Piney Woods planter and Amite union literary reflector. [volume] (Liberty, Miss.) 1838-1838, 1838-06-02

&c advanced age OF civilization, such
law would be enlorced--a prerogatiy
81 which the crown of no other natiol
/ holds over their born subjects, and oy
= = er which every enlightened being il
the woodland particularly those re
4 siding in that enlightened Republic o
winch am citizen, will and ought Il
look upon with horror and detestatMe.
! protested on my trial, against tfiC
r jurisdiction of this court. That could
, not be guilty of treason, not being a
. subject Of Great Britain, but citizen
: of the United States; and if had com.
mitted an offence, it was against the
law of nations, and that could not be
tried in this Province, but in England,
or the country of which was a citi-
zen.
II was admitted, my lord, by the
Court, that ! was a citizen of the Uni
ted States, but not less subject, hay-
ing been born in Ireland; that being
born subject, no act of mine could
make me aught else. Thet great
Britain could, Notwithstanding my citi-
zenship, still hold me as a subject
Such doctrines certainly places the ma
turalized citizens Of the United States
in a singular predicament, obliged as
they are, to do military duty as well as
the native born, without distinction.
In event Of war. if they were ordered to
invade the British dominion, by refus-
ing they would be punished by the one
government for INSTRUMENTATION and
cowardice, or obeying, be punished by
the other as traitors.
A precedent was quoted by the at
torney General, in the case OF Eneas
Mcdonald, which somewhat resembled
mine. AS your lordship remarked, he
was found guilty also, but not executed,
and this happened ninety-three years
ago. Since that time, what change
hoe taken place among nations, as a.
mong men! More liberal and extended
views have been held, both by the Gov
errors and the goyerned-a new nation
has sprung up from English colonists,
with a population of upwards of seven
teen millions, one fourth of whom are
in the same situation as myself, having
been born under monarhcy, but who
have since become citizens of a free
and independent Republic, whose Con-
stitution was framed directly opposite
to the law laid down by this court
once a subject, always subjectP
When tried, my lord, rested my de-
fence on that ground. did not call
evidence toprove, as might have done,
that when pursuing my course from an
American port, in an American schoon-
er, and going to an American Island,
and in the regular channel and thoro'-
rtrc which all regular vessels take that
pass and repass from the ports of the
states of New York, Ohio, Michigan,
Illinois, and Wisconsin, was fired u
pom in repeated vollies of musketry, by
your militia, Indians, and Negroes, of
Maiden, and when drawn upon your
shores by the inclemency of the wealth
er, and my men killed and wounded
by the CALLING fire of three or four hun
dred concealed riAemen, / fired upon
them in selfdefence,-this ! would
have proved,-and if your Lordship
could remember, nearly all of which
was admitted by the very evidence
brought against me,-by my captors, as
they styled themselves,-they. even
admitted the greater part.
And now, my lord, after three months
severe imprisonment, the greater part
Of which time was passed in chains, |
have been tried for ''not having the
fear of God in my heart, nor weighing
the allegiance | owed her Majesty the
Queen" An allegiance which did
not consider myself to owe, and which
Is or 10 years before, | have solemnly
sworn, in open court, to renounce in
the manner prescribed by the Constitu-
ton of the United States. -
And what, my lord, was the verdict
of the jury? conditional one. Their
discriminating minds plainly perceived
that | could not be the citizen of one
country, and the subject of another;
that both were incompatible, and they
gave in theirvcrdict, which to me seems
a strange one-"IfI was subject, ! !
was guilty of treason" | am not a
subject, therefore | am not guilty of
treason.
am free from saying, my lord. or
Of wishing myself understood to say,
that | have not done wrong, and acted
contrary to the laws of my own coun-
try. But in extenuation Of my offence,