Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1851-04-28
Supreme Judicial Court.
APR1L TrRm-BEroRr JUDeE FLErcHtI

|
r. BURRotGHs, defendant.
$ B. F. Thomas Esq and ]. Trumbull; Esq. counsel
Tor plaintiff; Bacon & Foster, and Hyde, for defend
ant.
JUDGE THOMAS ARGUMENT FOR THE PLAINTIFF.
AT the conclusion of Mr. Hydes address, Judge Thorn.
F as addressed the jury as follows;
i Nav it please your Honor, and Gentlemen Of the Ju-
ry-WhiIe listening to the remarks of the counsel for
the defendant, tried to realize that | in Chris.
tan temple and that the counsel were addressing the
disciples of Him, who, bending with forgving spirit
the taken the very of adultery said
unto her elf no condemn thee, neither will con-
demn thee. Go, and sin no more" If the plaintiff
guilty the defendant has alleged, and sgnally
failed prove, had hoped there would have been ex,
tended towards her, courtesy and kindness But if the
Jury in these remarks something Of the spirit in
which that woman has been pursued for years by the
defendant and his friends, it would be for the cause of
justice, and for her.
The learned counsel had been pleased to suggest that
the suit had been brought and carried for dollars and
cents that the plaintiff had brought her character into
the market for the purpose OF obtaining the highest Pc
cunary consideration she could receive This SUCCESS
ton does disturb me. The jury would be like
! ly to believe that woman who had enough of this
worlds goods for her own contenment, would throw
her whole past history into this ISSUE and subject her
self to this ordealof fire, except from the consciousness OF
her own purity and innocence, and from calm and fear
less trust that the light of truth would break through
and dispel the clouds which envelope her. If sup
posed, Gentlemen of the Jury, for moment, that she
had before this Court with higher motive than
that, would say to you, emphaticalIy, send her out
beggar from these walls. But you convinced as
am, that she is wronged and injured woman, seeking
only to maintain that which is above all money and all
price, then let justice be done upon her traducer Her
counsel have commenced this only after having
made the thorough investigation of the whole mat
ter, and with thorough conviction that God and the
truth helping him, he could pluck her as brand from
the burning.
The learned counsel has spoken of the words uttered
by the defendant, light and foolish story To her
they were far otherwise they touched the Other
moral being; her reputation for purity the great
primal necessity of her life; the violation of it is the on.
y sin that society never orgives
The learned counsel then proceeded to considera-
ton of the evidence of the witnesses of the words and
the malicious motives and purposes Of the defendant as
shown by his subsequent declarations, and suggested
that no who had heard the evidence in the case
would for moment believe that the charge had any
other foundation than the grossest perjury.
come now, said Mr.. Thomas, to the second consid-
eration which is, whether these words were uttered
two years previous to the 29th day Of March, 1885,
We show by the testimony of Washington Keyes and
by the return, that the service Of the writ the suit of
Fairbanks, Carpenter, made the 9Th day of
April, 184S. Mr.. Shepperd testifes positively to the
fact, that in the spring Of 1S48 he going from his
house to the village and met the defendants and that
his conversation with him, in the of which this
SANDER uttered began by aludng the suit brot
against DIR, Carpenter. He says that up to that time
he had heard of previous difficulties between Fair
banks and Carpenter. He does not remember having
any other conversation upon this subject with the de-
endan, and the fact must be obvious to your minds
that this conversation was had attu that suit was
brought. Besides this, have the testimony of Dr.
no reports of any dfcueas @ Ane9 Una. mere were
to the of that suit, and that The sefvce
of the writ was matter of general surprise. The de-
l fond0nf has Ian chA h.,
Captain Damon, that this conversation took place pre-.
vous to the first of March; but after ALL it amounts to
this, that he has mode of fixing the time. would
call your attention again to the testimony of Mr. Shep.
perd. He fixes the time when this conversation took
place, by the sabjeet with which the conversation was
introduced, by the writ against Dr. Carpenter of which
he had knowledge until after its service and YOU
will therefore the mpossbiity Of persons convers-
ing of difficulty before it had occurred, and before il
had been heard Of ALL If you have doubts with this
weight of testimony regards the time and are salts.
fed that these words spoken, after the 29th day
of March, then you bound your oaths, to give
your verdict for the plaintiffs in this case.
proceed to the next consideration The de-
endan claims that he ought not to suffer damages, be.
cause the words were true. 1t is my duty consider
that CHARGE and the means by which it is sustaned-
You must establish it by the rules Of evidence as
if she were under indictment Tor the offence. They
have attempted TO sustain by John g. Burroughs and
who is he doubt not, by the udicious advice Of his
upon that stand but appears here only through that
shameless deposition. Concerning the manner by which
it obtained, shall speak by and BY. Is the
story which he tells, naturais il even probable If
sos what revelation does it make Of his depravity If
in the blood of his youth he had committed this crime,
would he have revealed it after years had gone by
to her disgrace and injury Look at the charge A
young woman of Christian education, a member of the
church, respected and beloved by all who knew her
OF pure life and conversations shown by the esmo.
ny Of all the friends and companions of her OUTFITS
it possible, say, that under her OWE fathers roof
amidst the society Of the vrtuous and the good without
any nducecnt, without any previous acquaintance with
John 6. Burroughs that she should have thrown her
sell into his iou and brutal embrace You must change
the laws OF onr bengyou must change the whole char
acer and nature OF woman, before you canbeeve such
a story this.
/ And then to the testimony of that woman, Mrs
Ellis, that she went from the room of these sis
ters Have we not met and controlled her evidence
at every point? Do we not show, by host Of un-
lmpeachable witnesses, thatthere no bed in the
room referred to in the deposition of John G. Bur
roughs-that he never slept beneath that roof, or
polluted the sanctity Of that domestic altar, by his
brutal presence AS you saw that venerable father
upon the stand, and looked upon his bcngnant face
you could not have believed that he was the parent
of such monster We have shown by five unim-
peachable witnesses, that Mrs. Fairbanks could not
have been at that house upon single night in the
month OF September, which is additional testimony
that they could have. had no &C knowledg" Of each
4 other. And there was one simple narrative which
gives this testimony the strongest confirmation that
could possibly be given. Mrs. Harris testiies, that
one afternoon she went with Mrs. f. down to her
fathers, and that at that time, Mrs Chaplin remarked
to her daughter, "Abby, your father has got a new
horse" That simple, casual remark shows con-