The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1856-01-27
Mr.. Brady This, may it please the Court, ends


summed up for the defence first by Mr. Busteed.
His address was very short. He said the question
had arisen in the evidence whether an ignorance of
the law was any excuse. He contended that the
motive had been from time immemorial to the pre-
sent time the great question to be passed upon by
jury in q trial for violating penal statute. If the
District Attorney should tail to show as ma tier of
fact, that the defendant knew he was engaged in a
felonious transaction when he made this agreement
then this indictment fell to the ground He should
leave the summing MN % up Of the case upon the law to
Mr.. Brady then addressed the jury. He said he
had Intro duced no testimony upon the character o
the defendant, for the District attorney had admitted
good character and for himself lie believed him
to be as pure and spotless in character as any
oficeholder anywhere now existing. He said this
without any prejudice in favor OF his Client because
fendant for very long time, and po itically it was
well known they were rs far apart as the poles
der and there was probability that the distance
between them would be ever lessened one hairs
breadth. Mr.. Brady then proceeded to read the
statutes under which Mr. Ebling was indicted. and
said that the Office OF Commissioner Of Streets and
Lamps was an office lately created, and did not
ist and was not contemplated in the statute under
which he is indicted when that statute was enacted
The indictment says thai Mr.. Ebing corruptly will
fully add teloniOusly accepted bribe to award .
contract and he not being able according to law, to
award a contract contend that according to both
law and evidence in this case, the indictment falls
to the ground. Being only an executive officer, Mr..
Ebling had no power to award contract. The law
lated fora consideration, and not otherwise. Sup
pose Mr.. Ebling had entered into contract to get
a man situation in the Custom House for 800,
could he have been indicted for it Certainly not.
Where duty is violated for consideration, then
there is case within the limits Of the
law. But outside of his official duties every
officer has right to act in his private ca
| pacity, and every officer does so act. We are
indicted under the law Of 1853, and not under the
city charter and to this law, therefore, shall
] fine our attention. Now as regard the evidence.
uNSu VOcH nat Ia frrh Il
share if Smith & Co., bid to perform the work for
sl4O00O, and if they were to receive all this them
selves? But Smith says the bids were to be marked
up by Ebing. This was only of the many lies he
| told upon the stand. For Mr.. Ebling must open
these bids in the presence Of Comptroller Flagg,
| and would not Mr. Ebling be cutting pretty figure
TO take his pen and mark up these figures MI. Flagg
looking on. Now, how in the world Mr.. Ebling was
going to make anything out OF this puzzles me, and
must regard it as one of those humbugs so trans
parent that mole can see through it -one Of the
this Smith, the partyiwho offered the reward? Now
in the eye Of the law, man who offers bribe to
public officer is an accomplice and may be tried, and
if convicted sent to the State prison for ten years;
and this may be done II he merely offers the bribe,
no matter whether the officer takes 1t or not,
il the officer takes it and acts just the contrary to
what he proposes to do. GIeenleaf says, In his
Treatise on Lvidence that the evidence OF an accom-
pce must be received with great deal of caution
by the jury, and the Court failing so to charge is
guilty Of a breach of duty. After lengthy review
of the evidence Mr. Brady ended, and the Conrt took
] recess for half an hour.
The jury having, at 81 o'clock, all resumed their
seats Mr. Hall summed up the case for tho prosecu-
| tion, as follows-
cases with my learned friend on the other side, but
never before have known our views Of the law to
differ widely MS upon the present trial The first
point upon which trust your Honor will charge, is
| that this is an offence at common law. (Mr. Hall
| then referred to several authoritics-B Blackstone
| Chitty and others-to sustain his pont) The next
] point raised by the other side is, that the de-
fendan must be excused because of his ignorance of
| the law. tAgain he referred to Broom's Legal
Maxims, Backstones Commentaries, and others, to
sustain his position that ignorance of the law was
no excuse.) have cited these authorities, may it
please your honor, to reconcile the difference be
tween my learned friend and myself. Now let us
review the facts of the case, and see if this
Indictment has been sustained, Now, it is Or.
gued upon the other side that their client
is not sagaci0us, and, as 1t were, is the fly
the blue bottle caught in this net spread by these
cunning Philadelphia gentlemen. man who can
go through political contest this man has done
who can come up an independent candidate, u third
and fourth rate candidate, and still be elected al
though he may be knave, he is no fool. We find
this man elected IN November, 1854, to this fespon
sible office, which has the control OF nearly half
million yearly, and up to the time of his election,
am willing to admit, was man who stood we'll be-
fore the community. This man was confectioncr
before he went into Office, and it has occurred to
that this man should not leave the sweets of private
life for the btters of public liie Well, this con-
fectioner was elected, and to him it was iikedraw-
ing prize in lottery. Immediately he waa,elect-
to think he was really somebody. and at once began
to think how he should turn his prize to the best
advantage and, brooding over this, he naturally
gave, way to temptation, having been an apt
scholar, and learned the mysteries and miseres if
you choose, Of the City Hall. The devil
popped in before him IN the person Of Mr..
Smith, of Philadelphia, and the official
while the man who had made $4,000 out OF one
contract and had not done anything wrong, and he
thought he had now fine chance of getting his
prize, and he went in for it. Now, to follow up this
matter, Mr.. Ebling must have known b e was yio-
ating the law when he entered into this contract.
We have him going to tbe Smithsonian House, he
going to the parties who were to treat with him, he
going to them against his interest his physical well
fare, az is asserted. Mahonet going to the noun.
tain, instead OF the mountain being brought to Ma
homet and there entering into contract which has
been kept out OF the way, and there binding
himself-f say binding himself, for that was the
word used-and do you tell me man of Mr.. Eb.
ng's position does not understand the English Ian
guage ?-binding himself to obtain contract for
Messrs. Smith. Sickles 4 Co to clean the streets.
No mention made of street sweeping machines,
and for all we know, other power to be used
to effect this work. Here have this man binding
himself personally and officially to obtain the
tract Tor this man. Ask yourself how fairly this
treating with the city, The charter made it obliga-
tory on this man to keep all bids sealed and secret,
and open them i'll the presence Of other officials, and
here we have this man in whom the city had reposed
the confidence OF doing this work, bargaining Oft
this contract to Smith in the Smithsonian House,
and afterwards advertising for bids for this work
after he had settled upon 1t aud barganed it away;
and any Of you gentlemen might have put in bid
for this work and you would have been duped by
this transaction Well after this work is commenced,
Mr.. Ebling finds that the thing won't work,
he backs out He finds that il leaks out among the
hundred Of his supernumeraries who were to be dis
placed from office, and he fears exposure, and he
feels inclined to retrace his steps, and throws cold
water upon these machines, and blocks their wheels
and stops their work. so to support this great
Land army Of street sweepers throughout the city to
minister to his political purposes. Now what did
this man do, if YOU please when he found out that
the law had been violated, if you please? Did
Not to the least extent Did he go to the magistrate
and complain of Smith Sickles Co. for attempt to
bribe him? No attempt at exposure was made.