The Sun. — London, England, 1841-11-01 00:00:00

MORNING SUN o ner ae a crime, to e have been an act of duty—to a na tion which stands ready to vindicate the faith plighted by all Governments to their subjects for their protec tion—to this nation it is closed ; and, I confess to you, that when I sat down to the trial of this cause, I did it with a sinking heart—knowing the clamour which has pervaded the country—knowing the anticipated triumph which has been been pealed through the land on the part of the prosecution. I did it with a sinking heart, lest there should be an adverse verdict ; but, I confess to you, that that hour has some time since passed, and those feelings have altogether subsided. It has already been said in your presence, by the Counsel on the part of the prosecution, and of the Court, that the simple question for you to try is the fact of the presence of the prisoner at Schlos ser, on the night of the burning of the Caroline, aiding and abetting in that enterprise. Teis is the only testimony that you are to regard— all other must be considered as only collateral to this main point—no further to be considered than so far as it tends to throw light upon this main and princi pal question. No :v, it is a principle of lag with which you are doubtless ail familiar, that in criminal cases—even in the slightest and most unimpor tant, when the punishment following co nviction would be a trifling confinement in the county gall, every doubt as to the guilt of the accused should be taken into the account for his benefit. It is not enough that there be a preponderance aglinst the prisoner. It must be full—it must be conclusive—it mutt ex clude all doubt—it must annihilate every doubt of guilt. Now let us look at the circumstances of this case ; let us see how near the prosecution has come to this clearness of proof. In the first place the prisoner is guarded by the principle of law, that every man is presumed to be innocent until he is proved to be guilty. In the next place, the testimony of those men who were engaged in the expediiion—testimony taken in the only way in which c•.•ldence from a foreign country can be obtained, by commission, this testimony goes to show that he was not present. Gentlemen, it is well known to you, indeed it has been stated in almost every sentence of the te.timony in the progress of this case, tnat it had its origin in a national quee:ion. Throughout both the Canada', discontent, deep-seated, had prevailed. Whether that is right or j wrong, it is not for us to determine. Reso rt was had to I arms, and with no success to the insurgents ; after the failure of the movement on Toronto, peace was restored throughout both provinces ; no hostile force continued there; fie insurgents—a few—fled to the United S ales; and after about a fortnight, again returned to Nevy I:la id. Tee object of this movement was to create hos tile war ; the dangers end the horrors of v,a7 cln be imagined by you ;tam 50:11e portion of the testimony which has been igi,el ; how furious and bloody war must el ,sae..s be you can imagine Irani the transaction at Sehlosser, and but faintly imagine ; for in the accu mulated etrecities of a whole campaign, to what part would this little transaction, horrid as it seems in the detail, have been equal ? One man was killed ; several wounded slightly, and one severely. But what would have been a whole campaign in Canada, amid the snows and frosts of a Canadian winter ; a brutal soldiery around, and a peasantry likely to become mere brutal still. Trio hundred and fifty thousand soldiers—giving the insurgents half of the province ; what could they do against the other hdr, and all Britain beside ? At th first relenting of spring, if indeed they had been able to laa:e resisted through the winter, it would all have vanished, as the tern:wst vanishes, leaving the sky clear, but desolation all around. Now, gentlemen, evidently to kindle such a w a r—so mail in its oris.rin— so hopeless in its result, Navy Island was seized by American citizens, headed by one American chief. A strange spectacle this for a land of law, bound by treaties itself had made! Why this effort to create a w ir, which all had alike an interest to share ? The answer, while it shows the interests which, have fomented in this case against the prisoner, will carry us another step in its progress. It was said by the Court, before you were emwarnielled that you had nothing to do with consequences. In one point of view, it is true, and in another erroneceue. if the prisoner be proved guilty by testimony which ex cludes doubt, which haves no chance of innocence, coming from witnesses who have had fair opportunity to see, and &ear and unclouded memories to rain the facts they depose ; and of unimpeached veracity ; if his guilt be proved by such testimony, then it is true that you have nothing to do wit h the consequences of conviction ; it is your duty, whatever the con. sequence is, to find a verdict of " guilty ;" and though from it war should come—though our com merce should be swept from the ocean, and Our land invaded—your duty is a plain one. If you should suffer yourselves to falter you would commit a crime for which He, whose justice you are now administering, would at a future day call you to account. But there is another view, in which you cannot, without the same responsi bility, overlook the consequences. If war is to come from your vcrdiet, then it is your duty to leek end see whether the witnesses who came one after another, on the stand, did not come forward by the desire to pro duce this consequence ; it is your duty to lock abroad and see whether there are not influences existing through the land which may prompt witnesses to stand and tes tify to that which they do not only not know to he true, but do know to be false. These same men, by whom Navy Island was occupied, are still in our midst ; if war was then the object to be attained, is it not so still ? If Van Rensselaer was then a valuable acquisi tion to lead their forces, would not the Coneznander in-Chief of a main army be still more valuable ? The motive exists still stronger now than then. It is now reduced almost to a certainty fleet the conviction and execution of the prisoner would lead to a war ; and if witnesses who have ascended the stand have bad in tercaurse with those who have violated our netrtrality, then it becomes a serious question to you, whether the credit of these witnesses is not impeached—veliether they did not testify under the influence of a motive which causes thorn to swerve from the truth. I leave the cause-1 merely designed to run over the prominent features, and then leave the cause to my associate. I told you at the opening, that I bad no anxiety as to the result. There is no longer a doubt as to the issue of this trial ; deep anxiety and alarm have been felt ; there is now no danger of war, or that our foreign relations will be disturbed. I anticipate a reso lute acquittal, which shall satisfy not only the crowds assembled around, not only public justice, but your own consciences, in that hour to which the Attorney-Gene ral alluded in his opening, that shall be not only fur a pleasure through life, but gratification in the last hour of terrible account. Mr. Spencer spoke as follows :—May it please your Honours, Geatlemen of the Jury—lt is the first time in my life that I have ever risen, having in my charge an important trial or defence, when I felt that the remain ing duty of Counsel, after the evidence was disclosed, was entirely a work of supererogation ; and the consci ousness that it is so, really oppresses me. It seems to enervate the whole system that circumstances should thus attend me, and that I should be obliged to detsin a jury whose patience has been largely tried, by comment ing on evidence, when my judgment satisfies me that that evidence has already been carefully con sidered by the jury, and that their judgment is now ripe to be pronounced. But in all this I may be mistaken; it is very possible that my convictions of the evidence of M‘Leod arc stronger than are yours, or those of any other person who has not been so inti• mately acquainted with the whole interests of this case as I have been. It is because I have no right to remit any exertion which shall lead to the development of truth and the innocence of M‘Leod, and the securing of your verdict of acquittal, that I will even now at tempt to draw further on your patience, and submit such considerations as deserve to be reflected on by you • su ch as the priso ner h as a right to demand, and such as the State and our common country have reason to ex pect. As I took occasion,Gentlemen, to remark in the opening of the defence, this case is one, as the evidence has now discl osed i t to be, of greater importance bartbate a lmost any other ever brought before an American for trial. Cases involving the life of an individual have an all-sufficient interest to awaken the deepest emotions c r on b s e id yo e r n d th t a h t e e s of the human otherheart;but whe interests n fa we is a case inv olvin g and death of M‘Leod, no man with an American heart ,eating in his bosom c an fail to be alive to every we _ eideration that shall lead him to a right conclusion ; an d equa lly as jurors and as citizens Idn . voke your attention t o such considera tions as I shall address to you. Gentlemen of the Jury, 1 hope you will be spared all your lives from such excitement as has been manif es t e d here. You may hav e observed, in the progress of this trial, in the examination of witnesses, that there was a want of kindness and charity, and you may think there may have been a rigour and a rigidity to which, perhaps, witnesses should not be subjected who ap pear here in obedience to tie mandate of the late. I believe that the case of the prosecution is untrue ; and I am sorry to say that I firmly bslieve a large portion of it is not only untrue, which implies mistake and misapprehension, but I hope I shall not be suspected of a want of charity when I say that a large portion of it is evidently false, and I desire that word to be understood in its legiti mate acceptation. I believe it is sought to be up held by the rankest perjury that was ever brought into a Court cf Justice since the sun shone en Christendom. This case, Gentleeren, involves not only the life of a fellers-being, but