The New York Herald

The Forrest Case Approaching A Close.—It was expected, on Saturday last, that the evidence in this interminable case—which has lasted four weeks—would have been closed, and that the summing up of counsel would have been commenced to-day. This termination, however, so much to be desired, was postponed; but it is likely that the testimony will be finished to-day, and that the arguments of counsel will be commenced to-morrow—to be continued, we suppose, for several days. We may, therefore, expect the case to be finally closed by the end of the week.

This case is, undoubtedly, one of the most extraordinary that was ever tried in this metropolis, or in any part of this country. The evidence brought out during the last month has disclosed manners, and habits, and customs, and principles, and traits, pervading a certain class of society here, which have astonished the world beyond the limits of New York, but which creates no surprise and no wonderment within the precincts of the island of Manhattan. Here, people have been used to such manners and morals, particularly since the rapid progress of fashionable ideas under the auspices of Willis philosophy, and Fourierism taught by Greeley and Company. The country newspapers, however, have thrown themselves into a terrible paroxysm of virtuous indignation at the dissolute character of the evidence, the shocking nature of the details, and the disgraceful scenes disclosed—all of which have been laid bare by most of the leading journals of this city possessing any previous moral character or large circulation. No one, without seeing the country papers, can imagine with what indignation they denounce all the journals of New York which have published this evidence from day to day and from week to week. Many of these country papers, which have no room to publish these never-ending details, content themselves with picking out some of the richest portions, and giving them to their pious country readers, as titbits of scandal and rascality, calculated to strengthen their principles of virtue and purify their sentiments of religion. We have no doubt they will succeed, to a great extent, in improving the cause of country morals and village piety, by denouncing and condemning the terrible Sodom and Gomorrah-like profligacy of this large and mighty city of humbug and harlotry.

Yet the denunciations poured forth over the New York press, by our country contemporaries, should be less indiscriminate. All are involved, without all being equally guilty. It is true, there is no necessity for us to make any excuse for the great Satanic press of this metropolis—we mean the New York Herald. It has long been denounced as a sink of wickedness and villany, the organ of everything that is bad, the agent of Mephistopheles, if not Mephistopheles himself with his cloven feet, horns, and everlasting eng tail of fire. In fact, one of the principal personages connected with this trial—Mrs. Forrest—denounces the Herald in an eloquent letter, with great force, and probably with equal justice, as utterly incapable of comprehending the virtues of socialism, or the purity of Fourierism or Willisism. We make no apologies for that wicked, unprincipled, atrocious, villanous, Satanic New York Herald; but we do beg of our country co-temporaries to have some pity on the saints of the Tribune, the innocent boys of the Times, the honest Plainfield financiers of the Sun, and those candidates for the best offices in Washington, or the highest seats in heaven, who control the Express, and have managed to give their inanity, which they have heretofore put forth in every form and shape on a suffering world, some variety even in the Forrest evidence. Our country contemporaries, with their immense stock of piety and virtue, ought to extend a little compassion to these journals, which have published all the villanous evidence in the Forrest case, and spread it before their pious readers and socialist subscribers, because it was necessary for the filling of their own pockets, at the same time that they were endeavoring to help on the cause of the world's progress in one way or another. The polluted and polluting evidence given on this trial, and published in the Times, Tribune, Sun and Express, as well as other highly respectable moral and religious journals of this city, brings the pennies into the pockets of the proprietors, as well as helps the cause of social progress in the New World; and therefore they are excused.

We trust, therefore, that these views will sink deeply into the minds of our country contemporaries, and that they will make a proper distinction between the Satanic press, called the Herald, in publishing these details, when compared with the virtuous intentions and private jobs of the other respectable journals. As to the final destination of all the parties and witnesses, we can say little as yet; but we think the whole coterie, from top to bottom, would make very capital Mormons, and we have no doubt Brigham Young, who sports his thirty wives, would consider them all qualified to join the church and to become valuable accessions to the great nation of Latter Day Saints, in the valley of the Great Salt Lake in Utah Territory.