The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1883-04-03

MA1A1NGtON, ~ ~ SAkNN 80 49,.
The Shf Route trial has - nnose lexsly -
teadoi his wesk thaa u ny lime daliag IL
progress, Judge Wyiis's court room being hllsd
every morning long bafose he court Opened. To
avoid Z jam aicr the seafs arc 6iied, baililh are
ssationed 1t the doou to deny admittance 70 al
except those whose business requires them 70 b
in court- The womca show quite - much
eagerness as the men, whether to get II the true
inwardness Of this case or 10 hare good look At
the defendants and distinguished counsel
The event Of the trial Tuesday. and what win
probably stand out - the prominent feature N
the entire history Of the Case was the calling Of
ex-senator Stephen w. Dorsey to the witness
stand. He has been conspicuously absent dur
ing the many weeks Of examination. Much
curiosity has been shown about his making an
appearance, and many conjectnres expressed -
TO whether he would be called a. . witness So
his debut could not but be an event in the court
room, and IN occasion for everybody's turning
an open ear to the Judge When the cou ri
opened Mr.. Dorsey was sitting beside Mr.. Inger.
soil, of his counsel o. being called he arose
and went to the stand carrying large packet of
papers with him. His eyes were concealed by
dark goggles he has been wearing for the last
year His toilet gave evidence that he had not
been iorgetfnl Of his personal appearance. and he
wore q button-hole bouquet on the lappei of his
coat He was not in an amiable mood,
for he spoke defantly TO Mr.. Merrick, who
was addressing The court. His counsel addressed
word TO him, after which he was silent until the
close Of the discussion on the point raised.
When Mr. Dorsey was about to be sworn, Mr..
Merrlck said he wanted TO examine the witness
as to whether an oath was binding upon his com
science The witness shook his finger In the
face of Mr. Merrick and said excitedly: Any
oath will be as binding On my conscience as on
Mr. Merricks conscience" Mr. Ingerso OBJ
jected 10 this proceeding, and protested elo-
quently against introducing into case ia this
century the barbarism of the dark ages, when,
he said, men and women were so addicted TO
lying that they had to be frightened into telling
the truth. Here he delivered spirited address
in much the same strain as many Of his " infidel'
lectures, expounding his anti-religious views.
In replying, Mr.. Merrick said that what Mr.. In
gersoll called the barbarism of the past was the
light that had come down To US from many cent
uries and needed no defence from him. He did
not object to the witness giving his narrative, but
he said he wanted to let the jury know on what
terms he testified, whether in taking the ath he
felt that his conscience was involved as an inn
mortal man before heaven Mr.. Ingersoll said
there was qualification in the law that per-
mitted witness 10 testify IN his own behalf
Judge Wylie, in deciding the question, said he
had nothing TO do with its theological aspect.
The extremely opposite characteristics OF Mr.
Merrick and Colonel Iugersoll, not only On the
religious question, but in appearance, Tone ges-
fnre, and manners as well, were strikingly
brought out in this discussion.
Col. Ingersoll may be called a representative
modern innovator. champion of free thought,
and an iconoclast He speaks with the easy
grace of the lecture room, in an almost conyeFsa-
tional tone, warns up he proceeds. and on
this occasion shaded artistically from the beau
ties of truth for its own sake" to the fires OF
hell rekinded." Judge Merrick represents the
opposite extrefae old beliefs as cherished and
revered by II Dmau Cath Ollie Church, and in
sists upon the letter Of the law He is the incar
nation of conservatism. With effective tone,
measured words, and finger pointed towards
heaven, he solemnly referred TO the awful re-
sponsibility of testifying with the fear of the
penilentiary before one in this world and eternal
damnation in the world TO come. This lively
episode introduced into the dull routine of the
monOtonous trial was highly enjoyed by the
audience The two men could not have been
more antiiheticaly presented, bat neither lost by
the contrast, and each proved a worthy advo-
cate of his cherished faith.
Senator William Pits Kellogg. Of Louisiana.
has been presented for completely in the Star
Route frauds The defense in the Star Route
cases has already cost more than 100000.
Bob Ingersoll is said TO have pocketed $50
600, Wilson $4,000, Davidge $4,000. and
General Henkle is fighting for his clients un-
der the stimulus Of $4,000 fee.
Mr. Dorsey has made up his mind to fatty
deny everything. So in that direction he hesi-
tates at nothing He also represents himself
as an innocent, guileless man, whose letters
to postmasters were instigated by purely dis
interested friendship.