the highest interests of two great ca tions, in the two hemispheres, which hold the first rank in all Christendom, speak one common language, one common people, one kith and kin ; and the object of this prosecution is to involve these two nations in a bloody war. Believing this—and I doubt the power of my learned adversaries, able as they are, to convince me that such is not the character of the prosecution, and that such are not t h e reasons an d t h e mot i ves for its being brought, I confess frankly, I felt little cbarity for those who sought to take the life of M`Leod. Such must be nay apology for the man ner in which I may have conducted this de fence. I took occasion, Gentlemen of the Jury, in opening this defence, to state to you that it would be twofold—the one founded entirely on the broad ground that the killing of Durfee was not murder in any one—that by the law of nations the exertion of the public force of a country—those acting in obedience to the command of a superior in the discharge of a duty which the circumstances of the case seem to devolve upon them—were not sub• ject to arraignment and trial for murder, though it was hostile in its nature and calculated to destroy the lire of a fellow-being. That defence, Gentlemen of the Jury, has, by the direction of the Learned Judge who presides over our deliberations, been excluded from our view. Of that judgment it becomes not me to complain ; I feel no desire to complain in the progress of this trial. What, then, Gentlemen of the Jury, remaias? Are we without defence? As far as our Supreme Court has decided, though the Canadian territory had been in vaded by an hostile army which had established a Provisional Government, and issued a proclamation in vitiog our subjects and citizens to come to their stan dard, and (though they were bound as American citi zens by their obligations to the law of that country and of our own, to respect the peace of a neutral nation) to rally and come to their aid and comfort —though our arsenals were rifled, and armies were collected, arid bat teries were established, and cannonading had cern unlaced on the Canada main land, yet it the subjects of Canada thought fit to exert their power to over throw this enemy, and should in the ex•2lcise of that power put their feet on American sod, they were tres passing, and if they dared to take the of an Ame rican citizen, they were murderers. Although, I say, the Suprema Court of the Stete of New York have thus decided, have they swept from our posses sion every defence which can be relied upon for the safe deliverance of M' Leod from the bonds which he now endures ? No, Gentlemen, there is yet another remain ing. I have no belief—l have no coafidenee in the doctrine which the Supreme Court has promulgated in thie case. I shall repeat it—l shall abide by it— and- I shad abide by the decision of his Honour here ; but, if needs be, I' have taken the precaution to pro vide, to review the decision of his Honour here, and to secure the right which will enable me to review the de cision of the Supreme Court elsewhere, so that in the event of M'Leod's conviction, if that decision should not be in accordance with the law of the land, it may be reversed, and that established which I believe to be the law of the land—namely, that where there was such a war carrying on, the British Government might properly exett its power to put down that war, and that those who acted in obedience to that Government, in the discharge of their duty as faithful subjects and citizens, are not murderers.. I desire it to he under stood here, in this Court-house, and before this au dience, as well as to this nation, that I protest against that doctrine being promulgated as the law of the land. It is not the doctrine of the law of nations, and I, for one, will never submit to it as long es it is necessary to contend against it, for the safety of M•Lc. , nd. Oa this trial I submit it—l wilt abide by it—l will submit, so far as this trial is concerned, eithout murmuring, and I only now refer to that doctrine of the Supreme Court of the State, to express my regret that that doctrine should he sent forth as the doctrine of the law of nations, in their movements as belligerents in affairs of war. The remaining ground of defence is that to which I secondly allued on opening our defence to you. It is one of common occurrence, and may as well arise in a case of murder as in any other. The true question for your determination is, where was the prisoner at fee bar on the night of the 29th cf December, 1837. If, as it has been proved on the part of the prosecution, he was at Chippewa, it does not follow from there that he went on board the boats—that he was one of those who, at dead hour of midnight, set fire is the steam-beat Caro line—that it was his hand which dealt the deadly blow which deprived Durkee of !ifs. You are to inquire when, in reality, was M'Leod at that time ? Had he the honour or the disgrace to be en gaged in that expedition ? It he had, then, under the law, as applied to this case, I confess it will be your duty to find a verdict of guilty. When I make this conles.ion, I must be understood as ref: rring, to the law as it. has been lard down and established by one of the higher tribunals of this State with reference to this case, but not as I believe it, the firm and unshaken prineiples of the law of nations. This case, gentlemen, presented some features of great peculiarity, to which allusion slaocld be made, and which you should fully understand and properly appreciate. It is that from the beginning, as I have before had occasion to mention, long before the trial commenced, nay, nearly a year ego, the main features of cur defence, with nearly every attending cir cumstance, were fully and perfectly known to the counsel for the prosecution ; not indeed to the Learned Gentle man who now has it in charge, but to the Counsel for the people. And further, gentlemen, long since—a month ago, or nearly a month ago, our defence as far as respects the evidence which we have produced frem witnesses in Canada—so far as respects our evi eene.) taken by commission, was fully and perfecly known. Although generally speaking such evidence should be known to ourselves only, in cases of a high criminal nature especially, yet have we been driven to exhibit to the world as well as to the Counsel far tl:e prosecution, long ago, almost every word of that evi dence, covering:every minute lneament of our defence as it has bean spread out before you. The deposi tions were in the bands of our learned adversaries days and days before their witnesses were pro duced upon the stand here to be sworn ; and every word of those depositions bad been read by their counsel. lam well convinced of this fact. This trial has not gone forward without having ears listening ; and I have reason to believe that there have been what may be called committee rooms, where those witnesses have had read to them from time to time the evidence which had been given in the case, and where they have had their minds prepared for the part which they themselves were about to take in the case. And you may be assured there was not one of those witnesses who had not a full knowledge of the depositions. Ido not say, that the counsel for the prosecution have instructed the witnesses in this way, but do you suppose that the Learned Attorney-General for the State of New York, that the District Attorney for the County of Niagara, that the District Attorney for the County of Oneida, and the Learned Counsel from Buffalo, who was himself one of the committee of vigi lance ; do you suppose that these arc the only persons engaged in upholding this prosecution? I desire that such a misconception should bo removed from your minds. These four gentlemen ate but the corporal's guard of the army which spreads itself from one end of the State to the other. There are generals, colo nels, subalterns, and privates, employed in this cru sade. The post-office department has been made subservient to their purposes ; secret communi cations hays been successfully kept up, and no effort has been left unexerted which was calculated to secure the conviction of M'Lead—and for what ? Net, certainly, that they desire the blood of an in nocent man should be shed on the scaffold, but that the two countries should be involved in war, and that these persons may, by that means, be enabled again to enter Canada, though not as the vanguard, yet as the rear-guard of an American army, for the purpose of wresting it from British dominion. So strong was the evidence before Judge Ballwin, showing that M'Leod had no participation in the affair, that he determined to release him on his recognizance for his appearance. Bat as it happens in that dis trict of the country, an appeal lies from a judicial officer to a popular assembly. But 1 thank God that here no midnight mob, assembled to the noise of martial music, has the power to exert an influ ence over our deliberations. You will have it in your power to open the prison doors, and set your cap tive free ; if in your deliberate judgments you deter mine that justice requires that you should do so, with out fear of popular tumult. 