New-York daily tribune., 1851-09-29
THE MICHIGAN RAILROAD CONSPIRACY
Gov. Stewards Argument.
ICeu,mled frOn our las. !


ing 10 make an effective instrument With iac ite
Tlsls of wood. paper. twlne, cotton. varn'sh cam
phcne and SncemakeTs wax accor1ing 70 the de-
ScrlptoUs and 10 the duQcaie models ~ pronounces
thai i Is Impossible Thus be cOrTooortteS and eS-
ta0ilshes the cemcnstraron we have made. But
alter arriving ~ his ut ne instructed - Use
other materials ~ pleasure. and ~ ali events 20 pro
duce al instrument IN the same urn shich would
re effective. After fortnlgE. of la1OuOuS expert
ments. tre Or produced n instrument which was
partially successful. Instead Of rGrnss FOR coating
the central tute, he employed zine. which. al Know
is soluble IN water anc YET nOr soluble n co n1ens
az N fiTps7.lnc. Having coated me central tlhe
with glue. he made II retain 'he clmphene FOR a
longer period than when coated with varnish Next.
ne Saturated cotton with solution of altp~-r- and
thus OF course, produced = low quality OF gun cot
ton. and used L IN making ne trans. lnprepared
cotton VII not convey fire through tube. Gun cot
Ton WILL and thus, by the use Of that material the
Doctor has made AZ instrument. IN l0r1l resembling
the machines exhi'Ited here. which VIII convey a
lame from the fuse loe through the instruments.
Our reply 10 ths evidence :. a. That. even II the
Doctors InsTumeU, was identical with the supposed
match Of the defendants SILL The experiment would
be failure, because the utmost length OF time 20
winch ne could proTact he burning Of the tram, IN
the instrument: was one hour and ten minutes
whaeaS Il IS required that the match should retain
tie IRE not less than seven hours and half This
Is skill -Ond the Doctors art. What has been done
once can be done again. What was done oy the
clowns Of Leonl can te done by the science of De-
iroii. But Dr. Desuoyer cannot DO T.. Counsel say,
be said that he thought hat his new match could be
here when he teSthc. but am instructed 70 deny
You viii decide. But whatever he may have said,
he result OF his experiment IS fl-f. Is evidence.
WHAT he specula;ed beyond that. IS not fact iSnoi
evidence.
a. HIS match Is not Identical with that of the de-
PENDANTS and differs from IN the use OF the mate.
Tals glne and gun cotton Saltpeier. II differs al
together from II IN principle because glue nsOubt
II camphene, while varniSh Is S9ii3is therein and
because Saltpeter IKE powder, OF which Il forms an
essential element i explosive, and conveys hre oy
yercHsson, while cot0n. whether saturated with cgp
piene or not, = not explosive and transmits hre only
by contact OF the particles. Saltpeter Is moreover
highly charged with 0rygen. the element of r)nbuS-
t0H. The lnprepared cotton, or cotton unSatura'ed
with camphene Is less highly charged with 0rYgfr,
l. was yarnish and not glue that vas demanded by
the description given. Il Is simple uprcDGref cotton
that Is demanded By the description IL Is varnlSh
and unprepaIed cotton alone, that actually found
IN TINS mGtct which Is claimed y have fret the Niles
D,pot. and III this one, which wsS to hare fired he
Hclr D6ir0f Dfyof.
t3) Again, the Doctors experiment not tried
with the same conditions The supposed match OF
the defendants burned when iylRg b0r -0HfGily the
Doctors match lay IN angular position, with the
funnel upwards. II defendant was alleged 70 have
admitted thai he killed another, with certain gun
which he exhibited, and If that admission should be
proved 10 be false, because the gun not loaded,
the case could not be restored BY producing whole
magazine OF guns and showing that they coElf be
loaded ard made destructive. The answer OF the
prosecution. them to this defense, Is an Gtrftougt,
a netr nireafoa. suhtorfuge l. IS a studied delIb
crate fraud. The prosecution endeayors to escape
10y saving. that The cotton IN The Niles match might
have been saturated with saltpeer but If SO, then It
would have differed from the description given, when
did not require Saltpcior Again. II the cotton IN that
match saturated with SdltpeeT, the Satpcter Is
IN Il Stl They give up that there Is no saltpeter an
H. as they must because it would bum now 1t con-
tanned saltpeier now But they say that the witness
Clark testified that It was lad IN the river al Niles.
