The jury in the case of Margaret Garrity, who was tried at Newark for the murder of a man named Drum, who seduced her under a promise of marriage, and afterwards deserted her for another, rendered a verdict of not guilty, on the ground of insanity, on the 13th ult. This disgraceful proceeding had precedents in New Jersey, and it appears to have excited but little of the indignation which it deserved. Margaret Garrity murdered her paramour under extraordinary circumstances, which, doubtless, would have had proper weight with the pardoning power. It is evidently absurd to say, that she, more than any murderess, was insane, and the jury were altogether unjustifiable in rendering a verdict which is unsupported by evidence; and of an assumption of the authority of the Governor of the State, in setting at liberty a criminal for whose conduct there appeared to be merely some sort of extenuation or excuse in the conduct of her victim. It would be as well to have no juries as juries so ignorant or reckless of their obligations.
A general council of the once grand confederacy of the Five Nations of Indians, the Mohawks, Onondagas, Oneidas, Cayugas, Senecas, and Tuscaroras—was held at Tonawanda on Friday, September 19th, to celebrate the funeral rites of their last Grand Sachem, John Blacksmith, deceased, and of electing a Grand Sachem in his place, electing Chiefs, &c. Ely S. Parker (Do-ne-ha-ga-wa), was proclaimed Grand Sachem of the Six Nations. He was invested with the silver medal presented by Washington to the celebrated war-chief Red Jacket, and worn by him until his death.
The new Canadian Ministry, so far as formed, is as follows: Inspector-General, Mr. Hincks; President of the Council, Dr. Rolph; Postmaster-General, Malcolm Cameron; Commissioner of Crown Lands, William Morris; Attorney-General for Canada West, W. B. Richards; Attorney-General for Canada East, Mr. Drummond; Provincial Secretary, Mr. Morin. Three appointments are yet to be made. The government will be eminently liberal.
A revolution set on foot in Northern Mexico promises to be successful. The chief causes alleged by the conspirators are the enormous duties upon imports, and too severe punishment for smuggling, the excessive authority of the Central Government over the individual States, the quartering of regular troops upon citizens, the mal-administration of the national finances, the bad system of military government inherited from the Spanish establishment, and the want of a system of public education. The insurgents declare that they lay aside all idea of secession or annexation, yet it is not impossible that the movement will soon have such an end. The revolution commenced at Camargo, where the insurgents attacked the Mexicans, and came off victorious, having taken the town by storm, with a loss on the side of the Mexicans of 60. The Government troops were intrenched in a church with artillery. The revolutionists are commanded by Carvajal, who has also with him two companies of Texans. At our last dates, the 9th of September, they had taken the town of Reynosa, meeting but little resistance. One field-piece and a quantity of other arms fell into their hands. General Canales, the Governor of Tamaulipas, was approaching Metamoras, and General Avalajos was on the way to meet him, whether as friend or foe is uncertain. It was supposed that Canales would assume the chief command of the revolutionists.
From New Grenada we learn that General Herrara has entirely subdued the revolt lately undertaken, and that the country is quiet. A revolt has broken out in Chili (a country remarkable in South America for the stability of its affairs), and in several towns the troops had declared in favor of a new man for the Presidency: the disorganizers were sweeping all before them, and the country was in a most excited condition. From Montevideo the latest intelligence is so confused that we can arrive at no definite conclusion, except that the domestic war is prosecuted with unusual savageness. An insurrection has broken out in the states of San Salvador and Guatemala. General Carrera, with a force of 1,500 men, had attacked the enemy in San Salvador, who mustered 4,000 strong, and defeated them with a loss of four men killed. He then evacuated the country.