'When you have given your verdict, after due deliberation, you will not find it necessary to apologise for the judgment which you hare formed. No, gentlemen, Utica. Oneida, America itself, I hope, will be spared another exhibition so dis graceful to our law—so subversive of our liberties. I shall have occasion yet to show up the blackest per jury that was every brought to bear upon a trial. In dulge me, Gentlemen, is another remark, before I enter upon the tedious and thankless duty of examining the testimony of the witnesses one by one. It is, Gentle men, and it is not the first time that the thought has been suggested to you—it is that either one side or the other must be destitute of truth. That it is impossible for human ingenuity to reconcile the two sides of this case so as to furnish an apology for the witnesses on both sides. To that Being alone who gave us existence is attributable the power of Übiquity. It is impossible for a human being, tabernacled in clay, to be in two pieces at once and the sense instant of time. Alexander M'Leod was not in Stamford at all as it has been proved he was, if be had the slightest participa in the attack upon the Caroline and the murder of Durfee. e lilsLeod was not at Schlosser if he lt wfoalslowast, Stamford , t hfore a Gentlemens w e e e maintain f the he Jury, that painful as (must be the duty, you cannot escape its discharge ; you must find th a t e ith er t h e I one side or the other of the evidence which has been adduced before you is utterly false—a sheer fabrication, got up to answer the purposes of the present trial. Now, gentlemen, allow me to as what motive could there be for the witnesses on the part of the defence to come forward and fabricate falsehoods, while on the other hand you have seen motives strong as death, viz. their darling object to involve this country in a war with Great Britain. I charge it upon them unhesitatingly. All their witnesses are of this character and descrip tion—if there are any exceptions they do not occur to me at this moment. Members of those secret lodges, bound by frightful oath to act in concert for the accomplishment of that which they dare not disclose for fear of being subjected to pui3hment by the laws. They certainly can not com p lain of us if we judge of them by their fruits ; and what are those fruits? In the first place, the contribution of money, which is the sinew of war, to carry on their unholy purposes ; next, the con tribution of personal services, encountering danger and cold and hunger ; also, the contribution of food and raiment, munitions of War ; every species of material necessary to carry on war against our neighbours. All this has been done by those mere who compose these secret societies. Can you desire to have stronger evidence than the very secrecy of their proceedings, under the sanction of an unholy oath These men take the witness stand, and on their oaths declare that they dare not confess the nature of their society's oaths, for fear it should expose them to a cri minal prosecution ; and yet they expect to obtain cre dence from an intelligent Jury ! The witness Willson, who kept the ferry, not over the River Styx, but over the Niagara, and sailed not Charon's brat, but his own, could give free passage to the felon Lett, that he might burn and destroy the property of the peaceable inhabitants ; that he might murder the lamented Usher, that he might destroy the monument of Sir Isaac Brook ; tht he might set fire to the steam boats and destroy the lives of innocent persons. But alas ! that celebrated Captain-General has been lost to them, and they have bitterly fat the sting of their mortification. These are the witnesses— tbcFe are the constituent pirts of that gallant znd virtuous combination of heroes, who come forward to t. ke away the life cf an innocent man, thinking to claim belief from an intelligent Jury. I shall pass over at a glance, all that which has not an immediate and direct bearing upon the point at issue. They all show is desire to prevaricate and conceal the truth. Take for example the first witness, Wells. Did he freely and fi-ankly give you the honest truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? He stands utterly impeached and convicted of direct perjury. The Court asserx.bled at two o'ellck, after the recess for dinner, and the number of ladies present was cousi• word more before I leave this subject ; for another opportunity may not occur to vindicat^ the course of our State. It is false that the authorities of New York have been delinquent in this matter, in refer derably increased. Mr. Spencer resumed his argument, and his exami nation of the evidence for the prosecution, which he said he verily believed was a wicked combination of wicked man to promote a base and wicke3 purpose. He believed it was only necessary for those men to put forth their order and it would be obeyed, and it was his so lemn conviction that that dangerous combination along the frontiers of which be had spoken, could furnish des . perate men for any purpose, be it even to hang MiLeod. But if the British and American Governments would cnce to these transactions ; the authorities have done all they could. Governor Marcy issued his procla. mation, he went personally, and it will be observed that the information of the acts of the in6ur _ only see these things in their pr oper light, there would ba no ❑ecessity to go to war, for that combination consisted botof the scum of the earth. The arned Gentleman gents arrived at Albany about the 16th of Decem ber, and there was but scarcely a week before this catastrophe occurred. I stand boldly here and say that New York has done her duty, and her whele minutely examined the evidence for the prosecution, and the character of those who gave it ; and he expressed duty in this case'. Her Sheriffs, her District Attor neys, and her officers have done their whole duty, and the very time the excitement took place, and was quieted. but for the foul and fatal deed, all would have gone off pcacef*lly. There was - no neglect of duty in the State. So far from this, there is no proper and just cause of complaint either against the Goverment of the United States or of this State for neglect of duty, or attempts to pu.t down all interference on the part of our citizens. N9T, gentlemen, I will leave the Judge Gridley hare intimated that the Court would adjourn until to morrow morning. TUESDAY, OCT. 12, 1841. The Court re-assembled this morning at a quarter to eight o'clock, at which time many ladies were in attend ance, and the Court was completely filed in every part. As soon as the Jury had been called, and the Court had properly opened, the Attorney-General resented his ad dress to the Jury in which he was interrupted last night. The Learned Gentleman closed his remarks at half-past twelve o'clock, having spoken since eight. o'clock this morning, besides one hoar last night, making in the whole fivehours and a half. The Court then took a recess for dinner. At one o'clock the Court was again organized, and the Caurt room became tiled in every part ; the audience was much greater than at any other time during the trial; a great number of ladies forming a part of it. When the Jury had taken their scats, and silence and order were enforced in the Court, Judge Gridley proceeded to charge the Jury. He spoke as follows : Gentlemen of the Jury—l congratulate you on your at length arriving at the present stage of this long-pro tracted trial. After your patience having been drawn upon for six days in listening to the trial, and a day and a half in listening to the argument of Counsel, you have at last arrived at that period when you are called on to discharge the last and deeply solemn duty which devolves upon you. I congratulate you also. upon the auspicious circumstances under which you approach the perform ance of this duty. We know, it is true, that a deep and pervading interest is felt in this case throughout the entire land. We are also aware that a portion of the public press has, from the commencement of this controversy, teemed with inflammatory and passienate articles. We have likewise heard of popular commotions in various parts of the country, and in particuletr in the county where the indictment against the prisoner was found. Still, though these disturbing influences may prevail elsewhere, we can at least say that they have not entered this solemn temple of justice. If the waves of excited popular feeling have swept along in other quar ters, they have not reached the portals of this building, consecrated as it is to the faithful administration of that justice to which the people and the prisoner alike appeal. During the proceedings here, it may also be remarked, we have seen attentive auditors in the persons of loyal subjects of Great Britain, who not long since were in arms in defence of their soil ; and, on the other hand, we had the presence of more than one distinguished actor in the scenes of blood and suffering connected with the recent abortive attempt at revolution in the Canadian pro vinces. Yet although these individuals, as well as others, who have been present, must have been deeply interested auditors and spectators of what has occurred, not a sin gle murmur has been heard—not a single ebullition of ex cited feeling has escaped. All has been quietness and rood order, and a signal proof has bean given that here is a spot where justice can be purely administered, and that here, if no where else, the decision of an upright, intelligent, and honest jury, will be eel:Doe/ledge(' sove reign and supreme. It is under these auspicious circum stances that I invite your attention, Gentlemen, to the questions connected with this great and important case. Allow me to offer a simple additional passing remark, and it is this—in order to appreciate properly the ques tions on which you are to pronounce your judgment, it will be necessary that you should keep your minds en tirely unembarrassed by the consideration of other mat ters which have in realit7 nothing whatever to do with the merits of the case. The counsel on one side and the other, as it was their duty and right, have presented such arguments, anddiscussed such topics as they deemed likely to serve the interests of the parties whom they re present. But the tribunal which tries has also ditties to perform altogether different from those incumbent on the advocates entrusted with the interests of those who are placed_ at its bar. The case of this prisoner, Gen tlemen, I may simply say, is to be tried like that of any other person indicted for the same offence. The first question is, has any murder been committed ? And the second question is—is the prisoner at the bar guilty of that murder ? On the first question, Gentlemen, the Supreme Court of this State, as you have already learned during the progress of the trial, has decided. Their authority is binding on you and me. We are sitting here to dispense justice in the Circuit Court, and roust be go verned by the decision of that superior tribunal which has sent down this issue to be tried here. That is no longer an open question, but an adjudicated one, and with it you have no concern. The circumstances out of which the indictment originated are briefly these :—ln December, 1837, a body of Canadian refugees and Ame rican citizens occupied Katy Island, fortified themselves there, and opened a cannonade upon the Canadian main shore, where some 2,500 or 3,000 men were assembled to protect their territory. Aid was afforded to these occu pants of