The Sun.
London, England, 1845-12-10 00:00:00

14i'iberntir

ONDON, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10 1843

The reversal by the Judges of the conviction for mur-
d r of the seven Brazilians, tried and sentenced to
death by Mr. Baron PLATT last autumn at Exeter, is
an evrnt which, for many reasons, should not pass Aith-
out public comment.
The chief facts of the case are briefly these. The
Felicidade, a Brazilian schooner, fitted out for the slave-
trade, but having no slaves on board, was captured in
February list by H. M. brig Wasp ; and the Felicidade,
having been taken possession of by the officers of the
Wasp, afterwards captured another Brazilian slaver, the
Echo. Some of the crew of the Echo were taken to the

Felicidade, and there left under the charge of Mr.
PALMER, midshipman of the Wasp. Tbey fell upon Mr.
PALMER and his men, and, after stabbing thee with
knives, threw them all overboard. The Felicidade was
afterward• cteptured by H. M. ship Star; and ten of the
Brgziliarrs concerned in the death of Mr. PALMER and
1116 men, being brought prisoners to England and landed

at Plymoullt, were tried at the last summer assizes al

Exeter for murder. Seven were found guilty, and sen-
tenced to death. The counsel for the prisoners
urged a variety of points, chiefly arising out of
the treaties with Brazil for the suppression
of the slave-trade, to show that the capture
of the Echo, and consequently the detention
of its crew, was illegal, and that the prisoners having
no other means of extricating themselves from illegal
custody than by killing Mr. PALMER and his men, were
not guilty of murder, but committed an act of justifiable
homicide. Mr, Baron PLATT overruled all the points
nista]. Mr. Sergeant MANNING, the prisoner's counsel,
then urged the Judge, in consideration of the great im-
p mtance of the case, and of the nicety and newness of
the points raised, to reserve these points for the opinion
of the fifteen Judges. It would be thought that the
Judge would have been glad of an excuse to relieve him-
self of the awful responsibility, and, if only one doubtful
point had presented itself, would have been eager, in such
a case, to have the opinions of all his brethren. Not so
Mr. Baron PLATT. Not one point only, but six or
seven points of nicety, were raised in this case by the
j risoner's counsel ; and the professional character of
Mr. Sergeant MANNING was a guarantee that the points
mere worthy of consideration. Mr. Baron PLarr saw
no necessity to reserve anything ; he had his doubts
at
first on some of the points, and had expressed them ; he
had admitted that the points were new ; that the Bra-
zilian treaty, on which- all depended, WSanew
to him ; but in a trice his mind was made
up—he had no doubt ; there should be no
delay: the jury found ::even of the ten prisoners guilty,
and Mr. Baron PLATT sentenced them to death; and
they would have been hung within ten days but for the
interposition of Sir JAMES GRAHAM, who did what
Mr. Baron PLATT had refused to do —brought the case
under the review of the fifteen Judges, who, lifter much
deliberation, and after calling for a second argument
from civilians, have reversed Mr. Baron PLATT'S
judgment.

If Mr. Baron PLATT has any feelings of sliame, •
do not envy him un ler their working at this moment.
To Sir JAMES GRATI CV credit is due for the moral
Courage Of en interference that must have been most
unpalatable to a Judge very recently made by his own
Government. But it these Brazilians had been hnaged,
illegally, es the Judges have derided, what irretrievably '