New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1857-07-02
NV NIELLIGENCE
TIE BCRDELL ESTATE. -,
-! ccoURT-JvLy l-Beere A. W. BRAD


ox,cIrnING ARGUMENTS OF CotNShL'
,Ao nr,ceedpes were detained yesterday morning
M the absence Of Mr.. Tilden, who had not cohciuueu
~; ,,eumert when the Court adjourned the previous
nvenioo. At IL o'clock Mr.. Iilden arrived Mr.
Dean ON behalf of the claimant, Mrs. Cunningham
asked leave to introduce paper IN Dr. bufuch
handwriting which bad been accidentally lett gu. Vi
the case. Mr. Tiden agreed to admit the paper IL 1t
was stipulated to admit also the papers IN the TWO
vats suits commenced by Mrs. Cunningham ioi
Islander aud breach of promise. Tn" was ag'eeu ",
and Mr. Tilden resumed his argument lie "nuueo
Srst TO the testimony of the Rev. MI. haVu, auu 'n
negligence that gentleman had manifested IN a.ena
ING TO his duties connected WIN IT, i,s ao -
giving his testimony was characterized ny n'PPaney,
9th an evident aim 10 self Justification. Next the
counsel took up the evidence OF Augusta Cunhihsuai
aud be compared it with other evidence gong 70
prove that il could not be relied upon, both from tue
contradictory evidence Of others, and the ma
teual contradictions contained III evidence naco
by herself There had been no surprise Ill
the introc uction OF this testimony; there Weo
thirteen GAYS allowed for producing testimony to con
tradict it, but none had been produced. III was omy
by landmarks upon the shores OF time tuat we were
able 10 fix The exact locality Of objects IN the stream
and upon this principle he was coh'ehl 10 y n.s
kimer testimony and the mass OF error and contrauc
ton introducedtO subvertit The Herkmer *itnesse'
were of the highest standing for honor and Pro6ty.
Eight witnesses swore Rosi,Lve stS or 9th of Ccto
her He went to his native village on pubic Occa-
sion and under circumstances calculated To aract e
attention Of all his numerous friends ana acquahtances
II was on the of al election; ana Two PoItcai coh
yeptions and the monthly ting OF hrs company
were held on the day of his ARRIVAL On the Mohu"y
following, there was lawsuit Other circumstances
were detailed, going to show tiat twas utterly iipos
tbe that the Sc witnesses could have been mistaken az
TO the date Of Dr. Burdells exceptional visit TO the
place Of his nativity. Mr.. Eli Taylors testimony was
fully corroboraed by the record OF the Delavan House
in Albany and could not be overhrown ME-. W.,
sons testimony was in Ike manner verihed by
the officers and records OF the steamboat Ne"
World If these witnesses did not Tx the date
of DIR. Burdels witt to Herkimer, there was
10 reliance to be placed upon human testimony.
Then what was the testimony introduced to over
throw the testimony of these unlmpeachabe VIII,
nesses? Latin came down in the lightning traln and
steamer New World, and did not see Harvey burdeii
Therefore it is argued that Harvey Burdell was not
on the train 1t turned out that he dld not recOlect
one Of his 500 feowpasseDgers, and II seems 70 De
apparent that he Is near-slghted. linen COMES Tue
evidence from the La Fargo House that he pald Tor
his board during those three days, but In tue very
next BILL paid November 20, he paid Tor fourteen
DAYS, when he had been there but twelve. Next
the brother of Eli Taylor, to guess that I'll was
in the city week later than he had TESTIFIED. he
cosld only say that it about three weeks after MS
daughters Death, and his wife was still less certain
as TO the time The famous patent SUIT 10 the United
States Circuit Court was brought INTO the case WIN
great flourish but all ended In bringing witnesses
to prove the service of subpoena upon Dr. burdei on
the 9th of October when il was clearly shown mat
il was served on the 2oth Inc circumstance vi u
postponement Of that cause were cOmnehteu On, tue
counsel coptendng that Judge Dean was mistaken s
to the date. The evidence OF tue two ffssers was
characterized as vague and lndlsuhct. MI. fraser
thought Burdel was town on there days because lie
did not remark his having left town. lie was Then
taken under the tuteage Of Mrs. Cunningham, wno
stirred up the dying embers OF his memory she
sought to iniuse the concentrated energy OF her
nature into the impressibity of his aud, although she
could not make him recollect supp sed conversation
in her parlor she old make him RENE mhsr 'I ~ H.
