St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1879-04-18

after the pawned goods were found.
Another knew one-Of those pawn-bro-
kers, and said that he would sell
mans life for ten dollars, and it would
be hard to find one of the tribe who
would not for one hundred. Another
had met Downing that forenoon, and
described his excitement when he
thought he knew something that would
save Phair but supposed he was too
late. There can be no doubt of the
genuineness of DOwning's excitement.
There was much attention directed to
the case in Boston that week, and much
unanimity l think in the judgment by
legal gentlemen there that Downlng's
evidence should outweigh that OF many
such witnesses as those Boston men
who appeared against the accused.
This is their opinion, and they are
better judges of their neighbors than L
am. 1t is strange we say that Down
ing remembered that conversation In
the cars so distinctly after so long a
time and there is chance for mistake,
but is it not true that any man can re-
member some event circumstantially
that occurred in his experience ten,
twenty or more years ago while nearer
and more important events have faded
out and left no trace 2 Such was Down
ing's recollection of that talk with the
stranger in the cars. His memory is
not necessarily very remarkable, but
he did remember that, and the story in
the Globe recalled to his mind all that
conversation. Now how much should
this evidence weigh allowing that it is
genuine as l think is not disputed If
find the half of an earthen plate
broken in the middle and some one else
brings me another half plate that ac-
curately fits the first so that when
pressed together they slightly adhere
and the mark of the break becomes al
most invisible, know beyond perad-
venture that these are parts of what
was once one plate, and no amount of
outside testimony can convince me that
they came from different manufactures,
and that the fit is merely accidental.
If two men separately give the same
account of a conversation stating alike
the time place and substance of what
was said, the proof is conclusive that
it is the same conversation that they
both remember, and that the cOnversa-
ton did really occur as stated.
Phair wrote his dying statement to
remain sealed until after his death.
He had given up hope of finding any
one who could prove that he was in
Providence June 10th. This dying
statement he was persuaded to allow
to appear in the Boston Globe the morn
ing of the day of execution, so that if
the train was on time he might read it
and feel that so much was correctly
done, read it just before the last act.
ment as he relied upon it for vinuica-
ton before the bar of public opinion,
and he expected that sometime his
memory would be indicated. This
was the history of the statement and
the object of its publication his object,
while on the other part it was a bit of
newspaper enterprise, that statement
being worth a thousand dollars to the
Globe that day. Now this statement,
supposed by Phair to be his last, was
Oos6forIy urous5nU W DownlngS atten-
ton. The circumstances of the journey
to Providence and the errand of Phair
recall to Downing his conversation with
the stranger hailing from Rutland on
the noon train of the day found by his
memorandum to be the same 10th of
June when this convict in his dying
statement says that he was on that
train and not pawning the goods i'll
Boston. Downing is excited as any
man fearing that he may be too late to
save the life of a presumably innocent
man, would be.
The story of the telegraphing, and
the reprieve sent after the hour of ex-
ecutiOn are familiar to our readers
Later statements by Phair as to where
he sat in the car, how the stranger was
dressed, and his own dress also, as well
as the conversation tally infinitely
with what Downing is able to remem-
Der, so it seems difficult to say that the
common knowledge by the two men of
the same event is not established. Now
this evidence, allowing its full force
does not prove that Phair did not pawn
the watch, as Abrams, the most re-
liable of the Boston witnesses brought
by the detective, swears but this Alb
rams testimony alone would hardly
have convicted Phair, and this Down
ing evidence seems to perfectly dis
prove all the other testimony about
articles pawned in Boston an hour be-
fore Downing with Phair left Provi-
dence. These were pawned by E. F.
Smith and the same name appears on
the Adams House register as of guest
arriving the oftn-->~~-- - J-..v otiI. Ii
the pawn ticket was signed Smith by
some other man, as it must have been
If at the hour named, Phair was in
providence and not Boston, then some
other man, possibly indeed an accom-
pllce of Phair, was the Smith of the
Adams House in whose room the shawl
was found, if indeed the Adams House
testimony did not grow out of some