Navy Island by certain individuals in Buffalo ; and one William Wells, the owner of the steam-boat Caroline, for the purpose of promoting his own in terests, as he swears before you, had the steam-boat cut out from the ice when it lay in Buffalo creek, and on the morning of the 29th December, the fatal day, that boat made her first trip from Buffalo to Schlosser, touch ing at Navy Island ; and that after that, on the same day, she made two trips to Navy Island from Schlosser ; that it was instrumental in conveying armed men, arms, provisions, and one piece of ordnance to Navy Island. Further than this, it does not appear that the Caroline was instrumental in promoting the interests of the oc cupants of Navy Island. Now the Colonial Association in Canada saw fit to regard this boat as a portion of the armament of the insurgents, and resolved to destroy her. Sir Allem M'Nab, the Commander of the Provincial Forces at Chippewa, ordered volunteers to embark in boats, of which five reached the Caroline, and from them she was boarded, whilst her peaceful occupants were asleep in her berths, and With cutlasses, boarding pikes, and fire-arms, the attacking party chased the persons on board, wounding some, killing one, and whether others experienced the same fate we know not—and then hav ing set fire to the boat, the attacking party sent her over the " Falls." This is a brief history of the transaction, so far as it is necessary for you to consider it for the purpose of understanding and disposing of this case. The acts I have described are hell by the prisoner's counsel to have been excused in the individual performing them, for the reason, first, because those acts were authorised —and secondly, because done in self defence ; and again, because the whole transaction has already become the subject of recognition between the two Governments, so RS to deprive this Court of jurisdiction over the offence. These arguments have been laid before the Supreme Court, and that Court, after great research and de liberate consideration, pronounced that this act of the killing of Durfee, although performed in the prosecution of an enterprise like that I have already described, was murder ; and it follows then, Gentlemen, that all who were engaged in it are guilty of the same offence ' - and it is not ne cessary that the arm of 11 I'lecod should have struck the fatal blow to render him guilty. Enough that he was engaged with others in that enterprise. This question, then, is to be excluded from your consideration. It has, it is true, been dwelt on by Counsel on both sides, in their opening addresses, and during the progress of the trial. I refer to it, however, to inform you that it has been already adjudicated on and is set at rest. Then comes the question—the important question on which you are to pass—is Alexander M'Leod guilty of that murder ? The Counsel for the people have presented many witnesses before you, the tendency of whose tes timony has been to show that the prisoner is guilty ; and in order, Gentlemen, that you may understand and appreciate this testimony, I shall briefly place it in re,- view before you. I shall divide it into two classes—the first branch embracing the direct and circumstantial evi dence other than that arising from confessions connect ing the prisoner with this charge—the second class of evidence will consist entirely of confessions. The first ' witness, Gentlemen, who has testified before you, is Gil man Appleby. He is the only witness who was on board the boat at the time of the attack. lie was the captain of the boat—he slept in the gentlemen's cabin— he was awoke a little before midnight, as he thinks, by information that there were boats approaching; he arose, and, partially dressed, made his way up the stairs, till he found his farther progress arrested; he retreated, but again returned, and had opened the door about a foot, when it was violently pushed open by some one outside, who then made a plunge at him with a sword, which glanced along two of his vest buttons and struck against the metal button of his panta loons ; he was considerably excited, but in that mo mentary glance he saw the features of the man thus attacking him, and' his impression then was that the individual was Alexander INl‘Tacod ; but with all com mendable prudence and caution—for which I honour him —this witness says that amid "the agitation of the mo ment, and in that hasty glance, which passed in the twinkling of an eye, he cannot say that it was M'Leod ; he had once before seen the prisoner at Buffalo, and it struck him at the time that his appearance was similar to that of the individual who thrust at him, but it was only one hurried glance, and he immediately replied to the question of Counsel, when on the stand here, that he could not say that it was Alexander M'Leod. The next witness is Samuel Drown. He resided at Chippewa, and was engaged in tending bar for one Smith, who kept a tavern there, and he says that he went up on the evening of this transaction to what was called the " Cut," and up the Niagara river ; that he was at the entrance of this " Cut ;" that he was at the beacon light ; saw the boats passing into the " Cut," and then he thinks recognised M'Leod amongst the party embarking in the boats ; it was dark ; but the witness expressed the cer tainty of his belief that he then and there saw the pri eoner. He says he went from there t o Da v i s ' s Tavern, where a portion of these persons came, and there, by a • light which shone from within the bar-room, or by a light out on the " stoop," although he cannot remember any light hanging out there, he professes to have seen then again Alexander M'Leod. He then says that next his surprise that the law officer of the Government who conducted the prosecution had not abandoned the ease without asking a conviction on such testimony. The Attorney General at nine o'clock commenced his closing address, and spoke as follows : Gentlemen of the Jury Worn down with the labours of this case, I am called upon at this late hour to bear up, not against the intrinsic merits of the case, but against the powerful eloquence and the great personal influence of the counsel for the prisoner—to bear up this case under my own fatigue, and exhausted as you are by this trial, which has been of so great extent, against false issues and extraneous issues, which the ingenuity of counsel has too successfully succeeded in placing before you. During the progress of this case, and the summing up counsel for the prisoner have complained loudly of t r e manner in which the prosecution has been conducted as if there had been something harsh and improper on the part of those whose duty it was to conduct it before you. Wo Lave been accused of concealing from him the names of the witnesses. Gentlemen, I do not feel that that. charge is properly brought against us. For one, I can say, it is not properly brought against me. As to harshness in the case, I owe it to the position which I hold, to say, from the outset—from the first moment that the prisoner at the bar was or rested at Lewiston, to the present moment in which Ism addressing you, by the direction of the Executive of your Stale, as well as those in whose more immediate hands the prosecution was—every attention has been given to the prisoner, and there has not been loft the shadow of a shade of ground for the enemies of our Snot, here or elsewhere, to charge us with having tarnisl.ed the name of the State of New York in the adrninis• tration of justice to the prisoner at the bar. Gen tlemen of the Jury, I belicvs it not. Ido not believe it. So far as my knowledge extends I can say it is not so. If any such thieg has been done it has been dune without my knowledge. Something has been said here of the mob at Lockport as connecting itselt with the merits of this case. I would not base men tioned this, but that it has been trumintel forth that in this State we are so wild and regardless of law that we are ready to assassinate a judge on the bench. I stand not here to apologize for any ap pearance of violence at Lockport, but the circum stances were not as they have been exaggerated here this day, and as they have been represented in the public prints both here and in Europe. Gan tlmen, the prisoner was, by a Judge, let to bail without a precedent and the people, who were somewhat indignant at the outrage which bad been committed at their very thresholds, were son e what excited. They did not do viclence to any ace ; they insisted that those who had become bound should cancel their bond, and that was the whole. Now, Gentlemen, what progress have we made in this case ? May I say, Gentlemen, that we have proved that the Caroline was destroyed, and that Durfee was murdered ? I confess, when the Counsel for the prisoner attacked so violently the testimony of Mr. Wells—the first witness who was called to prove the de struction of the Caroline—l began to be alarmed lest we had not proved that the Caroline was destroyed, and that Darfee was murdered. Gen tlemen, I do not think perjury is quite so common as the counsel seem to suppose ; but, Gentlemen, it is a common thing to swear to a little more than the witnesses know. M'Nab, in his testimony, not that he intended deliberately to perjure himself, but he was willing to swear to more than he knew. Gentlemen, the life of a man may be taken in lawful self defence, or it may have been taken by some individual in the protection of his own life. Yes, Gentlemen, it might be taken by some one in the patriotic defence of his country. On that point I will go as far as the Counsel for the pri soner, and I would not restrict it to one individual alone. But does the testimony here make out a lawful taking away of life ? Gentlemen, it does not approach it, though an attempt was made to put forward testimony in the nature of a defence. The Learned Gentleman here read an extract from the diplomatic correspondence which has taken place between the Bribish Minister and our Secretary of State, in which oar Secretary lays down the position that the affair of the Caroline was unjustifiable even in a national point of view, unless there was strong necessity for instsent self defence, leaving no choice of means nor moment of deliberation, a necessity which the Government of the United States could not believe to have existed. The Learned Gentleman