Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1867-07-19
Surratt, the Court and Wit
ne5seE-

lac sfDecia! cosfS.s . 1Ail LIT vi &tic i(sJAHe
gives the following interesting account Of
Surrau. nos outrisl. aud o: those connect
edw,th the trial II will be read with in
tefes. -
Half mile away. in the oil low Court
House OF brogB sandstone aud brown s'uc-
co John ri. Snrratt. ls being tried for hi.
life. The building occupies the fro-h o. -
large, GRASSY square. shaded by s1ber ca
t.ilpa and silver-Ieafed poplar. and sweet
with the breath Of c.oTer. Every morning
at 10. from the soln5er Jail in the rear. i
COMES a youny man Of Is slender. erect. /
habited in black broa1eioiii. aud lox
roaiid-toppcd hat. Up il quiet path. under
the peaceful trees. he steps blissly a. TO
avoid pryina eyes. His delicate wrist. are
held together Is handouts; and a bta1ny
Marshal In brown linen waik- beside him.
IheY 20 Up the stone siairs; he takes a
seat behind his counsel; the maaacies are
removed: and tie crowded court Is called
10 ORDER.
Besid. tlie prisoner sits brother and
one or two other relatives. with long hair
and cadayerous Southern faces. Women.
chiefly .YInpaihizer.. from the District.
curious visitors ia Washington, nein5er-
OF Congress and members vi tie bar, fill
the other chairs and -ettee-. Outside the
railing. tiroIg of jo.tilHg men. whom all
old qncrul0us. specialized. -, cssiOr bal
lift i. always ordering out Of the passages
and threatening 10 arrest. In the rear a
milky way Of iu,cul white eyes looking out
from an inky cloud OF eager black fac 5.
On the bench SITS Jud re Fisher. appoint
ed from Delaware BY tie President whose
murder he /. estisatias. \ clear. firm.
manly face. with frank eye and brown
mu-taciIe. At ais left an associate Jude.
IL front. three or four clerks and busy -tei-
ographer.. On his right. just beyond the
rs.-stagd. the Jurors sitting la two
rows against window and wall. Tney are
plain business men. 'epreselting two mil
lions Of properly. Interested il the good
order and good name OF the District.
few are Catholics. like the prisoner. Sew
erai were Secessiouists. One or two are
feared: but on the whole they are deemed
as good Jury AS could be legally inpanel-
Ell IN tins community before the prison.
er, always upon hi. feet, is his leading
counsel. Bradley. senior. Thick-se.. with
bald, nat-toppci head, aud farapart.
searching eyes. he looks little like Geu.
Ben. Butler. A shrewd criminal lawyer,
tenacious and merciless upon witnesses. he
Is go pusBacious a. to lose his own temper
now aud til ~ and thus impairs his strength
After each answer that .'Ieases him he
turns to the jury with loo, saving quite as
Significantly az word. 'Genleiiian. you
hear TIA, Mfrrick. prompt and clcar-hcad
ed. aud his own son, assist him.
District-Aftorncy CarriiigtGn aud his as
sociate. Wileon. officially represent the
Government but Pi.rrcpont OF New York
chiefly examine. the witnesses. He il
courteous. firm strong NJ eros questioning
testimony away. and in knowing exactly
where to stop. Ex-Congressman Riddle Of
Cleveland and John A. Bingham of OHIO
have aided essentially in preparing the case
though neither appear. as COUNSEL. Both
sides are ably represented. and there has
ncen ample time, preparation, and expcti-
diture.
The turning point is on the question
whether Surrait was in Washington on the
day and night of the assassination. How
! fully the Government has proved. or the
defence disproved this. the reader can jndS 70
as well AZ |. Surratts counsel claim that
he was in Elnira On the preyion. day. and,
"A. the trains were running, could not pos
sibly have got here. Morally his pres
encc or absencc is not of the least con,e-
| queiIce. II in the conspiracy what differ
| ence where he was at the moment of the
blow: But. legally 1t is vital. Ifhe was
away, it is essential for Cover nment to
show that lac had gone somewhere express
/ ly 10 aid the murderous plot.
| II is understood that the defence VIII
offer the original or the contents of an al
alleged letter, written by Booth on the
a. assassination. protesting 10 enumerate all
the conspirators, but not abiding to Sur
ratt. IL will hardly be admitted as evil
dencc. On the other hand, we hear of
! Pains confession. made just before his
death. 1. is On file in the War Department
| The Impeachment Committee has seen
what purported 10 be q copy. Even ii il
! implicatca 5urratt (about which statements
conilict), it probably wonll not be legal
/ testimony against him or any one else save
il. author. Gen. l.. &. Baker. Siaut0n's
former chief and favorite detective is some
how mixed Mp in the matter-perhaps as
the person to whom the confession was
made. Three times has SUMMONS been
sent to Philadelphia for him. Oh behalfof
the Government. since this trial began yet
he does not appear. So much mystery
1 has been thrown around the assassination
and the military trial., that unless Their: is
some good public reason To t,.c contrary,
the people have a right to the contents OF
that paper. every word. fancy Gen. But
Ter COMMITTEES will smoke it out.
In view ofthe genuine LOYALTY ofour own
Catholics during the war, and the uniform
libcrality OF our country TO them rs a relig-
/ ious body. IL Is most noticeable how the Jes-
ats in Canada, Great Britain, and on the
Iiu. tttlttt SitTFdLt,
sometimes reluctantly, but always prompt
ly and efficiently.
The trial will continue through next week
and perhaps longer. With such counsel
and such a jury, there does not appear the
least 81 ound for the tears expressed by The
World and kindred papers that the prison.
or will be unfairly dealt with.
| Weichm1n. whose testimony was so no.
ticcablc, is Il wcll-iorined. conicly. rudy
vonny man Of ~. While he was Oh the
witness-stand Surratt's eye faced him def
antly through the three days fiery ordeal
| OF Bradley's cross examination. The de.
Tense will make every possible effort to i'm
pair his testimony.
st. Marie is rather short, dark haired,
blaek-eyed Canadian, with musical voice
and M Italian face. The first words he
spoke touched some chord in my memory.
! Where had | heard thu mellow tone and
seen that olive cheek. In moment
thought. 1t was at Richmond. for i've or
six weeks. in the Autumn and Winter of
'C3. st. Marie came into Castle Thunder
fl Confederate gray, "a deserter from a
Drlaa.l. IAion regiment. 10 jon Is "