The daily exchange. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861, 1859-04-29
THE SICKLES CASE-HOW MANAGED AND


correspondent OF the New Ork Tribune writes:
Whatever may be alleged to the contrary, no i'm
partial man can go back to the beginning of this
tragedy, without being convinced that every effort
OF ingenuity, perversion and MISREPRESENTATION was
employed 10 opre Judge its merits and prepossess the
public In favor OF the prisoner. Nearly every account
OF the murder was an extenuaion of the chief actor
and condemnation of his victim. Hardly a voice
was raised for the dead. And from that hour to this
there has been persistent policy to exaggerate ey
cry incident, and to color every fact that would in
any way contribute toward the acquital of Sickles
And, so far the prosecution is concerned it must
be admitted to have broken down long before the
conclusion of the trial. Mr.. Carlisle's position
throughout, the representative of kev's friends
has been irksome and constrained. II Mr. OuId
et the necessity OF assistance was obvious at the
outset, he ought to have applied officially Such an
application was never made by him. One was pre-
sented to the President by Mr. Howard and other
connections OF Key, but was promptly refused
Hence, he did not appear on behalf of the Govern
ment at all, as seems to be supposed The prosecu-
tion in first refusing to admit the sO-called Coon
fessl0n' OF Mrs Sickles-who signed the paper Te-
resa Bagioli-and afterwards proposing to admit it.
committed a blunder which they have not repaired
That atrocious publication bore on every line of it
internal and conclusive evidence that it was written
under duress, and in to heterogeneous put
by Sickles No woman, however sunk or degraded
could, under such or indeed under anv crcumstan-
ces have conceived such revelation of infamy and
IN the first flush OF her detection coollv registered
deeds of shame that would have sbocke the com
mOnest street-waker. That paper has done more
to produce reaction against the prisoner than
every other event connected with this tragic affair."
And so it ought. The defence knew better than to
accept the proposition of admitting the confess
sion.
Another and a more recent incident of the trial
has excited much comment On Thursday last, a
private conference between the Judge and the op-
posing counsel, in regard to certain testimony was
witnessed in open Court. The Jury, even, were
not let into the secret though they had been enter
tanned with intammatory harrangues, at every
stage of the case, upon points of evidence bearing
against Key There is good reason for believing
that this conference related to testimony, which
was in Court ready,to prove that Sickles was at
Barnum's Hotel last winter several times, in com
pany with a woman registered as "Mrs. Sickles, ;"
when the real Mrs. Sckles was in W Washington Eve
ry shape of evidence has been admitted to show a
frenzied condition of Sickles' mind upon the pre-
text that it was unhinged by the discovery of his
wites infidelity. This far more pertinent than
much that was allowed, as showing his own fami-
arity with the very crime in question: and thus re-
butting the theory of the defence Yet it was
quietly considered in private. Why the prosecu-
tion failed to present the point and discuss it, as the
defence had done in regard to the testimony exclu-
dcd on their side has not been explained except in
the dramatic scene which occurred then or therea-
bouts, when Mr.. Oud and Mr.. Stanton reconciled
their differences.