resumed :—Gentlemen, this has been extolled as an act entitled to be ranked among the glorious achievements of men. Yon well recollect the description of this boat ; it was a ferry boat. It was so small that a persint could step out of a row boat on to her deck. Was it then so ter rible an engine, as would warrant such extraordinary services? The persons on Navy Island might have been stared out ; but this fact, though it may have been a sagacious one, was one of barbarian cruelty—it was one which nothing but the rigour of war would justify. If our citizens were on Navy Island, they were no longer our citizens, and if they had been butchered or hung, there could be no appeal to our laws ; but when they come within our lines, God grant that we may be always able and willing to protect our citizens. I can add nothing to the able opinion of our Supreme Court, which I read to you in my opening. I can only say, that Great Britain herself has decided that ques tion, when she refused to our Government to deliver up Greeley, when he was taken at Madawaska for taking the census, on what may be alleged to be British ground. When ho was arrested for that act, and thrown into prison, and our Government complained of the impropriety of the act, what was the reply of the British Government ? " We can not interfere—our laws must be respected." That answer, so far as the law went, was conclusive. But so far as this was an act of war, that question had also been disposed of by Great Britain. When she *seized our citizens taken on her shores, she tried them in her civil Courts, and she condemned some to be executed and some to be banished. Yes, Gentlemen, our citi zens have been thus treated, and the wires and children and brothers of those men have kneeled to the Govern ment atWashingtom again and again, imploring that some thing may be done to procure their release from fo reign bondage ; but they have been told that we could not interfere. Shall not, then, the same laws which bind us from interfering with those who tres pass on their soil, be equally imperative anc, biading when the sides are turned, and their citizens trespass on our soil ? During this discussion, Gentlemen, your attention has been directed to some few instances, supposed to be analagous to this case. I will not detain you at this late hour, but I cannot allow an occasion of se much interest here and elsewhere, to pass without one word with reference to these instances which are cited. We are reminded of the case of Florida ;it was a protracted system of aggression and annoyance conti nued there for more than three years. No two cases are more dissimilar ; at last Gen. Jackson followed the fugi tive Indians out of their territory ; and what then was the result ? there was no case so extreme as that, yet by the very extremity of necessity, in protection of our own rights, as you remember, gentlemen, a committee of both Houses of Congress, to whom was referred the subject, reported against the conduct of General Jackson ; although the majorities, were his political friends, yet they reported that the act was illegal ; he, then the (hullo.. ' of the nation, covered by fre sh laurels, committed this deed, which that committee were com pelled to declare an unlawful act of aggression. Wby is that brought forward here ? Again you are referred to the case of the Leopard and the Chesapeake ; if 1 should se lect one case to maintain the decisions of our Court, it should be that ease ; a gross outrage was committed by that vessel on our crews ; the Government complained ; England disavowed the act and the individual was pun ished. One word more ; a lthough lam conscious lam trespassing on your patience, permit me to say one THE SUN, LONDON, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 1 1841. morning, Gentlemen, between daylight and sunrise, he heard some of the men in the tavern talking of M‘Leod's being wounded, and was over on the opposite " stoop;" the witness looked across, he said, and then thought he again recognised M'Lood ; he says he wont over to see whether INPLeod was wounded ; he eaw no one apparently wounded, and did not see M`Leod. He was then inquired of in relation to the degree of cer tainty with which he could say that the man whom he saw was Mifseod, and he said in reply that " he saw a man whom he called M`Leod." Another question was put to him, and he then said, " I mean that I am as sure it was M‘Leod, as that he now sits before me." This is, Gentlemen, his testimony. He submitted to a long cross examination, and how far it went to shake your confi dence in his statements, it is your province, Gentlemen, to decide. There is, however, one consideration which I will submit to you ; it is this, that when you are to judge of the credit to be attached to the testimony of a witness, it is right and proper that you should observe his manner on the stand—the degree of intelligence which he exhibits, the amount of power of observation, and accuracy of recollection—and having done so, you are to decide whether his answers satisfy you that he is honest, and iu the whole whether his statements are of such a character, when taken all in all, that you can rely upon them ; and if not sufficient to satisfy you al together, you must decide in how far you should allow what degree of confidence you must repose in his testi mony, and that you will bestow on it, and no more. It is argued by the prisoner's Counsel that the degree of darkness which prevailed there, and as testified to, was such as made it exceedingly rash for this witness to pro nounce so confidently that he was able'to recognise M‘Leod as well there as here to- clay. it is also argued that he stands before you impeached as to his character fur truth and veracity, and to sustain this impeachment, witnesses have been called and have appeared before you. One Mr. Bates has testified that he lives near Canandaigua, near the residence of this witness , and he says that he heard him speaking on this subject, I think at some former period when subpoenaed ; and among other things he said he knew nothing in reference to this matter that could do M‘Leod any harm or any good. The statement which he makes of what he said, is some what qualified. It is remarked on the other hand that witnesses who are subpoenaed, frequently make careless observations, and that this person being * poor man, might wish to avoid attendance on this trial. This is very true that persons often make careless remarks, and had Drown made such a statement in presence of any one who could have excused him from attending here, then the plea of Counsel could have been entitled to greater regard from you. If in truth, the facts which he has here stated, were remembered by him at that time, then they were all facts material, and he could not have said consistently with truth, that he knew no thing of sufficient importance to harm or benefit the prisoner. This, Gentlemen, is the extent of that in dividual's testimony. You ara to take it into your con sideration, and are to exercise your judgment in refer ence to the effect it may have in detracting from your confidence in the evidence of Drown. I may add, that in order to restore your confidence in Drown, Bates was questioned, and in reply stated that that individual's character for veracity had latterly improved ; that formerly he had been an intem perate man, but was now reformed. The next wit ness, Gentlemen, is Isaac P. Corson. He is a native of this State, a carpenter by trade—he had been at Chippewa in prosecution of his business—be testifies that he was at Macklin's store on the after noon of the 29th of December, 1837 ; and he there saw Monier, Usher, and the prisoner—that about nine o'cloCk,'he saw the prisoner passing out of Davis's— that he also saw him next morning at sunrise with others on the " stoop"—that he was at some little distance— that he could see only his head and shoulders—that lie was 'telling of his exploits—and saying that lie had killed a d—d Yankee—that he saw him again two or three days afterwards—that he then said he would like to be on another such expedition and burn Buffalo. This is an analysis of this witness's testimony, which is spread over several pages of my minutes. You will recollect, Gen tlemen, this witness's cross-examination, and will judge how fa; that weakened the force of the statements made by him on his direct examination. There is, however, one point which demands your particular attention. This witness was inquired of as to who else were present when he heard 111`Leod fiourishirg and boasting of having killed a Yankee—at first the witness could not recollect any one—at length he said he could name one Caswell— he was then asked whether he was present at this trial, and he said yes—he was then asked when it first oc curred to him that he saw Caswell there, that morning, and he confessed that it was that very moment—the cross-examination was protracted, and in the course of it came out that he had 'conversed with. Caswell as late as the morning of the day on which he testified on the stand before you—that they talked of the affair of the Caroline, and that Caswell informed him that he was there that morning. It may be that that was all true, and that it really did not occur to him that Caswell was there till the moment that the question was put to him. But you are to judge of that. The next witness is Charles Parkes, bar-keeper at Davis's tavern—he testifies. that the prisoner went to bed at Davis's tavern early in the day, and got up be tween eight and nine o'clock in the evening—that a gen tleman called for hira, and he went out—that half an hour .or three quarters of an hour afterwards he saw him be tween Davis's and the Chippewa Creek—that a good many people were on the road—that M`Leod went into one of the boats—that at about sunrise next morning he saw him at Davis's—that he again saw him a few days afterwards in the officers' mess-room, and there heard him say that he had killed a d—d Yankee, or something like that. At the close of his examination this witness was asked whether lie could say with consi derable:certainty say that he saw 11I'Leod at the "{: pit." and he said he could , he waif asked further, and said he had no doubt of it. He also states that it was pretty dark that night, and testifies also to other things, on ac count of which the counsel for