The Portsmouth inquirer. [volume] (Portsmouth, O. [Ohio]) 1849-1855, 1850-04-08
1IBEBTY, EQUALITY, PRoGRHssEoMo

lOu6 VI prosecuting OHlCeI, lIdL ne lS 10
press prosecution beyond what any fair
minded seeker after the truth could do, he
utterly repudiated and disayowed; and if
such demand were made upon him, by
the obliga ions Of his office. he would not
hold the office for day. He was there to
represent the commonwealth, and to see
that, as far as in him lay, the justice of the
Commonwealth was vindicated, and the
rights of every person who was charged with
violating it are protected. He should en-
deavor, therefore, to perform that duty with
fairness toward the prisoner, and with all
good fidelity to the Commonwealth and the
community which the jury and he alike rep
resented there. He need not pause to i'm
press upon them, or himself, that the excite
ment which existed upon the subiectoftheir
investigations, and which It was natural
should arise out of such an event, In any
community in which life could be tolerable,
was one which could not reach them with,
in those wallis They were there in the
clear, calml :ght Of the temple of justice, to-
seek for and to proclaim the truth; and they
are to try this cause as they would any other
which they had solemnly sworn 10 try, ''by
the evidence give them"
In this view of the respective duties, he
should confne himself in the opening Of the
case, to plain, simple and concise state
ment of the evidence which he expected 10
lay before them. He should endeavor not
to preoccupy their minds, or forestall their
judgements, by any comments upon, or in
ferrences from, that evidence nor should
he indulge in any discussion of general top
les, however naturally they might seem to
be suggested by, or to grow out Of, the facts
that might be submitted to them in proof !;
but he should content himself with such an
outline of the facts as would facilitate the in
Evestigation ofthem, and indicate to them
the grounds upon which the grand-jury had
made theirpresentiment against the prisoner.
That presentment involved two PROPOSE
tons:
l. That George Parkman, the person
named in the indictment, was murdered
2. That he was murdered by John w.
Webster, the prisoner at the bar.
He proposed to give an outline Of the evil
dence applicable to these two propositions,
independent ofeach other, and then to ask
the consideration of the jury, under the di-
rection OF the honorable court, to- the form
in which they had been presented by the
lgrand jury, in the several counts of the in,
Idictment, and the law applicable to them.
Mr.. Clifford proceeded to state the oyi.
dehce, upon which the charge against the
prisoner had been based. DIR. George
Parkman, well known and highly re
spectacle citizen of Boston, was alive, il
good health, and sound of mind, and il
cheerful spirits, on Friday forenoon, tht
53d of November inst. Hc was Engaged
during the morning Of that day, in his or
binary business avocatlons, in various parts
of the city, and up toabont ten or flteeI
minutes oltwo o'clock, when he was lbs
seen alive, about entering the Medical Col
lege, in Grove street. He was remirka
bly, exact about being at home at the regu.
lar hours; and if he could net be at home
il was his habit to apprise his family tha
he should lie absent. and where he was K
be found. The last act known to have
been done by him, was TO purchase somt
lettuce to take home for his sick daughters
dinner. He was to take that himself, hnv
| ing purchased some groceries to be tuker
home boy the shop by. He then left the
shop, and proceeded toward the Medical
College. Be did not returnto TO the store
nor was he seen to leave the college, The
family became alarmed on Friday evening
and by Saturday morning their anxiety wa:
such, that search was commenced, and
advertisements published in the papers,
Rumors we're afloat that he had beer
seen at East Cambridge, and various parts
of the city. His friends, and the police
heard so many confident statements Of his
having been seen in different parts Of the
citv, that in one of tho advertisements he
was represented as having been seen in
the southerly part ofthe city, in and neal
Washington street, about FIVE O'Clock on
Friday afternoon. But all these rrmor'
proved to be entirely unfounded, After trac
ING all these statements to their source, I
was satisfactorily ascertained, that in every
instance, where prompt and thorough
investigation was had, the. parties were mis-
taken IN respect to the time when he wal
seen, or in the identity Of hisperson. Th'
failure Of high rewards--one set at $4,000
failed to procure any tidings Of him, an,
even the hope that he had wandered off
died away, I'LL at length conjecture ant
apprehension deepencd into certainty, tina