Fraser was sick on Sunday oii He thinks he talked VITA
4e p 30, st'ont the Artisans Bank affair ON these
daxs hut hi. s.ejoot was talked vi ooth Deoie ala
after these days. and the o.iy means TIa'e, na,
Of fixing the day the illness OF his wife, The young
mans testimony was still more vague and uncertain
Observe the conflict between Fraser aud otner WIZ
nesses He swears that Burdel was dining with nun
at the very hour when he as assisting J0hn Snith Ill
Iuttipg no the book bedstead John Smith swears
that Augusta and Helen were both present, but Au
usta swears she did not him till after SIX Fraser
thinks, too that Dr. Burden was WIN MN at =
o'clock the very hour when another o the witnesses
SAWS he saw them on the way To the wedding. Ihe
filing Of Young Ffasers tooth was shown 10 pe AZ te
same hour ON the 18th, when number OF tne VIII
nesses declare he was al the Artlzans Bank. Otner
contradictions were pointed out to show the unreliable
ity Of these shadowy recollections Inc evidence re-
spectpg the transactions at the Africans Bank was
also in bis view extremely unsatisfactory anu contra
dictoly The witness Geo. w. Douglass, was man
of very arbitrary recollection, almost entirely
independent of occurrences III hxng uales anu
lastly they had the universally ommpresent Dr.
Uhl, who seemed born 10 swear this case Out Of
all tight places sometimes by arbitrary recollection
and sometimes by advancing extraordinary scen'lhc
theories to reconcile conflicting testimony. He sup
posed he DIR. Burdell on Monday, October 18th
He now done with these eighteen Witnesses they
begin with near-sightcd man who did NOT see DR..
Burdell, and end with DIR. Uh who makes q SUPPOSE
tion They include Eckels Douglas Augustus
man Roberts, aud Mrs. Cunning hams man Uni. All
fold III amounted To nothing whatever, material,
was incapable Of certain demonstration, and whatever
was capable of demonstration shown ~ be utterly
grounoless immaterial. This self-contradictory
AID Interested evidence could not bs relied upon 10
cobtiauic' the CONSISTENT reliable testimony from
HeIkihief. ~ was true, and bore the marks of
truth, "hho TINS h~erabe collection of blunders and
vague ,v;oI, "Snght against it, would not
truth Of these Heikiner whuesse. mn, fsu all tno
earlier parts II Mis- Augusta Cunnnphams storv II
indeed II had not already fallen by her own co,r.
dctions aud with il must also fail ah her cI.;,n -
veracity. Those conversations with DIR. Burdel
which she relates, must have happened on Sunday
October % or they were sheer iabrcations. In re-
spect To the other portions Of her tale, she was
tiadcted also by eAnnsc testimony As TO the state
ments Of the marriage and the visit to Salenbachs
she cOhtradicted almost completely by the young
lady AS 10 the important part OF the cohabltatlon
after marriage, she was cODtradicted by every
servaht,grl III the family, who testified that they
never but once made bed in the little hall bedroom,
ia which Augusta at frt said they slept. Not one OF
them can be convinced that more than one person
slept in the Doctors bed and they all CERTAIN that
btrs Cunningham slept alone. Ga this point Angus
fas testimony was completely cJntradIcted as il
ana kckel. Mary Donahue's testimony as to the
Ae{ between the ROOMS aud the condition OF
LeAeis and Mrs. Cunning hams beds, he regarded
face the y., Ibpo or ant, and as bearing upon It's
uneo 70 some extent by the evidence of Dr. Parmly,
VINO oe p! Jaw man IN Mrs. Cunninghams room who