Portland gazette and Maine advertiser. (Portland, Me.) 1805-1818, 1807-07-06
Trial of Col. Barr.

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The following is the speech Of MIR.
BORIS, Counselor for col. Burr)
on the subject, whether Mr. Willie,
Formerly Secretary to col. b. should
BE compelled to give evidence which
would imPlicatc himself:
II has been again strongly insiuated,
That Wiltie'7 claim n tho privilege of not
answering, Presupposes his guilt.
Has Willie no reason 20 seek exemption
from the examination, bus such as may grow
ont nf z cons ciousncss Of guilt
The attorney FOR tie u. I. sees every d.
jcct connected with col Burr, through a
iaundi ced medium with him, trifes
light Us air arc combinations strong as
proofs from holy wit"
How far hc might be disposed % involve
this yCtn1 man upon z confession Of copying
2 paper IN CIPHER, though ot harmless inn
port, am not prepared to say. But lot Wi
lie only commit himself " fiji, and then be
carried by his business t0 that poor, untUr-
tunatt, outlawed, enslaycd province Of Lou-
is'9na. and abundant cause viii ~ furnish
Cd fur throwing him INTO " SHIPS mold, VII ere
lac may be heard of no more or it mAv
have Che better fortune Of transportation TO
Washington for trial
the danger apnrcA ended grows out Of 70
visionary estimate " nave not arrived
al that point OF our enquiry, which viii
make the occasion OF accusing the indig-
nation ct or country apt We shall very
soon ..r, give YOU an awful Impression Of
the mi7cries oftnat Inflated territory, under
the total surrender Of the civil authority
w r. Itlrr guidance
-H driven prcmaturely to glance III
one outrage, which may serve as sample
" the wt-tchcd sta,c II which that section
of onr dependencies is "A citizen ofthc U
S ucw w.fhsn tho hearing OF nv voice, IN
& time q. pr1.cuul peace. was seized IN n
Cr.cu5 AMI, without being charged vi Y
sny odcnce, but merely On suspicion that he
could give evidence against Gel. Burr, i'm
this court, 70 which place he was willing %
COMO, he was committed On prison without
bail on nam prize e thrown into a sinking
room with the common tel0ns and negroes
c3nhrcd there, and only taken 3ut at last "
, bc-tT4lsportcd 70 Richmond in custody. He
I, was nat even permitted To 80 70 his lodgings
t0 get 4 shirt; but ike am1lctactor hc was
tocceatO yield, In the humblcncss of sub
mission, % The viii of bis masters. Our re-
evolutionary heroes were provoked u indie
( p1ndrnce ~ rar~, I3y lhc wrongs of trans
I porting American criminals for trial TO I'm
gland but at ills time, We are content
4 with such Q transportation, under circilm-
/ stances Of enOrmityt Of one guilty of NOTHING,
| BIT suspected capacity to ~ Y witness Y
\ Shall we not bc wary hcsy IVA furnish \
4 rretext against tins stranger now called to
impGc7tc himself, in what arc called ,hc
" trcasUns and miSdemcanors NJ Col. Burr.
when without this he has suffered. though
v W less de rlCc than the abused individual
| from Orleans.
But thas hccn remarked, that NV client
p and hs council p n taken much interest in
IN: privilege We a,I feel Interested i'll say
/. nE tlis in0tlor5vc foreigner from the ven.
/ geance Of illegal power. Col Burr, paiticu-
l idrlv ilcm tho circumstance Of having him
| in h'g service, il sDhcltous that he alone
! should teei tho pressure If unjust suspicion
| ard prosecution.
But how did this letter come here There
il an exceeding f0uincss traycd by that
! post mark III the mode Of its acquisition
| \lr. Hay said that there was ~ post mark 7
The 50" on the back, IL the ONLY post mark
Of many OF the country post Offices, How
came that mark there VIII the gentleman
say how the paper was acquired ifthe
Postotlice was robbed, the possession of the
| paper was gained feloniously. The consti
tuition has provided against the seizure "
papers and the act Of congress has fixed tho
offence Of stealing from the post Offices. Il
Is impossible that this most detestabIe vice
Of the most infamous of European courts
can have been patronized BY the govern
ment BY familiarity Of our rulers with