, 1860-12-07
THE BCRCII DIVORCE CASE.
THE ARGUMENTS OF COUNSEL,
NE. DECKWiTIt FOR THE DEFEyCE.



From our Special Reportcs.1
SArEuy1L1r, Thursday TN.
WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON SESSION.
The Court Room was throngcd and crowded
viii spectators before the opening of tle
Court. VERY many ladies' from tho village 4ecta
present.
A1r. Beck*1th, following Mr.. Miller, th:n
addressed the Jury:
GExTLEMEs OF TUE JrnT--,The%e Il Id duly
in ones professional life aftording 20 much
t pleasure and Qualification as appearing in t!.c
deftnet bfthe innocent and there is no plcas-
urc 60 grca. Us Appearing rs now d., net
only in the defence Of an innocent woInar. but
and hcr 1nany friends. don't cay she hss moi
done wrong, srcvious wrous,.o her husband.
III saying that, ! say no more than sl,c
Las already said III her own statc-
ment OATH: Alter tecapttuhting thc
attentions received from Mr. Boyd without
tue know1edgc Of her husband, She says she
lns injured him, and that though not guilty Of
thc crime laid to lter ca'srGr she felt that she
had douc him grlcrous wrong, but had hoped
BY her pcnltcnce 10 bc forgiven and restored
to him through the Intervention Of ftferte. I
frankly say rhc has done wron. 10 her bus.
baud, and de e-sEtsd from the path Of duty;
that she l!as allowed her affections to become
has never allowed that cloud to fali upon hrr
actlous WHICH would fix that foul stain upon
Der character that they arc now seeking to
fasten uptn n her.
am cory thu counsel In Ills speech has net
seen proper 10 state fairly the circumstances
Of tllis case. 1c knew that the deposition
was on 1ilc which lc has had suppressed ~
testimony. the testimony of Mrs. Cory which
would hare shown that the complainant
asI:st the wishes OF her friends, clandestinc-
Etny, 1..I.- r.
motives. lie knows that the original letters
arc here OIL tic which show that in 81, he r.
ceivcd from 31r. Corning &C, 900, aud in 81
S25 COO, 'aod that his letters SAY that lie is
hcart-sick TINT he could not 1ny 1t hack. The
counsel knows that Mr.. J}avide.. Is here who
knows know 1oS how many .:iaes this nan has be- Il
elseHl from l"nury and ruin By that
rc.ussl favor. The counsel complains tLat
read the deposition Of Mr. TigLc. liz kuoxs
that TIC had charged in his bill adultery VIII,
this man, almost sixty years Of ngc, with his
the grave Dill he believe it when he made
ilat charge? If not, why did he put it in the
bill, and blakon the fact to the worldly I
thought, and correctly, that my client could
rcss satisfied, II this nIan with his brilliant fu-
| lure just before him, came hcfore this Court
md said; "Sevcr, IN word or deed have I
been 4ft!!ty Of this criu2c''
Again, the counsel finds fault that asked
tue witness, Layton. an fmpcrtinent question.
Why, knew the witness had said So +; knew,
too, he lied when he sail 81, as he has many
times to TO through his testimony tllousiI,
too, he would own hc had lied; III he has br'u
compelled to many times throughout his tcs-
tllnony. Again, the counsel complains that I
| said this suit had been commenced in secret,
| c'andestine manner, How WIS it commenced,
let me ask him. While this woman was, as
tho witness SAYS, scared, frightened, distract
| cd, crazy, summtn is served upon her. An
| answer is drawn. By whom: By powrr Of
attorney. sheis not allowed to see friend on
Garth, and Is scnt uronnd another way that ehe
| might not sec her only brother. Fur thou
| sand dollars given to him, she is male to give
| up her rights in 100000 worth Of property.
ask the COUNSEL who drew up that answer.
| ask him with whom, tliI that lady counsel.
The counsel eumllafns that said that Burcll
made this matter public. Who did make It
| public. Was it this unfortunate woman :.
Who called III his legal advisers and held st
cFct concfarc in Judge SINNERS odiccs Who
| wrote to Mr. Pruyn that before the letter
| reached him the whole Northwest would know
it Who, In the meantime, kcrt only bis L..
| ::al mininns and lackeys near her: Who made
the whole thing known 10 the city Of Chicago,
| aad her maine Il Kissing and by-vori on tic
! lips Of nil. before she reached her home?
