Van Brutus,
who heard a burglar alarm in vacant |
house and opened fusilade on The noe
turnal intruders with the incidental result
of Kidding old Mosher, the kdnapper and
presumpuve murderer of Chariey Ross.
American juries simply thanked the gen
tlemen who had saved the country the eX-
pense of a hangmans rope but North Eu-
ropean-especially Prussian-courts would
be apt TO ask all sorts Of awkward ques-
tons. Were the shooters really under the
impression that the safety of their own
lives were jeopardized? Had they eX-
hausted the available means for soaring
off the trespassers or of summoning the
aid of the proper officials? English law
yers even questioned q country squire
right 10 plant spring guns in his own park
our rural Nimrods,' says Sidney smith,
would resent an Impeachment OF thelf
Christian principles, and probably rarely
transact battus without allowing their
parson a chance to participate in the bene-
fits of the results. Would their spiritual
advisers sanction their custom of keeping
themselves in coneys and quails by SEN
fencing poor Hodge to death and tempting
him to become his own executlonerT
Housebreaking and entering is considered
| a more unpardonabie offense than poach-
| ing, al least after the revocation OF Will
| liam Rufus statute, that protected game
| preserves by threatening deer steaiers with
| the fate of Actaeon-the doom OF peing
| tied to a stake and baited with deerhounds.
But in West Prussia the owner of a Sc"
| cluded grist mill got himself into serious
trouble by freeing the country from a
| modern Dick Turpin. Hermann Rose, Il
| highway robber and all-round desperate,
| had broken out of so many jails that the
| German officials heaved a sigh of relief
when they learned that the Russians had
| caught him bushwhacking on their side Of
the border and hauled him to East Siberia.
! They hattered themselves with the hope
| of having seen the last OF the bold Dor
| derer. till a Warsaw newspaper published
the government report of muuny IN
| Jeniseiskajatsk, or additional consonants
| to that effect Eighteen convicts, reported
| the military knout manager of the col
cny had made a dash for freedom, but
| a dozen had been recaptured the next
| day four or five had been killed, and only
one, Hermann Ross, had succeeded in et-
| fecting his definite escape. The spelling
| of the name had undergone a rare change,
! but there was no doubt of ii the Fra
| piavolo of the frontier was loose again.
| and might be expected soon to revisit the
| ghmpses of the moon in his former
| haunts.
That misgiving was justified within
| few weeks after the gensdarmes, or
! mounted scouts of the border country had
| been warned to be on the lookout for their
! old acquaintance. Robbery after robbery
| terrorized the farmers of sparsely settled
| districts, and the proprietor of solitary
| brook mill at once suspected the identity
| OF his visitors when his mate one night
| walked him with the information that there
was a gang of burglars in the basement
of the building.
Realizing the advantages of a possible
| panic the old miller approached the rear
door on tiptoe and suddenly blazed off
double barreled shotgun in the direction
Of a family ghmmerng thief's lantern A
| stampede through the front window did
| result, aud both miller and mate then
rushed forward in the hope of catching
one of the retreating, and probably wound
ed, raiders. There's one of them left,
| trying to crawl outn cried the mate. guild
ed by the sound of groans under the win
dow sill. a struggle in the dark followed ;
the fallen brigand fired pocket pistol
| but the millers pulled dirk knives and
soon had the desperados soul on the out
side of his ribs The settlers on both
| sides of the border joined in a tie Deum"
| when it was ascertained that the pro-
| tegonist of that midnight adventure was
| Hermann Rose. the Siberian Man of Ross,
and were greatly surprised when their de-
liverer was soon after arrested and clap
ped in the district Jail.
There were undeniably mitigating cir
| cumstances as well as daily increasing
stacks of petitions but the prosecuting at
| torney insisted that the identity of the
| outlaw could not have been known TO his
| slayer, and that, moreover. it could not
| be fairly construed as a case admitting
the plea of self-defense. When they final
ly did release the pucky old miller. it was
only in considerable of his advanced
years, and of the possibility that he had
acted under the influence of great excite
ment amounting TO temporary mental
alteration which. as the Prussian judge
observed, was the only admissible excuse
for taking life in defense Of property
1t would be interesting to hear that Pun
dts comments on the transactions of our
! Indiana whitecappers, or on the recent
events in the coal mines of Virdeu Ill.
On the other hand, the jurisprudential
Romans, who protected slaves against the
caprices OF a cruel master, could not see
no reason for preventing a father from.
| taking the life of his own son, and the
Law of Meru DEGREES the death of a Soo-
der COR Parah) whose negligence has en-
daugered the life of a hish-caste gentle
man. Against a Brahmin Sooder mus,
not lift mis- hand or foot under any cir
eumstances, and Pariahs convicted of that
offense were liable 20 have the responsible
parts of their bodies chopped off by the
public eXecutioner
According to that code an inferior two
legged entity had to control his emotions
if his spiritual advisers should tie him 10
a tree and tattoo him with a pitchfork
for il he should yield TO the temptation
of kicking against the proceedings he was
Gnaial IN