Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1857-08-14
LOCAL INTELLIGENCE.

the recess OF the jury yesterday, MI. hey COM
menced his closing argument In the case-ne saio
that the jury had heard the learned, ingenious,
and extended arguments Of the defence, and they
had heard the evidence; and he would ask them
whether any thing had been produced to show
that the defendants were not guilty Of riot as
charged in the indictment? had there been angnt
else in their arguments than mere remuneration.
had any facts been given by them 20 change sns
but he had been pleased to note PercePtlole
backing down in their arguments from the posi-.
tion which they had assumed In the beginning OF
the trial Their opening arguments charged the
witnesses for the prosecution with false swearing
and corrupt keeping back Of the truth, but they
have gradually receded from thar position ana
reformed the retrograde journey without putting
out an arm TO ward of the bruises which would
Inevitable result from the final bringing up They
now say that the witnesses were mistaken, ana
they do not impute corrupt motives to theni oy
no means; then how had they met the evidence!
The Plug Uglies were here from Baltimore Tor
the purpose cOnfessedly Of breaking up inc eIec-
ton; they had come here by the invitation OF some
Of the most worthless and Infamous people OF our
city: thew were ali armed with deadly weapons;
their name dreadfully significant Of their
character and intentions.
The Mayor being informed Of their advent
here and Of the dreadful result thereof, proceed
ed to the scene of their disgraceful and bloody
acts He saw, at glance, the effect of what they
had done-the polls closed; persons driven from
the precinct and put in fear of their lives the civil
force beaten of the ground and put to flight He
had but one resort left: he applied for and OBJ
tanned the military-and for what purpose! Not
to shoot down the obnoxious Plug Uglies, but TO
protect our citizens and legal voters in the exer-
else of their constitutional rights, and to force
these infamous disturbers of the peace to retire
from the polls, where they had no rghtto be for
such a purpose Ii was argued most ably by the
counsel for the defence that the police force Of the
c4te should have been invoked at that point, to
put the rioters down.
What would have been the consequence Of their
bssnG called from the other precincts, Would
not that have left those precincts in a state favor
able to an attack from these rioters, most disas
trous at those points Was there not disturbance
tu-these other w ards, which rendered the pres
eace Of the police at those points absolutely ne
cessary! Did the learned counsel take the mayor
for goose as their speeches seemed to imply
Surprising he had relied upon his police force
and that of volunteer citizens. The result Of this
would inevitably have been a fatal and bloody
conflict between those parties who were so high
" excited, and the streets Of Washington city
would have run red with human gore He SUBJ
mitted that the mayor pursued the wisest course
that could have been adopted in the premises,
that he did all that he could possibly have done
under the circumstances.
1t was the most dreadful and reasonable dis
turbance Of the peace which had ever transpired
in this District to bring swivel heavily charged
and threaten to il against the cOnServatoTs Of
the peace. IL was too late to eXpostulate. Had
Capt. Tyler gone far to kill all these lawless
devils, he would have been held excused; those
lawless Tufians who were in the act of resisting
all civil authority. No one who had looked at the
evidence could fail to that the course of the
Tative necessity; and yet the Mayor had been ac-
cused yesterday by his truthful, talented amia-
bic, and ingenious neighbour daughter in the
Court, and grim smile stole over the features of
Mr.. Ellis, who seemed to recognise in the quota
ton an old acquaintance, and to comprehend that
the District Attorney was TecipTocating the con-
plimentary illusions to him made by Mr.. T.. on
the previous day,) of corruption and perjury in
his evidence. And this was not all; he had been
accused more than once by the counsel Of wilful
and deliberate murder.
he nSPl for he defence had sal hat he
District Attorney looked through this with
jaundiced eyes, and had advised him to use achro-
matte optics He would reply to that by saying
that it would require all of Herschels telescope
force to enable them to discover the truth. There
were divers cases and stages of limited vision
Seeing through jaundiced eyes was only one
frequently by the much worse cause of a beam in
the eye. He was Of the opinion that the derricks
of the United States Treasury would not equal in
size that of the beams in the eyes Of Messrs.
Bradley and Scott and az for Judge Ellis. he
had not less certainly than forty 'Pea-sticks'' in
each of his visual organs. Yet these gentle
men could observe with great clearness the jaun-
dice in the eyes Of the District Attorney.
Mr. Key went on to say that he had always OBJ
served that when the talented, truthful, amiable
and ingenious counsel got to that stage of the
case where they have beams in their own eyes
they attempt 10 throw saw dust into the eyes of
the jury. TO reduce them to the same condition
He would ask the jury to look dispassionately at
all the facts in evidence, and at the law as laid
down by the Court, and decide in accordance
with them as 10 the guilt or innocence OF the de-
PENDANTS. The counsel had endeavored to show
that the President and the Secretary Of the Navy
had been imposed upon by the'statements of the
Mayor, and that the marines were called out upon
the false pretence of a riot.
Mr.. Key dehed them, or any one, to point out
single line in the affidavit of Capt Goddard that
was not as true as truth itself. He went on to
argue that the Mayor was acting in strict COM
pliance with the oath which he had taken to see
the peace maintained. He also took up and refu-
ted the charges which had been made by the
- INT INt-lsa
Justice Dom, Of falsity in their evidence. He
went to show that the gun was taken 10 pre-
vent bloOdshed, and that Captain Tyler, through
the whole OF the AFFAIR, had been dctuated by a
desire to save life and prevent the rioters from
disturbing the peace although he was exercising
reluctant and necessary duty, by the orders Of
the Executive OF the country, vet he was held up
before the Court and TO the Jury as a murderer,
MIR. Key went on TO review the distinction
which had been drawn by the learned counsel for
the defence between a riot and an affray, showing
that this occurrence which was now being inves.
tigated by the Court was clearly a riot. He allu-
ded to the remarks Of the counsel with respect to
the early arrival of particular class of voters
the polls being unlawful. This notion he held to
be simply absurd. Was il to be believed that
those who came late to the polls had right to
drive the voters already there away from their
positions because they had got there before them
and taken their places. IL a curious idea of
the counsel that the voters who were on the
ground first were the aggressors, and .that their
early presence there was the Of the disturb
anee which there occurred He went on to adj
vert to the endeavo- Of the counsel Of the defence
TO establish idea in the Court that the presence
Of Justices Goddard and Dom the ground
tended to excite the crowd, showing how the
counsel had undertaken to distrust the facts that
had been given in evidence.
With regard TO the commissioners Of election
Mr. Key said that IL they would come back and
state to the jury that at the time they closed the
polls they were actuated by fear Of their lives
and would give any other reason for that act he
would be the last man to characterize the act as
unlawful or criminal But on the contrary the
commissioners had concerted together and deter
mined beforehand to close the polls They did
close the polls before the marines had passed
Shreves stable, and the only excuse they had pre-
tended to give for the act the presence Of The
marines who had not then arrived
With regard to the testimony in relation to the
hfing from and upon Alstonfs corner, Mr. Kew
went on TO say that the evidence Of Mr. Birkbead
was positive and uncontradicted to that matter
The defence had endeavOred TO disprove his evil
dence by host Of witnesses, who all testified
that they were standing on that corner and had
such thing occurred as the firing of a pistol OF
the throwing of stones at the marines they wouId
have seen IL. In answer TO all that he .dys,tad