the prisoner contends you should take his testimony with considerable grains of allowanCe ; he testifies as to his knowledge of MeLeod, and among other things says that he once went to see him in company with a brother-in-law, whom he accompanied as a witness in case his evidence would be necessary—that money was paid to M`Leod ; but that although he went as a witness, he cannot recollect the amount of the money paid on the occasion. It is also argued that this witness tells a very extraordinary story in relation to the manner in which he has been induced to appear here ; that he started from home to make certain purchases in Buffalo ; that he suspected some one who accosted him en the way with the design of arresting him to ensure his at tendance as a witness on this trial—that he returned home—again set out and was arrested in Buffalo before he had time to transact any business—that, further, he was ignorant of the laws of this State, and was so frightened by the alleged representations of Mr. Haw ley, that he (Mr. H.) had power to enforce his atten dance here, that lie consented to come. All this may or may not be the truth. This witness also testifies that he was' solicited to come here by persons religiously op posed to bearing arms. Now, Gentlemen, I have no opinion to express on these matters. You are the sole judges of this testimony, and with you I leave it. The next witness is Caswell—he whom Corson spoke of, and he testifies in substance that he also saw M`Leod that morning at Davis's tavern. Then comes Quimby— .he is the witness from Pennsylvania—he testifies that he resided some two miles from Chippewa—that he was there on the 29th with a load of hay, which he sold to the government—that he did not get paid for it at the time of the sale—that he remained till evening, and in the course of the evening 'saw the prisoner at Davis's tavern—that he remained there from nine till ten o'clock—that he then started for home—stopped at Pettis, about a mile off, all night—that he then turned back, and was again in Chippewa between day light and sunrise ; that he went back to get payment for his hay at the Commissary's Office • that he was going there when he saw M‘Leod ; that fle saw him on the " ridge," and that he there heard him boast of his ex ploits on the Caroline, and heard him declare that there was the blood of a Yankee on his sleeve. He is ques tioned then as to whether he expected to receive pay ment for his hay at that early hour, and whether there were any persons in the office, and he said there were not; that he wished to be there in good season, but did not, after all, get paid, and finally went home. But, Gentle men, it seems, according to the testimony of Mr. Lott, of Lottsville, Pa., that on one occasion this Quimby came with another person for the purpose of making an affida vit before Mr. Lott, who is a magistrate, and that that gentleman refused to take the affidavit, because Quimby was unworthy of credit; that he went to another magis trate, by whom the affidavit was taken and sent on. Lott says that he resides in Lottsville; that the repu tation of the witness, Quimby, while resident there, was very bad ; 'that he was not to be believed on oath; and that in informing the prisoner's counsel of his character, he (Mr. L.) had no private motives of ma lice or revenge to gratify. Now it is said, and it is true, that ordinarily a witness to invalidate • the testi mony of another, should be called fr om the neighbour hood. But you are the arbiters of this question, and in your hands I leave it. The evidence of Seth Hun man, for whatever it is worth, is also before you. when examined before, he said M`Leod was not seen by him that morning; he now swears he was. You will give this the credit y - ou deem it deserves. Justice F. T. Ste vens is then called and sworn. He testifies that he was present on the night in question, and that he saw three boats go out and return, and he distinctly and posi tively swears that he saw M`Leod disembark by the bea con light. That is a statement which is not contradicted by any other witness, and is, on the contrary, hostile to the statements of all the other witnesses on both sides. It cannot be true. He was dismissed from the stand without cross-examination. He has testified to what is a deliberate falsehood—a falsehood for which the palli ating plea of the probability of 'mistake cannot be of fered. Leonard Anson is the next witness. He swears that he saw M•Leod at the bar in Davis's tavern—that there were others there who took part in the expedition against the Caroline, each boasting as to who had com mitted the greatest crime—that there he saw M‘Leod draw out his pistol, and declare that he had killed a d—d Yankee, and that he pointed out the blood on the stock of the pistol. This, it is contended on the part of the prisoner, is an , improbable story— that he could not have seen the blood on the pistol ; and other considerations have been submitted to you in relation to the testimony of this individual which it is unnecessary for me to dwell upon now. You are the judges of their weight, and the atten tion which should be given them. These are, I believe, the only witnesses belonging to the first class of evi dence ; that is, these are the only witnesses, who testify of their own knowledge, as to facts unallied with confessions, which go to connect M`Leod with this enterprise. And the prisoner's counsel contend that some of these witnesses have been impeached, and that others have appeared in very doubtful circumstances — that the darkness of the night was a very good reason why no very great confidence should be placed in the statements of those testifying so positively that they a t t a il i e l lr*lt°r.ls :2 ) ; t 4 .............................„4.600.01.0..........-0.0.7---..... 6 , tie' recognised M‘Leod with such certainty ; mei ,that 4 (Mr. Spencer here requested the Gotta to cl' a c - 0 7 , ,,. 0_,, b0 . ; which they have thus proved is enough to throw some . Jura that the , deposit.on--o shade of suspicion on the whole. 'That is the view rated essentusa 1 P But, G 01.41 ' 3 op i' iy fly ; statement n eA pt 4l . : • o l f d ic . l C C a taken of it by the prisoner's Counsel. Whilst on the which his Honour du: fold-PWc?e (-e e e,,,,, , i n yClur u b el other hand, the-Counsel for the prosecution insist that if, even after all, though ale . Prisoner 1....7 it is a mass of testimony which you must believe, and Dion, have failed completely in proving an alibi, p 4 bete which, believing, you cannot doubt the fact of the pri- have raised sufficient doubt as to Isis 'guilt, he is t s aviao s n ever , _ soner's guilt. It is your province to criticize all this the full benefit of that doubt. _The law helnaio: T °lc. 1)3 writ and pass upon it. The other branch of the evidence between the living and the dead never consign s 11 % of is that contained in the confessions of the prisoner ; divic'exal to the tomb without an overw d : In this 1 0 and there is a principle of law—applicable to that de- evidence to prove the guilt of the etee,ils e • ~,, e h i e n l 1111 , 5 ,,_ scription of evidence to which the Counsel for the pri- you are now to consider the A e n ve d deu n c o e w, Gent t e l r n ; soner has directed your attention—that confessions are briefly reviewed before you. „ ta i ns to in themselves the most surprising kind of evidence, easily my task is performed. Your duty !en - en e eer be fabricated, and difficult to be disproved, liable to be mis- and it is one of the most solemn trusts that , C:' ,ce? i so nte ci taken, partially heard, partially remembered, and unless reposed in the citizen. You are to tabs tu to N'v et e t;'' acalls corroborated by other testimony, the rule adopted by the your deliberate consideration. You are you I \T -- ' aitss elementary writers, and sanctioned by the most distin- decide on every part and portion of it. ci ;wished jurists, is, that they are the most unsafe descrip- into exercise your best powers of jtl gment, le sg s ' cree de our ears — .rel dieg tion of testimony. Nevertheless they are competent of rumours which may have reached yo of ~__ , ,ai o.e to be weighed, judged of, and passed upon like all less of every consideration, except that `And l °4, si. y r ; the other evidence in the case. I therefore, Gentle- principle of justice and impartiality. men, call yo ur a ttention to the evidence of Henry Myers, shall have come to your decision, and red "Ile i vill and I would admonish you that one rule by which you the truth lies, then, with an iniepen,dence t .,, ,li' t. e ir are to test the declarations of witnesses is, that you are honour you, and with the /Ale integ.nt) mice yoi . „ e a that your ,c'ier. to see whether they are probable—like what men in try expects you to exhibit, you will pr.euo wit 'err like circumstances would do. He testifies that on one diet. And, then, I trust that all who have COne 1.02: occasion, whilst lie was passing Niagara Falls, he stopped the trial—the ability with which it has le n at a tavern and saw Al'Lleod with a number of others— and your patience in attending to it—will be t ' a ll ~,tP that M`Leod was accosted by name by another of the If the evidence will lead you to say that i your ~ uotil party—that he boasted that he had killed one d—d then, although your decision should wrap e dice P: Yankee, or rebel, and that he compelled the witness to in the flames of war, you will fearlessly p , '"'' of pion /„or " treat" the party. You will judge of the credibility of On the other hand, if he be innocent you will or , s. br et ~_ this witness's story • but there is one thing he said which him so, regardless of threats or murmurs, ,00. , ~ jec?: has not been noticed by any of the counsel, and which buke ; and may the God of truth enable_ e e ,rf, , AP' may aid you in passing judgment on his evidence—he according to those principles of truth . and (rill" said that he marked the features of M`Leod well, as he are the foundations of 'the eternal Union. „, fout, determined to use him in a similar manner if ever he got The Learned Judge concluded his charse,t, j J . him on this side of the frontier. The next witness is o'clock, having occupied two hours precisely. af i t r, r bet?! Calvin Willson. lleeis the keeper of a ferry at I - bungs- then retired in the charge of an oi.S.eer, Court, town in Canada, and he says that a few days after the absent about thirty minutes, returned, destruction of the Caroline he went over to Canada— agreed upon their verdict. ce ri' • called .00 went into a house where was a person of the name Mr. Root, the Clerk of the Court, harie , e‘q , _ h a ve' of Raincock, M'Leod, and others whom he named, their names, inquired, " Gentlemen of the Jiiris . who had been actors in that transaction, and that agreed upon your verdict ?" M`Leod said one of the d—d rebels got hot on the Mr. Thurber, the Foreman—We have. inii find fil es ? wharf. This witness has been cross-examined at length, Mr. Root—How say you ;do you gi ti ll' and confessed that though a poor man with a family he M‘Lood, the prisoner at the bar, guilty or not intaao I -st rti l ' had given 200 dollars to the " Patriot"' cause, and de- Mr. ThurberL-NOT GUILTY. B eetle dined answering whether or not he had harboured Mr. Root recorded the verdict, and then said, ( les es el the notorious Lett. To rebut his testimony, a re : men of t he Jur y , hearken to your verdict tlee, as o ti d f spectable inhabitant of the town of Niagara, named hath reco rded it ; you say he is not gull Y Hamilton, was produced, and testified that he well you say all. knew Raincock, and that that individual was The Jurors nodded assent. tliat i absent in England at the time specified by Willson. When the Jurors returned with their verd ict 0 5 and the. *0 ~a The next witness worthy of notice is Timothy Wheaton. were very few persons remaining in Court, x __.