The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1882-01-17

evil IN me. 1t ls the opinion of some Of
the ablest members Of the bar that this
court has no jurisdiction. to try in this
case. This point will be pressed, II
necess ary, in arrest Of Judgment but
expect you, gentlemen Of the Jury, to
justify The act. You are here to vindi.
cate my inspiration. l would have done
it any time after June LIST, if I had
known l was to be shot dead the next
moment. had no plwer to prevent it;
my free agency was entirely destroyed
| was under duress. In law,
snyone under duress is not respon.
sioie for his seta. On this ground I
ask you to acquit me. How do we know
iyou we're under the Deity? My word for
lit; no ore elss car know the TACT but the
Deity and me-. l know it; the Deity
knows it. l had to do my duty to the
Deity and to the American people, re-
gsrdless of the consequences to myself.
No one wants TO shoot or hang me now,
save few cranks who are so ignorant
that they can hardly read or WRITE. High
toned people are saying, Well, if the
Lord did 1t, let it go The President did
not die before his time. II the Lord had
not wanled him he would not
have departed Physical death
is nothing. All nen have died ;
all men will die. The President might
have been taken by railroad accident or
slipped Oh an orange peelIand broken his
neck. The interview with Brooks |
consider special Providence in my
favor. talked with him freely about
the Diety, my inspiration and political
situation which showed the condition OF
my mind on July ID, when l was pre-
cipltated on to the President. A vast
deal Of rubbish has got into this case on
both sides. The issue here is, who fred
that shot, tie Diety or me-? Had fred
it on my own PERSONAL account, no pun
ishment would be too quick or to sever g
for me; and this is why l protected my
self by going to jail and haVIns national
troops ordered out. I weuId humbly
sHggest that the jury be chsrged as fol-
lows: That If they believe that
l believed it was right for me to remove
the President, because l had special
divine authority for so doing, they will
acquit on the ground that l was over
powered by the D!ety. After quoting
Beeeher, TAlmage and other clergymen,
and declaring that wnen he became
President in 1884, he would clean out the
Mormons right speedily, he closes
thus to the jury: To hang q man in nv
mental condition on the I'd Of july. when
l fred on the President would be last
ing disgrace 10 the American people.
The mothers and daughters ofthe repub-
lie are praying that you will vindicAte
my insp atiVn. beg you do not get
the Diety down on you by meddling with
this case. beg for your own sakes AID
for the sake OF the American people, and
for the sake of tae generations unborn,
that you let this case alone. Let
your verdict be, that it was
the Deity's act, not mine. When the
President Was shot his cabinet tele-
grsphed TO foreign nations that it was
the act OF z madman, AID it will be far
better 10 very way thst it be official ly
decided that II WAS the act Of msdman.
Gulteau Was apparently in the best OF
spirits this morning when report ter of
the Associated Press c-lled at the jail. l
have decided not TO tell my speech for
money, he remarked, but give it the
widest possible circulation through he
Associated Press. / want every man,
woman and child in America TO have az
opportunity to read it. He was asked:
How were you pleased with Reeds speech
yesterday? and replied: Well, l don't
take any stock in Scoville's theory or
Reeds either, ard l SHOULD not like to
trust my defense to either of them. Charlie
made good speech, though, and it in
terested me, but I wouldn't give cent
bushel for that kind Of talk. Then
after short pause-I don't know, though,
out it may be just a. we'll to have that go
before the jury With grin : There
may be soft fellows among them who
will believe am an imbecile