Springfield Weekly Republican

Devlin Loose Again.

The petition for the pardon of John Devlin, the notorious swindler of the government out of several hundred thousand dollars, the most conspicuous debaucher of revenue officials that the country has ever seen, was signed by such men as Amos Pillsbury, superintendent of the Albany penitentiary, Gov. Hoffman of New York, Gen. H. W. Slocum, Richard O'Gorman, R. B. Connolly, Peter B. Sweeney, W. E. Robinson, M. C., and many members of the New York Legislature: and the president, while he grants the pardon, expressly throws the responsibility upon these petitioners. If any of them have any good reason to give why Devlin should be pardoned more than any other rascal, we should like to hear it. In the absence of any such reason we feel disposed to suggest that it would be no more than justice to society to have the petitioners locked up to serve out the unexpired term of Devlin's sentence. Devlin was pardoned by President Lincoln in 1865, for defrauding the government at the Brooklyn navy yard, and immediately bent all his energies to corrupting the revenue service. To what pastures new he will now turn his attention remains to be seen; but we are pretty sure that any field of villainy which he may select he will brightly adorn. If he does not it will not be from want of native talent or from lack of experience.