„, V': He was called by permission after the prosecution rested, no exhibition of feeling from any quarter, _. c c , s 7 l :, OR the Attorney General supposing that there had been a the prisoner's Counsel, who apparently felt ere . li;., reservation in favour of this witness. He deposes that the great reponsibility under which they , had . kl 11 Y A about a year before he had gone' from Whilby, Canada, and satisfaction with the result of their labour a - 5, 0 .. ii e. where ho lived, to Niagara—was near the ferry—saw M`Leod left the Court in company with bl e , p:e 0: 5 ; M`Leod coming up from the water side, and the witness and several Canadian gentlemen, his persou ,33 they 07, remarked to him that the sentinels had a hard time of and proceeded to Bagg's Hotel, but not again l 'i nu e :,„ it—that they then talked of the Navy Islanders—and keeping of the Sheriff. He took tea with the!' ee i re P, about their number—that M`Leod said they never would tlemen at the public table, and now created )"_ , ,, 0t tl, have the Caroline there again, and added that he was terest than when his life and the peace of two, v .g_ v e il the second or third man who boarded her ; that then tions were dependent on the judgment of Wet , e__ e sits some person, a stranger t o w it n es s , interrupted tile con- Jurors. It was understood that the Jury ~( , 0 7 , venation by taking M‘Leod off ; that he (the witness) prepared with their verdict on leaving the unt_ , turned from the ferry, recollecting he had not a pass, and their absence from the Court for thirty minutes ... " e , went back to the town. Gentlemen, you are carefully to occasioned by a single doubt of what their duty ' examine this evidence and decide according to your esa- them to do. scientious conviction of the truth as it really is. If you 0 0 COMMERCIAL NEWS. , her i .d believe this evidence, notwithstanding some objections NEW YORK MONEY MARKET, OCT, 14.--- - )" .. A to it, and notwithstanding some deductions which are an e very little done in Stocks at the Board to-dq; do , to be made ; if you believe that it does after all present to you an amount of evidence which is sufficient to call did . not materially vary. Delaware and lin ,i 5 tip the prisoner to answer, then you are to take into proved i ; Mohawk declined I- ; Indiana 33° , sev ere:e tc consideration the defence opened before you. And it is (dined 4 There were sales of 2,000 $4 85c - , -* a decline of i from the sales made tics as. undeniable that in looking at this mass of evidence At Boston sales of stocks were made yeestercnte there is much of it that appears questionable, and much , Jews . ~5, of it remains that is not powerfully attacked and that $4,000 Boston City 5 per cent. Stock , payable l° l t ,I does bear very hard on the question of the prisoner's $1,500 do. do. do. do, payable 1846, e:P•ei - a guilt. But passing from this you are then to look ,$5,000 Mass. State 5 per et. steck,papable in 160 7, r ip tiVi s at the prisoner's side, because it is the right of every The rates of sterling exchange have not 0 0 e4O O, man put on trial here to present his witnesses, have changed since the last packet day. them examined, and if he succeed in establishing the de bills is 10 per cent. and francs have improveci to 5 1 . l i e bh , fence, to have the full benefit of it. That defence, Gen- the amount transmitted by the Boston steamer, t o il l tlemen, is what is called an alibi. It is, in other words, ! for which close at 3 o'clock to morrow (FridaY)e. ca l 0. 1 that he had no part or lot—no sort of participation in this be large. There was some drawing of s pecie 0 ' 00, 0 enterprise. And this, after the disposal of the first Debtors, Banks to-day for remittance, and the e' ~ question already passed upon, is the wily other ground The price folr r c ,b 4 of defence that exists. And in my judgment, no degree shipped will not be far from 500,000 dollarsd, 0 11 ' Wellington has on board for London 208,000,,,e of suspicion should attach to it as an original defence, This is a mere trifle, however, and will in . 11 ' 0 . il because it is, as I have just said, the only defence that inconvenience the banks, which are overflow l i b ~, remains for the prisoner at the bar. If he were, in truth, specie, and must continue so to be, '''' b; ''',, upon the expedition, then is he guilty, and so you mnst specie of the whole Union is driven her e o s ,n pronounce him. But, Gentlemen, if he was at that time irredeemable currency of the South and West . re :i•w", - five, six, or seven miles distant—if he had no participa Lion in that enterprise, then the same great principles of ple of those sections continue to prefer the del r ) re , i d a paper of frudulently insolvent banks to the ca ses 0 0 justice require that you should pronounce him innocent. The evidence sustaining this defence consists of the de- he Constitution. The consequence is, that new o, positions of individuals avowedly participating. in the ing a superfluity of specie, it goes to Europe , r aec ee expedition ; and, secondly, of the oral testimony of is more in demand there than in those States u community reject it in favour of Bank rag 1. os s -,, several individuals showing, or tending to show. same time they complain of what they cell b i g , 0 that M`Leod was during the execution of this enter • exchange. Nearly 50.000 dollars arrived here Y e e; prise at a distant spot, in another town. First, then, from New Orleans, where the people tolerate 0 with regard to the evidence of the commissions. The lasters. e a, d prisoner's Counsel is right in telling you that evidence P The Bank of New York hss declared a dividend e a taken in this way is, and should be, less satisfactory than per cent. for the last six months , pay able Noy,. .14• Air that given personally before you. But so far as the de - RATE OF SALES AT THE STOCK EX•t-s .. positions themselves go to describe the individuals testi - $2,000 Water Stock, 1870.................................. fying, you may derive some information respecting the 3,000 Kentucky Bonds standing and character of these individuals. Some of 1,700 Indiana I). Bonds ..... . ............................ them are lawyers—some of them mariners— and some of 75 Shares Delaware and Hudson .. -. .... .. ... -..: them officers in her Majesty's service ; and by their 30 Ditto Mechanics' Banking Association • .. , description, they should all be men of character and re- 16 Ditto American Exchange Bank •••"••••'• sponsibility. it has been said that this commission was 50 Ditto United States' Bank ........... - ... a "roving commission ;" that witnesses were examined 100 Ditto Vicksburgh Bank .............. .. . !!f ., ,,fr. \hs_w_if, yr a tiy a l .. .......... ;ffif ..................... whose names hf.a bqou returnpa spu it Os bberality, and by consent, a stipulation made that more witnesses than those named might be examined. It was also hinted that some suspicion should attach to those depositions, from the manner in which they had been made up. [The learned Judge here described the man ner in which the commissions were executed, and showed that no suspicion could properly rest upon them. He then proceeded.] The Attorney-General has criticised the testimony of these deponents with great minuteness, and equally great ability. He has pointed out where the witnesses have contradicted each other, or the truth. For instance, some saying that resistance was made on board the boat, whereas it has been shown that there was no resistance. If the witnesses swore so, knowing that they were swearing falsely, that will of course detract from their credibility. But Wells himself testifies that he overheard the sounds of fighting, and that in the dark ness of the night and-in the confusion of the melee, they all taking a part, had mistaken each other for the occu pants of the boat, and that they fought together. If that were true, then it would not follow that in testifying as to resistance encountered on board the boat they were not false in the corrupt sense of the term. Passing from this, there is this other consideration which must strike you in the outset. If, when Alexander M'Leod sued out this commission, and directed the Commissioners to ex , amine persons who had been in each of the boats, and if in truth he had been present there himself, he must be, a bold man, indeed ; because he must have supposed that the Commissioners would either have taken only those who could not see in the dark, whether he was there or no, or that the men would have been so corrupt as to swear falsely, to extricate him from the punishment of his crime. But this is no further evidence than as it is a portion of the history of the transaction ; and with these views you are to take up the testimony, and ascer tain, after solemn inquiry, how much credit you should give these witnesses. It