The River Falls journal. (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1857-1861, 1859-04-20
HE Sickles Trial.

it, yet it is hardly as great as was expected.
The testimony which we have seen, enc
tied no facts which had not previously
TRANSFERRED.
Tie opeiing speech by Dist, Attorney
OuLD was brief, clear and emphatic. We
copy the conclusion, in which the duties
of ajury are clearly explained.
You sit there, gentlemen, under the
law of the land. No prince or potentate
ever exercised a higher function than that
which you are called upon to perform.
tits as solemn as death; it is as moment
Gus as life. Your consciences have been
purged by the ordeal of the Court, and
you have solemnly sworn you are COM
petent to decide upon the guilt or inno-
cence Of the prisoner at the bar. Yon SIT
| there rs jtrors and, not as legislators.
| Whether tae law be wise or foolish;
whether it inf1icts too severe or too mild a
punishment, is no concern of yours. You
are there tofind the facts and not to amend
the law. You might as well ignore the
law which mpanns Is you, as to attempt
to alter or set aside tbs Law which defines
and establishes the crime of murder. Nor
have you anything to do with the pun
isnment which the law affixes to the crime.
The responsibility rests alone with the
lawn,aking r,and the propliety of its
exercise andsaamnistration is a question
addressed exclusively to the wise discre-
ton of tho Executive, who can sheath the
sword Of juslce or let it fall upon the gull
ty head. Y0ur duties and responsible
Gus enough without assuming others that
do not belong toyou. Y GU sit there to
1 try the issue between the prisoner at the
bar and the prosecution of the United
States which alleges that tie law has been
violated. The issue thus made up you
are sworn to try, and that issue is alone
the guil Of the party. The responsible
ties whieh attach to the consequences
of that fading rest elsewhere, Nay, more.
Those Consequences themselves, independ-
ent even Of their responsibilities, are in
the hands of the law, and in the keeping
of wise, merciful and just God. know
not, gentlemen of the Jury, what will be
the peculiar line of the defense in this
case. If did, it would hardly be pro-
per for me to alude to it at this time. If,
however, gentlemen, it be legal, and prov
ed to your sat sfaction. let the prisoner 90
free-free as the winds Of heaven. If,
however, on the other hand, it be not
legal-if it receive not the sanction of the
law, or. being legal, it be not proved, |
charge you, gentlemen of the Jur !, by the
duty you owe to yourselvs: your God and
your country, to smite the red hand of
violence everywhere by your verdict, and
proclaim to the four quarters of the now
listening world, there is yet virtue left to
a Jury, no matter how high the position,
or how lofty the pretensions, of the offend
er,
A correspondent of the N. Y. Tribune,
thus speaks of the principal counsel en-
| gagged in this case.
| Mr.. Ould is fine, square built, athlet-
ic man, of some 40 years of age, with
eyes small and gray, though without the
expression of keenness usually attributed
such optics. lie has broad forehead,
straight, black hair, and rather pleasant
expression Of countenance. Indeed, he
/ looks more like friend to be honorably
TRUSTED than like a lawyer to be depended
upon. His colleague, Mr.. Carlisle poss-
esses more of the qualities usually associa-
ted with he idea Of a legal practitioner.
Wlry and restlessly active, nothing seems
to escape bis attention, and the defense
seem to realize that they have more diff
Guilty to expect from him than the Gov
eminent prosecutor. His voice. like his
person, is thin and wiry; but his manner
and style are, nevertheless, pleasant.
On Mr.. Brady of New York rests most
of the labor of the def,nse. Studiously
polite to Judge, Jury Counsel and witness
cs, be seems to have more faith in suavity
than in clustering. Even where he thinks
the Judge is VIZ mo in small matters, he
prefers to submit gracefully rather than
consume time, and exaspelate feelings in
disputation. At the same time, where
material principles of law or evidence are
involved, none more determined than he.
| few more able to defend to the last ex-
tremity the interests of his client He is
decidedly the mest popular of the coun-
ell for the defense.
The counsel who next to him seems to
be most relied on for the defense is Mr..
Stanton. This gentleman is in constant
communication with the prisoner, and sits
or stands esde him most Of the time.
What Mr.. Brady lavishes in the smaviter
Mr.. Stanton makes up in the fortiter.
/ There is no ceremoniousness about him.
He comes up to the point 18th a sledge
/ hammer earnestness which stands out
in contrast to his colleagues extreme po-
likeness. He is man just little beyond
the middle age Of life, but w tn all the Wig
or of one of th rty. He talks with rapid
utterance and great vchemence, though
the reporters say he might improve his
argument by diminishing his word fuen-
cy.
The general opinion is that Mr.. Sickles
will be cleared.
| FRANKLIN's FIRsT APPEARANCE IN AN
| ENGLISH PRINTING OFFIcE.-Wh hen
quite youth, Franklin went to London,
entered y printing office, and enquired if
he could get employment as printer.
"Where are you from?" inquired the
foreman.
"America," asthe reply.
'sAh," said the foreman, "from Amer