From Great Britain we have no political news of importance. The royal family were still in the north. The whig politicians appear to be agitating new schemes of parliamentary reform, and several distinguished persons have recently made addresses to their constituents. Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton is before his county as a protectionist candidate for the House of Commons, with fair prospects. The submarine telegraph to France has been completed. The great cable which was intended to reach the whole distance proved too short by half a mile, owing to the irregularity of the line in which it was laid down. It was pieced out with a coil of wire coated with gutta percha. This will, however, have to be taken up and supplied with cable. The connection is complete with France, and messages are sent across with perfect success. Mr. Lawrence, the American minister, having gone to Ireland, for the purpose of seeing the scenery of the country, has been embarrassed with honors; public addresses have been presented to him, banquets given to him, railway directors and commissioners of harbors have attended him in his journeys, a steamboat was specially fitted up to carry him down the Shannon, and in every way such demonstrations of interest and honor were offered as were suitable for a people's reception of a messenger from the home of their children. The visit of Mr. Lawrence promises some happy results in directing attention to projects for a steam communication directly with the United States. The differences between the government of Calcutta and the court of Hyderabad, have been arranged for the present without any actual confiscation of the Nizam's territory. A considerable sum has been lodged in the hands of the Resident, and security offered for the partial liquidation of the remainder. Moolraj, the ex-Dewan of Mooltan, expired on the 11th August, while on his journey to the fortress of Allahabad, and the Vizier Yar Mohammed Khan, of Herat, died on the 4th of June. The eldest son of the latter, Seyd Mahommed Khan, has succeeded to the throne of Herat. Dost Mohammed is resolved to oppose him, and, for that purpose, has placed his son, Hyder Khan, at the head of a large army, with orders to invade Herat. The Admiralty have advertised for tenders for a monthly mail line of screw-steamers to and from England and the west coast of Africa. The ports to be touched at are Goree, Bathurst, Sierra Leone, Monrovia (Liberia), Cape Coast Castle, Accra, Whydah Badagry, Lagos, Bonny, Old Calabar, Cameroons, and Fernando Po. The whole range of the slave coast will thus be included; and it is understood that the object of the line, which, in the first instance, of course will carry scarcely any passengers or letters, is to promote the extinction of that traffic, not only by cultivating commerce with the natives, but by the rapid and regular information it will convey from point to point. Of the Caffre war, we have intelligence by an arrival at Boston direct from the Cape of Good Hope, later than has been received by way of England. There appeared to be some prospect of the war being brought to a close; reinforcements of troops had arrived, and Sir Harry Smith, the Governor, was in excellent spirits. In the mean time, however, the Caffres and Hottentots continued making sad havoc on the settlements, and the people were suffering from a lack of provisions, and cattle and stock were starving to death. Efficient measures however had in England been taken for their relief.
From France, in the recess of the Assembly, there is no news of general importance. The persecution of the press, by which more than one ruler of that country has heretofore lost his place, is persevered in, and a large number of editors (including two sons of Victor Hugo) have been imprisoned and fined. All foreigners intending to reside permanently in Paris, or exercise any calling there, must henceforth present themselves personally to the authorities, and obtain permission to remain. This new and stringent police-regulation is, it is said, to be extended to every department of France. Such fear of foreigners contrasts strangely with the unsuspicious welcome which they receive in America and England. The President is evidently not willing his "subjects" should know what the world says of his administration.
The Government of Naples has caused to be published a formal reply to Mr. Gladstone's letters to Lord Palmerston in respect to its unjustifiable severity to political prisoners, particularly the ex-minister Poerio. It mainly consists of an exposure of some inaccuracies of detail on the part of Mr. Gladstone, such as an exaggeration of the number of political prisoners at present confined in Naples, the alleged innocence of Poerio, the unhealthy state of the prisons, &c.; but it does not do away with the charge of savage severity in the punishment of Poerio and his fellow-prisoners, which formed the main accusation advanced by Mr. Gladstone against the Neapolitan Government, and it is not likely in any considerable degree to affect the opinion of the world on the subject. The Papal Court has addressed a note to the French Government, complaining of the toleration, by the latter, of incendiary writings against Italian states. The note observes that if the French journals were not to publish these writings, the demagogues would be at a loss for organs of circulation, because the English newspapers are much less read in Italy. The Emperor of Austria has been making a tour through his Italian provinces, in which he has been received with "respectful silence" in streets deserted by all except the military and ungoverned children.
From a diplomatic correspondence between the representatives of Austria and Turkey, in regard to the liberation of Kossuth and his companions, it is very evident that Austria feels very keenly the discomfiture she has sustained, and that she will be very likely to resent this disregard of her wishes, by seeking cause of war with Turkey. She is stirring up rebellion in the Bosnian provinces, and concentrating her troops upon that frontier, to take advantage of any contingency that may arise. The authorities in Hungary have been absurd enough to evince the spleen of the Austrians in hanging effigies of Kossuth and his associates, condemned for treason in contumace.
In Portugal vigorous preparations were being made for elections, in which it was expected that Saldanha's friends would generally be defeated. At the Cape de Verde Islands a terrible disease, described as a black plague, was very fatal.