Virginia Argus. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1796-1816, 1807-06-06

command them to speak. If there have
peen publications against col. Burr, innu-
merable communications have also appear
Ell in has favor and if the publications "a
galnst him have contained the severcst
structures, they have resulted from his own
character and conduct /; and he has no right
to complain
lie stands on the fairest ground which
ms conduct and character can reach. But
II IN truth frcjudiceS have been improper
~ excited against him, why does he wish
to close the only door ~ his own vindicati-
on by excluding the evidence His coun-
SCI cxcltim "send the evidence to the grand
Jury. Surely if col. Burr wishes 90 have
the evidence before the jury, he should be
much more anxious to have it before the
court. The jury will have one side of the
evidence only before them and that will
be completely against himself. Both how
ever VIII so before the court Why then
dses he shrink from the evidence /! If
an unjust prejudice assals him, the light
ct truth and evidence will disspate il
Why does he shrink?
Inc gentlemen on the other side, conti-
hued MIR. Hay, do not do US Justice. They
caarge as with persecution and oppression.
DIR, never contemplated or wished to
hurt Aaron Burr. i scorn it. look not
to him. look only to the duties, which
l am sclemnly bound to perform One re-
mark more, sir, and have done: Gentle
men on the other side insist upon the in
suihc'ency of our evidence. Because we
have withheld our indictments, from the
Grand Jury, they have hastily inferred,
'hat we feel our evidence to be too feeble
10 satisfy the jury. They are mistaken,
Sir. assure them, that they are mista
L L..
nave evidence enough, even throwing out
the dispositions themselves, to satisfy tbe
Grand Jury of the guilt of A. Burr. But,
II, pucri!e indeed wou.d it be for us under
the present state of things to submit our
case before the Grand Jury on the evidence
before us, when we are every moment ex
| pecting better.
Mr.. Edmund Randolph addressed the
court to the following effect:
Sir, II would have been impossible for
us, even had we received due notice of this
motion, to have availed ourselves of the
time that was al owed to US That would
have been impossible, because the enormi-
ty OF the proposition itself would have baf-
He'd all our consideration and all our re-
searches. Mark the course, sir, which
has been pursued towards nv un ortunate
client. First he was brought here under a
miltary escort. Then that little folie of
dispositions and affidavits was laid before
your honor: Then the charge of treason
ana then that little cock-boat which was
destined to attend this great ship on a TO-
reign expedition? You heard II all. sir.
and what did you say Yo- bound col Burr
to bail, simply on the charge of a misde-
meanor, to appear here at the open ng of
the court but not contented with this Sc
cnrity, Won superadded, that he was not to
leave the Court until it had discharged him.
You opened the door too for an ulterior
prosecuti on; you declared, that if the at
torhey for the u. ). should obtain anv adj
dltlonal evidence, the Judgment which
you then rendered, would not prevent his
ind citing Col. Burr on the charge of trea-
son.
Sir, thus stands the case, as it was IN.
derstood by the whole universe. On Fri
day we came here to meet the world Fri
day however passes away and nothing is
done.-On Saturday, we came here again:
Saturday also passes away and nothing is
done. But ON Sunday. sir (for it seems
tnat day which to the generality of man
KIND is day OF rest, is day of activity to
some)-is preached this new-faneled ioc.
trjne, which now eXcites our astonish
ment. They demand precedents, sir. for
our conduct; and who are they that re-
quire IT! Why, sir; they that take things
out OF the ordinary course of the law. For
thirty years, | never saw such a proreeh-
ing: ! have never read of such one in the
English books; and yet these gentlemen
call upon as for presidents
live were asked for our reasons, sir we
should have enough to offer And first. n
Judge III the Federal Court, sitting in the
capacity which your honor now fn1fls. is
in the same relation to the accused as an
examining Judge is in the state COURTS
Tut, sir, who ever invited a single magis-
trate or state court to augment the bail
OF any individual in the situation of Col.
Burr! If man was bound in distant
county TO answer to a misdemeanor, and
another crime was to be brought against
him to be predicated on the very same G.
violence, have you, sir, ever known the
trying court to increase his bail There
never was such an example, sir.
Mr.. Botts's remark, Sir, is not to be an
sWered. You are changing the constitute
onal organ of justice. You are completely
blotting out the functions of a Grand Jury
The witnesses will be all produced before
you; but no, improper as this preceding
! viii be, 1t is still less so than chat which
they Will actually pursue None of the II
States witnesses will be brought before
| you, but those whom they may think 1T po-
| lite TO Introduce; and depend upon it,
that such testimony will be garbled for the
n Tf