The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1874-01-01

taneouSiY INTO y0uT hea1.
The dramati3 interest of your story is
further spoiled by the fact that he did not
volunteer unexpectedly, at the moment
when the cause was called, when every
body else was scared, and after the judge
had become hopeless Of getting an attor-
ney bold enough to assist him in comply
ing with the forms of Jaw In Mr. Sew
ards speech, as quoted by you, he referred
to preliminary hearing which lasted two
weeks, and at which he had appeared for
the prisoner. He was then publicly con-
nected with the cause as fully as he was
afterwards The knowledge of the whole
Bar that Mr. Seward was already concern
ed might have accounted, 10 you for the
silence at the trial, without the imputa-
ton of cowardIee which your statement
implies. 1t is not certain, but the infer
ence is q fair one from all the ciTcum-
stances, that, Mr.. Seward sought the case
anxiously, as furnishing a desirable op-
por,unlty to display himself before the
people,
The insanity of the negro at the time
of the murder was the only defense Mr.
Seward set up for him Il was utterly
false This is conclusively shoWn-by the
record. The jury was impartial, honest,
and uncommiTted by any previous express
sion of opinion; the ability and integrity
of the Judge is not denied; if any rea-
sonable doubt of the prisoners sanity
had been raised by the proofs, his acquit-
tai would have been perfectly certain. But
the Jury, upon their oaths, found him
guilty, and the Judge, satisfied that the
verdict was right, pronounced sentenc. Of
death.
The sample cf the argument which you
produce shows that, instead of being able
and eloquent, it was literally no argument
at ali. 1t has no application whatever TO
the subject matter under consideration
1t makes no allusion to the evidence, and
does not refer even in the remotest man
ner, to any rule or principle Of law 1t is
a mere parade of his own magnanimous
and disinterested besevolence, manifestly
not intended to influence the tribunal but
to attract the admiration of the outside
crowd TO himself Nothing could be more
IN worse taste, or more out of
place. The Court and Jury, having a case
of life and death IN their hands, and feel
ing the weight of their obligation TO de-
eide 1t rightly, must have listened TO this
irrelevant trash with painful impatience.
Mr.. Seward, nothing daunted" by the
righteous Judgment of the Court and
Jury, persisted in interposing every pos
slble dllatory measure" and thus delayed
Justice from, time to time until at last the
negro died IN prison. Then came the
hour of his triumph. a post-mortem ex-
animation of the brain made by seven
physicians displayed indications of deep
chronic disease" This, in your opinion,
CLEARLY proved" that he chad been right
from the start" that is to say, Mr.. Sew
ards assertion that his client was insane
at the time of the murder, In a way which
made him irresponsible for that crime,
though contradicted by his actions during
life, was established by the coalition of
his brain after death. Your acknowledged
good sense. and that moderate amount of
science which you posses in
common with all Well-iDformed men,
should have prevented you from believ-
ing this. The post mortem indications Of
a brain disease not Immediately fatal are
very obscure; supposing them to be plain
y traced, no anatomist can tell how long
or how short a time the disease existed.
nay have existed and it often does with
,ut deranging the mental faculties in the
east. No human skill can find anything
n the matter of the brain from which a
specific state of the mind can be inferred;
md il is a monstrous absnrdity 10 sup
eose1 1haEsexsn hyslcians or seVen hnn=
Sred of them could by dissecting this ne
sro's brain demonstrate that he was af-
flcted with q particular form of mental
insanity which irresishbly impelled him
o commit murder two years before he
lied.
The sequel Of this story, as you tell it,
would show that Mr. Seward not only
acrifced himself but magnanimousiy
,lucked down ruin upon his political
rien5s. Your words are: Here he was
lot only iniuring his own interests but
hose of the party with which he was as
ooiated. In VAIN did it labor to disavow
IL connection or sympathy with him.
he press on all sides thundered Its de-
over his head. The elections
II went one way. The Democratic party
anne sweeping into the ascendant. And
Il about the life of a'negro idiot. These
maZing facts were not known or sus-
ected before you uttered them. The po-
itieal history of our country has not in
tructed us that all the elections of that
eriod turned upon the trial of negro at
Auburn, N. Y, or that one party was,
wrecked and another swept up
o the seats of power merely because Mr..
William 81. Seward tried in vain to pro-
ure the acquittal OF a murderer on false
retenses. 1t cannot be true The odi-
m of his conduct, whatever that may
ave been, was all his own. 1t had no
ossible connection with any question at
ssue between the parties Of the nation.
t was as likely to produce an earthquake
s the great political revolution which !
ou assert to have been its consequence. |
he good faith with which you make the
tatement is not questioned; but 1t Is
uch an outrage on historical probability
s no prudent writer of acknowledges ic.
ion would adopt. Its extravagauce !
you'd deform the plot of a romance. 1t |
hooks the mind of an intelligent reader
Ike the narrative of the German novelist |
rho tells how the peace of Europe was |
roken by a naval conflict on the Ohio |
river between fleets of English cruisers
nd French merchantmen IN l75l, when.
5 every schoolboy knows, the Ohio had
ever felt the pressure Of any craft heavier
han birch canoe.
1t seems that Mr.. Seward was about
be same time or little before employed
Or another negro-a convict IN the State
rison, who had killed one of his assoei-
tes. Here also the defense was false
ne. You despatch your account of the |
r1aI by saying "Ihe argument rested on
be insanity of the prisoner. But 1t car (
I'D no weight Within a month the |
onvict was tried, condemned, and exc
uted." What else could have been ex-
ecte6? Do you think this felonious muir |
erer should have gone unpunlshed? If
es, Why2 Because Seward was his coun-
el2 Because the defense was false one2 |
)r simply because he was a negro? You |
ay, in g mournful tone, that Mr.. Stewards |
onduct in this matter was not viewed |
avorably in the neighbOrhood." Are you
ot the most unreasonable man in the |
Vorld to think that it shuold have besn7
Attempts TO get criminals off by false
,Ieas are often forgiven. especially when |
he fraud is defeated by the justice Of the |
ourts, but they are never regarded with
.pprobation or favor by an honest COM
nunity.
. Mr.. Stewards behavior in these two
e ses, though it heartily deserves the Sc
ere and universal condemnation which |
,ou saw it received from all classes of The
,eople who witnessed 1t, was, no doubt,
,erv discreditable to man of mature
years who had held the highest executive
,fice in his State. It must have pre-
Jared all who knew HIM to expect that |
lis course as a politician wonid come to