The Columbian fountain., 1846-10-29


statute OF Henry, hearing of this, rodesome
fifty miles TO volunteer his services in de
fence I.s OF the oppressed I'd He entered the
court, being unknown to, all save the bench
and the clerk. He sat within the barun7
I'll the reading was finished, and the Kings
attorney had concluded some remarks in de-
fence of the prosecution, when. he arose
reached ont his band for the paper, and with
out more ceremony, proceeded as follows
/. May it please your worships, think
heard read by the prosecutor, as entered
this house, the paper that now hold in my
hand. Slf 1 have rightly understood the
Kings attorney oftlse colony, he has fra
medal idictment for the purpose Of ARA
igning, and Furnishing by Imprisonment,
three inoftensiye persons before, the bar OF
this court fora crime Of great magnitude
as distnrbers Of the peace. ] May tplease
the court, what did | hear read3 !, Did j
hear il distinctly, or was it mistake ofmy
owns Did I hear an expression, as ifa
crime, that these men, whom your worships
are about to try for misdemeanor, are char
ged with-whatSp and continuing in low,
solemn, heavy tone, "preaching the gospel
ofthe Son ofGod.o' Pausing, amidst the
most profound silence and breathless he
slowly waved the paper three times aronnd
his head, when lifting his hands and eyes to
heaven, he, with peculiar and expressive en-
ergy, exclaimed, "great Godn' z The ex
clamation--,he burst of feeling from the au-
dience were oyerpowering. Mr. Henry re-
sumed: d,o tng ggusr io slHI4nshl ad|
"May j please your worships in a day
like thiswhen truth is about 10 burst her
fetlers, when mankind is about to be arous-
ed TO claim natural and inalienable rights
when the yoke Of oppression, that has
reached the wilderness Of America, and the
unnatural union Of ecclesiastical and civil
power is about to be discovered at such a
period, hen liberty--liberty Of conscience
is about to awake from her slumbers, and
inquire into the reason Of such charges as
/ find exhibited here to-day, in this indict-
|rnentW Another fearful pause, when the
speaker alternately cast his sharp piercing
Ieyes on the court and prisoners and resum-
ed: "1f am not mistaken, according to the
contents Of this paper / now hold7in my
hand, these men, are accused of preaching
the gospel Of the Son Of God Great God IA
Another long pause, while he again waved
the indictment around his head-while a
deeper impression was made on the audi
tory. Resuming his speech, 9may it please
your wofships, there are periods in the his
tory of man, when corruption and depravi-
lty have so long debased the human charac-.
ter, that man sinks under the weight Of the
sEoppressors hand-becomes his servile, his
abject slave; he lcks the hand that smtes
him ;2he bows in passive obedience to the
mandates of the despot; and, in this state
Of servility, he receives his fetters,of perpe'
tual bondage. But, may it please your wor-
ships, such day has passed away! From
that period when our fathers left the land
of their nativity for the settlement in these.
American wiIds-for liberty, for civil and
religious liberty-for liberty of conscience
to worship their Creator according TO their
own conceptions Of Heavens revealed will
4 from the moment they placed their feet
upon the American continent, and in the
deeply imbeded forest sought an asylum
from persecution and tyrrany, from that
moment despotism was crushed, the fetters
of darkness were broken, and Heaven de-
creed that men should be free-free to wor-
ship God according to the dictates Of their
own consciences. t.. -. ,""
Were it not for this, in vain were all thier
sufferings and bloodshed to subjugate this
new world, if we, their offspring, must still
be oppressed and prosecuted. But may il
please your worships, permit me to inquire
once more, for what are these men to betried ?
This paper says, for preaching the gospel
of the Saviour to Adams fallen race!" And
in tones of thunder, he exclaimed: "WHAT.
LAWS HAVE ETHEYvIoLATEp ~ While the
third time, in low, dignifed manner, he lift.
ed his eyes to heaven, exclaimed-"Great
God ~ and again he waved the indictment
around his head. ,....aa ". Il
\ The court and audience were now
wrought up to the most intense pitch of
excitement. The face Of the prosecuting
attorney was pallid and ghastly, and he APP
peared unconscious that his whole frame
was agitated with alarm, while the judge in
tremulous voice, put an end to the scene,
now becoming excessively painful, by the
declaration, "sheriff, discharge those men,"
s' GENERAL WORTH. ...s .a
. ull ...:. e IL