is undoubtedly true, Gentle men, that Sears cannot say, with any degree of certain ty, that M'Leod was not on board the expedition. It is equally true, that M'Nab cannot say so, although he su perintended the embarkation of the persons engaged in the enterprise. None but the All-seeing eye could pene trate the darkness that shuded those there associated. But then there are ono or two gentlemen from among the inmates of each particniar boat, who have been exa mined. Some of them knew: M'Leod well before that time ; others became acquainted with him afterwards ; some talked with and recognised all their associates and they all testified that., M'Leod was not amongst them on that night. NOW, Gentlemen, it is proper that you should apply the rule distinguishing be tween positive and negative testimony. It is true that where one man swears he did see another at any parti cular spot and period, it is more satisfactory than when he can only say that the other was not there. But you will take into consideration the reasons which would lead you to believe that the crews of each of the boats must have well known each other, and so pass a correct opinion as to their credibility when they say positively that M'Leod was not amongst them. With this re mark, I leave in your hands this portion of the prisoner's. defence. We come now to the proof of an alibi, which if sustained, can leave no doubt of the prisoner's inno cence, unless you can believe him gifted with übiquity. The first witness to prove this is William Press. He swears that he conveyed the prisoner and another person to Niagara on the day of the destruction of the Caroline; that he knows it to be that day from the fact of having made an entry of the transaction in his cash book under that date ; that he conveyed the prisoner in the evening as far as Stamford, on the way back to Chippewa ; that there prisoner alighted from the waggon, and went to the house of Captain John Morrison. William Stickney was called, and corroborated the evidence of Press, and both, I may add, corroborate the statement of Hamilton respecting Raincock's having left for Europe before the commencement of the troubles in Canada. The family of Capt. Morrison and himself swear positively to M‘Leod's being there on the night of Dec. 29 ; Capt. Morrison states that he is enabled to fix the day from the circum stance that his friend Colonel Cameron called at his gate early next morning, and informed him of the de struction of the Caroline, and gave him a fragment of the ruins which he had found in an eddy below the Falls — that he told this to M Leod, whom he found half dressed in the parlour where he had slept during the night— that M'Leod was electrified, and, calling for his horse, purposed to leave immediately, but finally remained for breakfast, after which he went on his way. Then comes the witness Gilkinson—that he met M'Leod on the day after the destruction of the Caroline, on the road from Stamford—that they rode up together to opposite Nary Island, from which they were fired on ; that one of the balls was picked up and handed to M'Leod, who carried it with him ; and Sears, you will recollect, states that on this day he saw M'Lcod and another person riding along that way, and that they were fired on from Navy Island. This testimony is also corroborated by that of Mr. M'Lean. This is the aggregate of the testimony, Gentlemen, on the part of the defence. The evidence of the Morrisons, and the decla rations of M'Leod on his examination, have been sub mitted to you, and criticised by the Attorney-General with great ability. If he has satisfied you that the Mor risons may have been mistaken as to dates, and in par ticular, in reference to this great epoch ; and that the other witnesses confronting them, may have also been mistaken, then your confidence in this portion of the testimony vanishes. But if you decide on just grounds, otherwise, then it should, I think, be deemed satisfac ' tory in establishing the innocence of the prisoner. 16 ITIN till'eirdirffaiTiVaa .. •• • ..... s6° ° 125 Ditto New Jersey Railroad .............. . 5,: j' .. 25 Ditto Canton Company . ................ s .;),'r..; 200 Ditto Harlem Railroad ... :: .................. , 50 Ditto Long Island .................... .....- jof, 20 Ditto Auburn and Rochdale . .............. -.......... 4o# ....• 2,000 Sovereigns .. . 0 SECOND BOARD. 890 Shares Long Island ...................... . ....... ..- 16 __ .......... .... ....... r,,. b° 350 Ditto Harlem 2 3 0 5 Ditto Ditto 11DleainahwaatrteananBaanituds:n......................... .... : ...... :• 1 50 Ditto Paterson .... ...... ... .................. UNIVERSITYINTELLIGENCI- 00, OXFORD, OCT. 29.—This day a Congregation er r, 4/, for granting degrees &c., when the following were coul o f I r Doctor in Civil Law — Rev. ' S. H. Russe ll Bish °l7 ' Al i gow, St. John's College. o f C°"sl Bachelors in Divinity—Rev. C. Balston, Fellow 0f C erP Christi College ; Rev. J. G. Overton, FelloW Christi College. (Creeitl Wasters of Arts—E. H. Woodall, Exeter Colle,qlclorsolo Compounder) ; Rev. Thos. Shadforth , Fellow o fte . 1 1 ' College ; Rev. T. Crossfield, of Queen's College ; ,V ai i. 6, Barnes, of Queen's College ; Hord, St. Dlary '-'• . '•,,.; Bachelors of Arts—E. Moore, Brasennose C o lleg'&„il ti, Bentley, Brasennose College; F. Barrows, Wad„,h an . i c vlet , A y... oi A. Peache, Wadham College ; F. Pretyman, xag witt c " loge ; Rev. SelNyn, Bishop of New Zealand, a" . . o t ' e 5O eundem. • lectO r , tli The Professor of Geometry wil l . commence b's his hou , e, on onday, Nov. 1, at two o'clock. ' The Clinical M Professor will begin a course of lectur e s' Radcliffe Infirmary, Nor. 2, at eleven o'clock. O t .... _ ptio• The _beautiful beautiful and much-admired 111 no ite 'O , Tring Park, Herts, built by Charles 11. for his fae;aplet,fisr Gwynne, is undergoing the most substantial a nd e resell'i,ttst pair, with a view to its being let for a term--tb P o o s sessor being a minor. King Charles's b ed and pieces of furniture are still remaining. --- $3 V A, , 0 .. SILVER TEA SERVICES.—A. 1 3 .,... s rn hill. rtbo and Sons, Manufacturing Silversmith , N.. 14, '-''' ic es ("Ili! don, opposite the Bank of England, submit the EC. 3 0 following SILVER TEA and COFFEE SEllY t the e., ,,,i l Cottage. Pattern is plain, standing on s hell Jee" T s he ' - i4 e coffee-pots with a flower ornament on the lids. vs Pattern is richly embossed with flowers and scrolls' of either is new and elegant : 0 5°. I 0 ' COTTAGE PATTERN. I xisa's TA oto £,S. t....:' 7 • Strong Silver Tea-p0t.....12 0 Strong Silser Tse l i s sel . b 1 ' Ditto Sugar Basin 616 Ditto 9, 11 t 5 2 1 ,015 1 Ditto Milk Ewer. 410 Ditto '-'„,,pot>4 Ditto Coffee-pot. 15 0 Ditto k dgi... - 40 I ' • ....—,—... . .; 0 4 ... ... -,.., ... Complete $ £35 6 C o mplete ... ° , ers .io' i .i l s , A variety of upwards of fifty Tea and Coffe*, ~v e rl 4 , :0 t . s be seen in the Show-rooms, where may be selecte“ pa.°'o,oll° of Silver requisite for the sideboard or plate .ches t. t i c les , ",Al' of prices, illustrated with sketches of the varioul I , l l„dans' o pts and forwarded postage free to any part of the k'"" °pi' d o v, ~ B. SAVORY and SONS, Ne. , Cornhill, Lon the Bank of England. Si ci -,:. •le nas )0 C. J. DENT begs to acquain t his rcreeiviol the Public that he has just bad the hon our of r subjoined letter from the Admiralty :-- 15 4/ .:el (CM.) terober, of " Admiralty, 29th SoP he u se c 0' " Sir—The annual trial of chronometers for t 'l s o r e f: 'm Majesty's Government Having now terminatedL it y to 01' mended by my Lords Commissioners of the 5d 831 ;; &5 9 "lb" you that their Lordships have directed me top e d igaio. lowing chronometers at the various prices nsecul respectively, viz. :--: • ets lient, No. 1,571 55 fill!'' ea s Dent, No. 1,606........ 40 g a T ies ,§ th i " Their Lordships having been ples.sed,,io al ' Dent, No. 5,621 (pocket ) 3O g` d ll- 'to 02 : r o s;i 1 er rover tio superior performance of 1,571, to assign to it a P increased price to that usually given. ra nt, be r , " I am, Sir, your m ost obedient 0,,,e Aro graP "F. BEAUFORT, Pt."'d.ri e a to " To Mr. Dent, Chronometer Maker, 82, oftStr7subjee lio, Out of 80 Chronometers, by various Maker s '„bsice se the late trial by order of their Lordships, the ; „, e `' ditioP' 000 above three, with two selected for the Niger ' sr he " 9 tb . others, enables Mr. Dent to affirm that he be liev iti es_, eri -fo o l; b i year supplied their Lordships with mere Cbronfei e' to the we of the Royal Navy than have been furois" ~ 0 0 , any other Maker. , - ' ,fate t bst ,o aei . eg It affords Mr. Dent additional pleasure to t h e lio'' - $0 to their Lordships' high recommendation he °lies tbe Niger , to having made a Gold Chronometer, presenteicl t° b,' pedition by his Royal Highness Prince Albeft• d l Ar t o e a to Dent's Lectures on Chronometers , Clocks, at t nr esess t be obtained at 82, Strand, price one s hilling, b = ig' customers gratuitously. 40 ag— w Present price of Two-day Chronometers, BIRTH. n- 59 " r• an' tQ a and the the 25th ult., at 16, Wyndharn-place,.,„; a the lady of John Balfour Atkinson, Esq., of Bon the lAtter still-born. DIE ----- D. , s e ver e 1 11 41 On Friday, the 29 th alt., after a few day's th e goy ti Mary, the beloved wife of Professor Sewell, of terinary College. ab ed ' 2 ' 'fr. On ihe 22d ult., at Herne-bill, Mrs. Holland, ag f hter °- On the 22d ult., Mariania Caroline, eldest daug- Or. Jennings, Spital.square. On the 22d ult., Margaret Kerr, wife of N. l ' irr'l.°4'. seller and stationer, Duke-street, Mnehester-squAtn, On the 23d ult., Mrs. E. Henznan, of Caraden-tow , A 01 - --- y 00 1 "" ilt L o nd on : Printed and Published by MURDO,. strieif No. 1 12 , Strand, at The Sun Office, No. in to '. the county of Middlesex, Menai, Novineber 1/ foilr Vi n J i ff Fel b 415 Ch, 10, Ovi A, o n Se f al.d 1 4, ; 011 ' ? 4 0! At old J 000 4 • t 1v1P• f rc i, gal iY dr - I • the roe acr e °' ,-c3t • L ij k)I , 9 ,1 5 . e ,;(? po t . • ; s 0 S 4 er .4 41 iC I ; 0; c i t e d e I n( 5 fit y igj t.i irSl3l' I ;1 ;1 1 , co lo 5 -ft • ' 01 e 0 ,fib 9q• s jlf 1 3 r tt, th a I . Fr( ° o pt oe aa 75. )P 4is s ne 1 1 lig PI e d r rei %.4 ror f ,ec)41506 • br: e iffi: of ti 01 O' h iy e d ( fo 4 r - 16 8 4 0 .- 1 5. 3 'o ..... .... 6: 0 1 53 0 ' g 0 56 0 s6e! s ~.__,_ t sp , . ti.ror ,