The Shasta courier., 1866-12-08
THE JURY RETIRE.


THE JURY RETIRE.
The jury retired at ten minutes past four,
and the Crown officers not being willing to
commence any other trial, at that advanced
hoar, business was suspended, and his Lord
ship, the counsel and the public awaited the
return of the jury for an hour and twenty
five minutes. The Court remained crowded
during the entire period, scarcely any one
moving from their places, as the jury might
come in at any moment. During the interval
the prisoner, like the rest, chatted freely with
his counsel, the Sheriff and some others who
went to the dock to converse with him.
THE VERDICT.
At twenty five minutes to six the jury
returned into Court, and the roll being called
by the Clerk, he inquired d-Gentlemen of the
jury, have you agreed upon your verdict?
The Foreman-The jury have come to the
conclusion that the prisoner Is guilty.
The Clerk having recorded the verdict,
The Solicitor General rose and said : -
move, my lord, for the judgment of the Court
on the prisoner"
His Lordship-Robert B. Lynch, have you
anything to say why the sentence OF the Court
should not be pronounced on you for this
felony?
PRISONERS ADDRESS.
The prisoner, with a firm voice, replied as
follows:
Well, my lord, you must be aware-yu
must have noticed-the inconvenience and
disadvantage my counsel labored under IN
not being able 20 bring forward the evidence
OF those who could have proved clearly that
| had NJ .ganection with the Fenian raid.
state - that ! had neither hand, act nor
par "a the late invasion, and that came to
Ceaada not ia the capacity in which it has
been represented | came. but simply as the
correspondent Of an American journal. And
in 50 doing. | was not aware that L violated
either the laws of Canada or those OF my
adopted country. | was not aware there
could be any objection to a reporter following
the army, and chroncling the incidents and
progress of the invasion. Had | known this
/ would have been careful to have remained
on the other side. With regard to the man
ner in which the Crown has conducted the
prosecution in my case, | think and must
confess that | have been very fairly dealt
with. Both the Crown Solicitor and Mr..
Cameron have carried on the prosecution in
the most fair and impartial manner; and
feel that it is but right in me to make the
statement.
address the Court was to give you an oppor
tunty of urging any legal objections, if you
had them. 1t ia too late now to discuss the
facts of the case.
Prisoner-Well, my lord, you must be
aware, with regard to legal objections, that
am not cognzant enough of law to make any.
| only know that | am innocent of the crime
charged against me. and of which have been
found guilty. And | here pledge myself
before that God in whose presence | must
appear some day. that | am wholly innocent
of the crimes for which | was brought here !;
and that | never saw Stephens till | was
arrested and brought into his very house
on the I'd of June. On that occasion | saw
him, when placed in his house. for short
time previous to being brought up to the
Court House.
The Court then made the usual proclama
tion, prior to passing sentence of death.
SENTENCE OF DEATH.
His lordship, addressing the prisoner, said:
am very sorry to find man of your age
and experience stand where you do to-day.
You are a man who must have seen good
deal of the world-a man not without educa-
tion and intelligence. The evidence brought
before the Court is perfectly clear and con-
reporter on the occasions charged in the in
dictment; but that you were armed and in
some kind of command. What that was does
not distinctly appear. But even though you
were there only as a reporter. you ought to
have known that no war had been proclaim
ed that those men with whom you were
seen were making an atrocious, almost un-
paralleled, inroad on a peaceful country, and
that under the circumstances you were there
to report the ravages of these men to others
interested, in order that they might gloat and
glory over the slain. While single word
would have influenced the case to your pre-
judice, | carefully abstained from saying any
thing against you. But now it does not lie
on me to extenuate your fault, or affect not to
see it in its darkest light. You professed
with others, to redress the grievances of cen
turies-to right the wrongs of an oppressed
people-and TO remove the iron heel which
you say the Saxon put on the Celt centuries
ago; and yet you began by inheting on us
the very injuries of which you complained -
Why should your iron tread be forced on US :?
Why should our homes be desolated and our
young men be slain by you? Will any man
of sense answer this plain question? Was it
less than murder for you to come here in the
dead of night to ravage our country and slay
our people! Ana all TINS was done under
color of relieving Ireland Could any right
you may have authorize you to commit such
wrong as you then perpetrated? This is
putting your case in very plain and clear
light You stand here surrounded by the
friends and relatives of the men you slew on
that occasion. If you were there as reporter
even, you were not guitless. Your object
was to encourage others to come if these men
had been successful or keep them away if
the reverse had happened. Looking at your
conduct in that light, you cannot be surprised
that the law should be enforced and that you
should suffer the dread penalty of that law
as | very much fear you will-for how could
we punish the young reckless and unthink-
ing young men to be brought here for trial
who followed such you, and placed conf
dence in you, if you were to be allowed to
escape? Could you see any justice in pun
ishing them in such case? You complain
unjustly that those who were in command on
that occasion were not allowed to come here
to give testimony in your behalf. But l
cannot pervert the law, and the Crown can
not over ride it. If the Crown had given any
such pledge of safe conduct as had been
spoken of, it could not be carried out. You
have had all the justice you could possibly
get, and had every advantage of the forms of
law. Every one also abstained from urging
too hardly against you that which might have
been urged But would fail 10 my duty
now if | did not put your crime in its true
Erht xrhan ahout to sautanca vnu fo amman