Connecticut western news., 1881-11-30
held the President's head or who f7ronuAd the sx,,,,111 eess ssT

|
 l The position of the jury was Q difi.
 cult one, indeed, but their duty was
 plain and direct. They were not to try
 the long sufferings of the President o1
 the sorrowing of the widow and child.
 ren he left behind. All felt alike on
 that question, and all knew the deep
 and widespread grief.
 He then went into an explanation oi
 the kind of testimony that might be ex.
 pected as to the responsibility of the prisoner. A number of witnesses for the defense
 went on the stand. They were from the
 West. H. N. Burton, congregation. | alist clergyman of Illinois, formerly a
 resident of Kalamazoo, Mich, in cross examination, said: cannot say that my opinion then was that he was so far
 insane as not to be responsible per- son; I thought him not so much
 deranged as very badly arranged. (Laughter.) .aIs. sa'" t 1es
 John A. Rice, practising physician, of Merton, Wis, first saw the prisoner in the summer of 1876 at MT. Scoville's
 house. MT. Scoville called his attention
 to him for the purpose of inquiring into
 his mental condition. He observed the prisoner for that purpose. He came to the conclusion that he was insane,
 passing his opinion on certain facts which came under his observation. Among these facts were that of hereditary in huence and the exaltation of his whole emotional nature.
 Mary S. Lockwood, residing in Wash ington, testified that the prisoner had boarded at her house for month, be- ginning about March 12, 1881. The only reason she knew of for his leaving was that he did not pay his board. She said that Guiteau was eccentric.
 In the trial Friday was spent in get ting from the friends and neighbors of the Guiteau family facts 10 sustain the plea of insanity. Most of the time was consumed in taking evidence to show that Luther Guiteau, the prisoners father, was of unsound mind. It was clearly proven that he accepted in full and zealously the peculiar theological and social vlews held by the Oneida Community, fact which MT. Scoville deemed to regard as evidence of his in. sanity. The prosecution, on the other hand, treated such vagaries as indicat- ing eccentricity in religious belief which did not impair the legal responsi- bility of those who indulged in them. It was brought out, on the testi- monys of friends of the family, that Luther Guiteau believed in a vital union with Christ whereby death was averted, that he could heal the sick by an act of faith, and the like. He was sincere in these delusions, and at times showed dangerous spirit of fanaticism in acting upon his belief in them, even going so far as to counsel the sacrifice of one opponent and the death of an- other. Charles, it was said by those who knew both father and son, was an exaggerated copy of Luther in both mind and body. The three principal witnesses of the day were ex- District-Attorney Reed of the Chi cago bar and two Freeport lawyers, who knew the prisoners family. MT. Reed bore out in the main the in MT. Scoville's opening speech relative to the legal inability of Guiteau. From his singular behavior in court, joined to personal observation in other circumstances, MT. Reed had that he was insane. His pre- tensions to the Paris Consulate, MT. Reed thought, evinced mental weak. ness. He did not think him incapable of filling subordinate places in the de- partments. t.'
 During the day the prisoner inter- rupted the proceedings to such degree that the court threatened to gag him if he did not keep quiet.