Marrying Cousins

From the Cincinnati TimeB. A report of the London Time made Mr. George Darwin say, in hig paper on cou8Ín marriages, that of 8,170 lunática and idiote in various asyluras in England and Wales, 4,308 are offsprings of oousins. Mr. Darwin corrocts thi8 fearful statement, which would make out that when cousins marry they have an even chance to bring forth idiots or lunática - a fact which would be sufflciently apparent to the cominon inind to frighten cousins from thoughts of coupling. He says that what he did write was that the parentage of 4,308 of these 8,170 was ascertained with more or less accuracy, and that about 3 1-2 per ent. of these wtra off-prings of first cousins; and that of 514 patients in ScotlanJ, 5 1-2 yer cent, were found to bc offsprings of first cousins. We suspect that the attempt to scare coueins from the thoughts of love by statistics of idiotie consequences has led to largo exaggerations. If we reflect on the tribal formation of human society, and upon the raarriages of kindred which that kept up, and upon the natural tendency of familie to keep toether in this way, we shall have to wonder that the marriages of blood reations have not turned all inindkind to iliots and lunatics. Surely they would f the causes now so fearfully shown by statistics had always been operativo. The Jews, especially, would have been extinguishtd ages ago like the Azteca. But figures, though they cannot lie, are most convenient to any purpose, and they who run greatly to statistical ahowings are liable to lose perception of truth. Inasmuch as society has in this inat;er made the progeny a cause for Ínter :'ering with instinct and inclination in inarriage, and has actually gone so far m tho State of Ohio as to forbid the mirriage of first cousins, would it not te rational to widen the scope of its supervisión a little and to exercise ordinary intelligence with regard to other marriages in which the physiologica] likeness of the parent, or the infirmities of one or both, give reasonable assurance of offspring of infirm minds or bodies? Marriages eme being contracted and consummatei continually, in the view of parents and society, which eyery intelligent person knows cannot bring forth healthy children. But parents throw the responsibilty of these on Providence, and when the miserable fruit is realized the preacher talka o His mvsterions wavs. The Detroit Tribune of Monday evening says : " About noon yesterday while a tug 'va. tow of two or three vessels was coming up the river, the body of a man was seen to come to the surface very near the place where the disaster occurred to Hon. K. C. Barker, and threo others sevoral days ago. The body wa secured and taken to Grosso Isle ani recognized as that of Mr. Frederick A Dudgeou, one of Mr. Barkei,' unfortu nate companions. It was taken to the family residence of Mr. Dudgeon on Grosse Isle.