Grand Rapids morning telegram., 1885-08-01
LOUIS RIEL'S DEFENSE.
.s ADDRESSES The COURT.
ne Prays tor himself. the Court. the
Jury and the Officers The jury
Retired-No Verdict Vet

kEsRA, Man, july d.-More evidence
favor Of his insanity and some Ia rebGttsi
This closed the case for the defense. fitz-
patrick, RiePs counsel, mzde al eloquent
speech, alleging Justification, urging extenu-
ating circumstances and winding up with
allusion 10 his insane condition. After
wards Kiel al ddressed the court Before
speaking he turned ms eyes upward and
prayed fersently for few minutes. tie
then said: Your hOnors, gentlemen of the
jury, II would be easy for me to-day 10 play
insanity, because of the natural excitement
caused by my trial Excitement would
cause nature like mine to DO far from
calm, but hope by the help OF God 10 re
tam my calmness. Jurors will see BY the
papers that am inclined to be
religious by the illusion that my
religious actions Will not be
thought insane" Turning his eyes heaven
ward rnd crossing his hands frequently, he
said: ''Oh my God, help me through grace,
and the divine grace of Jesus Christ. On
my God, bless me; bless this honorable
court: bless this honorable jury; bless my
good lawyer, who has come a million leagues
To try and save my life. Bless the lawyers
of the court, because they have done, / am
sure, what they thought their duty,
and have shown fairness which i
did not expect. On my God,
bless all those who are around me and
through the grace of Jesus Christ our Sa-
vior change the curiosity of these people who
are around me into calm interest, amen"
Riel then said his mother. who gave him
birth forty years ago, had taken care of him
and nursed him. He had another mother,
the Northwest, whom he loved, and which he
was sure would not kill him more than his
other mother. He would yet be justified. He
sought To bring about practical results and
when be was dead, which might be soon, he
hoped his spirit would yet briug about prac-
tical results. For the past ten years he be
heved no had mission to perform. lie
believed il still, and with the help of God he
was performing that mission III criminal
dock. He had waited patiently for years for
an opportunity 10 perform II As long a.
British justice prevailed he knew that God
would take care of him. When
Middleton was at the battery,
and bullets, and shells were flying about his
head thicker than mosquitoes. he was pro-
tected. and ii was nothing but Gods bene-
diction that preserved him. He blessed the
Crown lawyer for breaking down the evi-
dence of DIR. Roy, to the effect that he was
insane Even if condemned and hanged,
ne would have the satisfaction of knowing
that the world did not believe him insane.
Moline wanted TO make bargain to re-
nounce his American citizenship. but
Riel refused, as he believed
il would be of great advantage
to him. The agitation in the Northwest
would have been constitutional if Metis had
not been attached. The court had not found
out the facts of the attack. BY the grace of
God he wys the founder of Manitoba. The
whites were the Iioneers of civilization but
had brought decentralization amongst the
Indians. The black sons of guns, the In
dians. Don't be offended" said Riel;
ladies. don't be offended. The clergy will
cure the evil
At the close of Riel's speech two of the
jurors were blubbering, "a were also some of
the ladies in the court. The jury then re-
tired, but the verdict will not likely be
reached tonight.