carest we have already spoken in describing the
capital. Lawsuits are very tedious; whether more so than in England we
are unable to say. Great complaint exists of patronage in the
appointment of judges, most of whom are comparatively young men and
political partisans. This it is proposed to remedy by what would
practically be popular election; whether the cure would be any better
than the disease is questionable. The penal system, as we found it
carried out in Roumania, is mild, utilitarian, and slovenly; and if all
that was told us be true, we fear we must add that it is by no means
free from corruption.

The chief points of interest to Englishmen are the absence of capital
punishment and the substitution of forced labour for life, or for a long
term of years, and the utilisation of penal labour in the salt mines and
elsewhere. Capital punishment ceased _de facto_ in 1852; for although it
was not legally abolished, neither the then ruler, Prince Stirbey, nor
his successor, Prince Couza, who governed the joint Principalities,
would sign a death-warrant. It was legally abrogated in 1865, and the
Constitution of 1866 declares that it cannot be re-established,
excepting for military offences. No increase, but rather a diminution,
of capital crimes has taken place since the change was effected; for
although the population has doubled in the towns, where homicidal crime
is most frequent, the number of offences has not materially increased.
The following figures[71] prove this statement:--

_Total Committals and Convictions for Homicide._

+------+------------+-------------+------+------------+-------------+
| Year | Committals | Convictions | Year | Committals | Convictions |
+------+------------+-------------+------+------------+-------------+
| 1869 | 248 | 185 | 1874 | 258 | 167 |
| 1870 | 249 | 154 | 1875 | 236 | 169 |
| 1871 | 267 | 140 | 1876 | 386 | 250 |
| 1872 | 327 | 204 | 1877 | 307 | 187 |
| 1873 | 455 | 258 | | | |
+------+------------+-------------+------+------------+-------------+

The punishment for murder with malice aforethought is now penal
servitude for life, other phases of homicide five to twenty years, in
both cases mine labour. In cases of infanticide, if the offspring is
illegitimate it ranks as manslaughter. The following is a condens