/ The counsel says Mr.. Burch Offered to SUBJ
nit the proofs to Mr.. rruyn, and avoid a pull
cut OIL i saw they could never live together
| again. 1adviscd most earnestly separation
on suclt terms as would mt impcach lcf yir
| tue No, says he, hnv.. lnadc tue Charge. aud
| though It ruin my child and nc, 1t shall !:
| only In that way. 1 had hoped when the pas
sion Of the hour passed away, he would think
| with colnjMssion; but no such course would
he take. Mr.. Bnrch only proposed to submit
these papers to Mr. lru.n that lie ought net
harcn tlticucc made. His friend, Mr. JOY, i'll
| May last, was commissioned to lay the proofs
brforc Mr. Pruyn, but that he would not dis
close thrir cnntcn1s to her or her friends, or
take advice frouI her couns'l- Mr. Pruyn tlc-
cfincd 10 hcc them with such provisions. IL:
| refused to let Mr.. Corning see Them. her l,a-
tnr2! protector and guardian. Mr. Corning.
who lad cherished and brought her up for
years. fr&ln whose home sl:c was taken, was
asked to strike her down without any proof
but the so If this man, ] remained in Al
hany willie ttlat final Interview was had ut tlI.>
Falls, and Mr. Duscll would hear nothing, but
that l'ound Of 1esh for whicl.lle had bethouglt
in his bond.
Ii is said that refused to have certain c.
tcclncd persons associated with mo in this
case. 1t i truc- II w:le Mrs. Burc!l's else,
and her friends were tn defend II. l frankly
said that no friends Of Nr. Stuart should step
in and defend this lady. knew the pcrsoas
sugccstt had been bosom aud intimate frieni.s
Of Stuart's f,,r over twenty years, aud til. re-
Of erroneous judgment or nut.
l. A large part Of this case is founded upon
confessions. Are the statements in t!,rsc con-
fesions true or false. five nsccrta!n tllat they
arc fllsc NJ silaal have game 'ar t""ard ascrr-
f:liniby what crcfcucc shall b. giye:I t. them.
One Of them contcsscs with III it.lI re :atiou OF
dirinc vengeance uron Mrs. Dnrcl ] can
hardly trust myself to characterize tho Ian.
guage IN which that imprccation IL coucAcd.
To my mind it i i'nrious-i,npious, and no
fair man can read it with 1 different isnpres,
sion. This is Mr.. Burch's handwriting. The
other is s:i.l 10 have t,~cn written hy Mrs.
lsngc!s lffhis woman had been unln,sonlint.
hcr4clf and scov ring al. hov happens 1t
tls.t these Two contradict eacll othcr, boti,
made voluntarily and freely, both under the
sanction Of IN oath, one iu the morning and
that they contradict each other? The one
made in tho morning admits crisninality up Il.
May -, 1858. The one made In the cycnInc
declares that n"thtn. criminal was done aftcl
petrmhcrc4 -. 1851. Another thing: lie sayt
in lis letter iIlat at the time Of die failure ol
Oliver Lees Bank, while he was absent a,oniz
inE 10 fave llrr from poverty, on the ,4th al
October 1s5s. hcr iirst act Of criininality witt:
Sta1Mrt took l'1acc. This he says he gets from
her confession. 1t il shown that the t:,ilurc o
Oliver Lees Bank occurred on the 9Th Of Sep
tc1nbcr, 1852. and that Rurct. was home aftc,
| the 1th Of October to the l.t!l inclusive. i
this confession Of Enilt be true, would not thi.
woman remember tue first time Of her crimi
naii'y. Would it not be iudelihly impressed
upon her memory for cvc-y hour Of her lie;
IL is now coac4acd that this in the con1css1o.
il false. You will notice another thing In t}i:
confession. You will sec that the date of Oc
taber is Lett blank, and WAS filled In with dit
fcrca,t ink. and Judge Skinner says he CAMEO
| say that This date was in when he raw it. Uou
did Burch get tho date to fiji IT,? VIC find hin
sending on Monday to Mrs. Mathcr to fix :
l. time and then filling up his blank confession
1fthis lady was making free and y0luntar,
it necessary for him to send bis little daughtc
around Chicago to hunt ur information OF
which hc coti!d locate TIC day.
There sccms tu be a singular state OF Ynfut
on the part Of the defendant at this time. How
could 4 Christian man have set down and writ
ten to her brushcr-in-1aw that he was at tla
Time absent. agonizing Tor her comfort, whei
be knew otherwise from the inquiry he hat
made on Monday. Ant thcr thing: the cyenin:
Of this 18th wss tho evening on which csenin;
/ | meeting was always he'd in chu,cn, from
: which they were never Absent. At half pss
seven they opened. Mrs. Peck, who would b
most likely to know. remembers beirE at Mrd
Matllcrs in tue morning. She rem, mbers th
conversation held when the town bell rang
and that Mrs. Burch went home to dine viii
, | her husband. She rccoliects that Mrr. Burc
returned ut three O'Clock aud stayed throus
| supper, and went home. The others who tcs
thy upon this point don't rccollcct Mrs Burc
Rurch family. The positive recollection Of on
;. will be mora them the uou.rccollcction Of otl
! | crs. Where was Stuart that day Aud her
} 1t seems necessary to call to mind the yiolcn
attack made upon Mr: Stuart BY the counsel.
ltare yet to learn that Il Is my professional drt
! villain, q liar, q scoundrcl Some twenty q
| thirty Of the most rcsDci.tahlc mIu of Ehfls,I