Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1841-06-05

""SH diloWS cdCNt 10 Ue governed ny laws VI
its own forming.
| The Hon. Willis Hall, Attorney General
ofthis State made a most eloquent and pow
erful reply to this argument. cannot pre-
sent any sketch within my limits which will
do the slightest Justice to it: l shall merely
attempt to suggest some of the points upon
which he touched. lie contcnded IN the
first place the only modes of legally dismiss
sing an indictment, We're, ~ by motion to
quash for prima .facie informalty. (2,J By
a trial by the record when issues of law are
presented to the Court, by questions of fact
presented to the Jury, or by a nolle prose-
qui. lie contendcd that there was in this
case no pretence Of informaity and that on
this ground therefore the Court could not
dismiss the Indictment.
lilo went on to consider the effect of the
avowa of the act by Great Britain, and said
that it could have weight only in one of two
ways; either it must be used as ajustif eation
of the prisoner, TO establish his innocence,
or as IA protection against our laws. He con-
sidercd each Of them separately & contcnded
that we should do violence to justice by sur
rendering him on either ground. Moreover
the avowal Of Mr.. Fox did not specify the
act which they assured: the indictment char
ged Mcleod with murder: but Mr.. Fox
says that he was doing VIVA, was planned and
executed by the Canadian authorities. l,
could not be, he thought, that the murder o.
Durice was deliberately planned by the gov.
eminent the avowal and Indictment there.
fore might have reference 10 two very differ.
cnt matters.
He contcndcd against the doctrine that the
crime Of the individual could be merged il
that of the nation, and cited many au,hori
ties to show that the Court should not cnte
a nolic proscqui.
Honorable Joshua a. Spencer replied I,
this argument with great force and ability
He denied the fact assumed by the opposing
Counsel that Mcleod was guilty of the muir.
der of Duricc, IAN dotted numerous authorize.
in opposition to those brought forward b,
Mr.. Hall. But have no space for even al
outline of his argument. | send you here
with sketch of the whole prepared for one
of our morning papers, which will give 20,
a fair notion of the general scope Of the de
bate and the promincn, points debated b,
each side.
The decision of tho Court will probabl,
not be gwen until next term, sometime in Ju
ly next.
Mitchell, the Ex-Mcmber of Congress
was brought into this city on Monday ant
brought up for examination on Charge of for
gerry. Tie was committed TO trial and ha
secured as his Counsel, David Graham, ESQ
His private papers are said to display char
acter of utter depravity, and record Of tn
most disgusting debauchery and scoundrel
ism. Ills Counsel has demurred to the juris
diction of tho Court before which he is to b
tried, and there is no telling when his cas-
will DO lrougM on.
Ezra White has been sentenced to-day I
four years imprisonment in tho State Prisol
The Judge remarked that the Court only re
GREETED their inability to impose heavit
punishment. lie has been so clearly guilt
of murder, that not one man in hundre
: cntcrtains doubt on that point. The We
: dict Of the Jury was most remarkable.
y Within the past week, the IIarpers ha,
brought out an edition of Hallam's rcce
work, Literature of Europe during the fou
J teenth, fifteenth and sixteenth centuries
is very valuable publication, although n
cminently profound or philosophical. The
u is great deal Of learning and research di
{ played in it, and i, will without doubt find
way to the libraries Of general readers.
i A Second edition of Rauch's Psycholg
" has also been published.
1t VERMONT.
- From the Montpelier Walchman.