nd our places of public resort_.

"Whither will such contempt for the life of man lead us? The
unhealthiness of the climate mows down annually a part of our
population; the murderous steel despatches its proportion; and if
crime increases as it has, the latter will soon become _the most
powerful agent in destroying life_.

"We cannot but doubt the perfection of our criminal code, when we see
that _almost every criminal eludes the law_, either by boldly avowing
the crime, or by the tardiness with which legal prosecutions are
carried on, or, lastly, by the convenient application of _bail_ in
criminal cases."

The "New Orleans Picayune" of July 30, 1837, says:

"It is with the most painful feelings that we _daily_ hear of some
_fatal_ duel. Yesterday we were told of the unhappy end of one of our
most influential and highly respectable merchants, who fell yesterday
morning at sunrise in a duel. As usual, the circumstances which led to
the meeting were trivial."

The New Orleans correspondent of the New York Express, in his letter
dated New Orleans, July 30, 1837, says:

"THIRTEEN DUELS have been fought in and near the city during the week;
_five more were to take place this morning_."

The "New Orleans Merchant" of March 20, 1838, says:

"Murder has been rife within the two or three weeks last past; and
what is worse, the authorities of those places where they occur are
_perfectly regardless of the fact_."

The "New Orleans Bee" of September 8, 1838, says:

"Not two months since, the miserable BARBA became a victim to one of
the most cold-blooded schemes of assassination that ever disgraced a
civilized community. Last Sunday evening an individual, Gonzales by
name, was seen in perfect health, in conversation with his friends. On
Monday morning his dead body was withdrawn from the Mississippi, near
the ferry of the first municipality, in a state of terrible
mutilation. To cap the climax of horror, on Friday morning, about half
past six o'clock, the coroner was called to hold an inquest over the
body of an individual, between Magazine and Tchoupitoulas streets. The
head was entirely severed from the body; the lower extremities had
likewise suffered amputation; the right foot was completely
dismembered from the leg, and the left knee nearly severed from the
thigh. Several stabs, wounds and bruises, were discovered on various
parts of the body, which of themselves were sufficient to produce
death."

The