after having fred tho Depot. Unfortunately how
ever 1t J. too plainly 10 Oe seem on examination, lSt
haf eraI IN Tho tran 4f Ill
Clafk'S te eslmeny about rs having been put into the
river Is expressed vague terms. and probably rests
on mere heaTSay 81, The paper tubes IN the Niles
match are solid and firm, whereas they would have
collapsed by reason Of the expansion Of the cotton
when put III the water 18th, The whole instrument
is composed Of such light materials that 1t would
have foated away. IKE 4 bottle o< cork, II 1t had
been thfONn INTO the river
Again II Is quite certain that the match prepared
for burning the neN depot at Detroit was never I'M
mersed IA the ryer. applied hame TO II, with pre-
clsey the same result IN attempting 90 burn, rs the
other Neither contains saltpeter-neitherwi wil burn
But still 1t VIII be insisted tnat saltpeter might have
been included IN the description. This cannot De,
because Phelps, who alone gives us description,
has been upon the stand and mas rot amended II.
The reason was, that, III Inventng the description,
he had made camphene the essential ingredient.
He took care to insist upon camphene a. an lngred-
ent 10 be used whenever de spoke OF the match thus
That ne lent Gay two dollars 10 Guy campheGe
with" implying that II YdS 10 be- used IN charging
this very match now here, which he was 10 use IN
burning the new depot at Detroit. With equal care
he makes Fitch say, when he delivered the Niles
match. You vii get camphene out there (at Nles)
because II viii be mconyement to carry" When
Phelps arrived at Niles. and proceeded TO set the de-
Dot on FIRE. he actually procured camphene at the
railroad Office, and charged the instrument with II,
by pouring nt0 the trans, not into tle centraltbe
The thought OF Sltpeter never occurred 20 him. nor
to any other person, until II was suggested BY Dr.
DeSnOyer. after the humoug had been exposed mere
IN Court Besides, how should Ann Fllley ana fltch
and a | A
chemistry that DR.. DeSnOyer has take a fortnight
to find out al his laboratory
Gentlemen, YOU are at liberty % trace out the
results OF this exposure. They are l. That the pre-
tended burning OF the depot At Niles Is q fraudulent
fact that the cOncealmem OF the fraudulent charac-
ter OF this fact until discovered here Also frau
duent that the preience that the Niles match was
immersed IN the Tlyer all night i lrdut that the
pretended employment II Gay 10 burn the new depot
al Detroit l. a fraud that The pretended confessions
Of the defendants. and even Of Gay, that he burned
the depot al DerOR are fraudulent that the pre-
tended admissions of the defendant Smith, that ne
was party 10 that crime fraudulent that the pre-
tended admission Ofthe ddefendantGunn that
he was gong burn the depot II Marshall Is raudu-
lent that the pretended conspiracy OF the defendants
10 burn these tepOfS - false and fraudulent liyou
are surprised, a. | am, that the prosecution, after
the exposure OF al. these frauds sui endeavors 10
convict these defendants By imposing upon your be-
neftkat the Detroit depot vas burned With match,
furnished blythe defendants differing from that whoh
the prosecution first proved can only say, that Il IS
new illustration Of an old maxim, that " ne thai
stands on sppery places makes nee OF no VIE hoe
10 stav him up TINS, gentlemen. concludes the
rst defence raised against this prose utIon. II there
were not mountains Of prejudice TO overcome, /
should leave me case here
But there Is second defense no less clearly es-
tablshed and LO les conclusive This defense Is
also an independent one and stands or falls BY
itself TIL hes prodacea herr Dy tts yr0Sscattsn
and a.ich Rars cGsd dgpicates, |rIlfuifnfty
f16ricGled ~ P6ePs ant LAKE. ths Peogfes ciassses
Before prove tins point. YOU VIII permit me 10
explain rs eject upon the case, II established. II
these matches were fraudulent.y fa0rcatet by the
witnesses for the prosecution tnen their testimony
showing that Gay ana the defendants admitted the
burning Of the depot By a similar match made Dy
them and gwen 70 hlm muss be false, because the
case STANDS upon those admissions IL Is essential
10 recall only niS part OF the testimony 20 VII
that Phelps, Lake, Van Arman and CLARK, say thai
on the eighth ninth Of April they saw tins Detroit
match IN the possession OF Gay, IN ms house IN tlis
CITY, and thai THUS and Phelps say they found this
same match now II my figni hand under the side