Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1885-04-03

| trs -. sid nv some gentlemen who spoke TO me
at the time the trial was III progress, that the
prosecutors were ready to "squeal 1t was q
Striking illustration of the struggle of brave
! souls in the mire and the final yielding up of
| the ghost" am not astonlshed that it was not
desired that counsel for the defendant should
rise in his behalf; undertake to paint this prose-
cution in its true colors, and to demonstrate the
yillainy of the attempt that has been made to
destroy the liberty OF citizen.
THE CHARGE IN THIS INDICTMENT
Is that D. NJ. Burns at the time named therein
was Secretary of the State OF California; that
while he was Secretary of State. he received
| into his control and management the sum OF
| SlS5 from A. L. Bancroft & Co: which became
and was the property of the state that
while he was i'll possession of the Sald
| money he unlawfully, felouiously and wlllfuIly
| converted the same TO his own use and not to
the use of the State. and il you ilnd that ne qua
| this say to you, gentlemen OF the jury, what
ever may have been his former character, or
previous history whatever may be the suffer
| ing that may be brought to himself, his family
| or his friends the law has paced It's mandate
| upon YOU aud it will then become your I'M
| pcratiYe duty to find him guilty OF The crime
| charged The question as to whether he thus
converted the said money is one OF fact, upon
| which the defendant has been called here by
| the Grand Jury of this county TO defend him
| SELF and congratulate ourselves upon the
| fact that we have not only succeeded IN estab-
| fishing tn 1T Mr. Burns did not convert the
money of the state. but we have
demonstrated that after the retirement of Mr..
/
State all that he received belonging TO it, butt he
reached down into his nearly empty pocket and
took from it every cent that he had upon earth,
and paid it on behalf the state, to partially meet
| the defacatiOns created by the intidelity and
| dishonesty of his former deputy.
| He appears before you here to-day not with
| hired counsel, but with friend to plead his
| cause not with II lawyer paid to COME before
this jury and twist and distort the facts TO meet
| the necessities of his defense, but with one who
| has known him, and whose friendship brings
! To iaf t41,d
| lars in his pocket with which he might seek to
| compass the ruin of some other man, but in
poverty and with his facts and his innocence.
and with friends who are strong enough ana
| who are willing enough to champion his cause
as long as a defense may be needed; and il dis
grace be brought upon him by the verdict OF this
| jury, to stand by him and support him Ill his
| sorrow. We started into the trial of this case
| with an admission. We have
SOUGHT TO CONCEAL No FACTS
! From this jury. We began with an admission
| that this one hundred and eighty-fve dollars
was received by Mr.. Burns personally. We be-
| lieved at that time, ana we believe now, that 1t
was beyond the power of this prosecution to
| prove the admitted fact; but 1t was true, and
| call to the attention OF this jury that while |
was protesting against the admission, my client
| was insisting upon it, because it was true. The
prosecution sought to attach to that admission
| the addition that the amount was not paid
! into the State Treasury, but we protested When
| 1t was sought TO prove that many amounts were
! collected which were not entered in the fee and
| cash-books after the discharge of Mr.. Reynolds,
we frankly offered, in the presence OF the jury,
| to admit the fact. Unwilling to be placed in the
attitude of seeking 10 conceal solitary fact,
| we desired the admission to stand before this
jury unyarnished by anything that might be
| said by The defendant, uncolored by anything
| that might he drawn from the insinuatiOns OF
| the learned counsel who represented the other
| side. But, strange as Ii may seem. the great
| heart of the people of California, as ii rep
resented by the learned counsel who appeared
| for the prosecution in this case was so la dened
| To mercy as that it would desire 10 convict Mr..
| Burns, not upon the plain facts in the case, but
! by first diSgracng him and then eonricting
| him by appealing to the passions of men. |
spoke of il at the time of its occurrence in the
trial, and do not hesitate TO say to you, gentle.
men of the jury, that in the history OF criminal
jurisprudence, from the time the villain JetiTlcs
| constituted part of the English Judiciary and
made of himselfa stool pigeon to be commanded
| by royalty 10 destroy the regulations and take
| the liberties and lives of the subjects OF that
| country, there has seldom, if ever, been an
instance, up TO the present time, when prose
| cution has found 1t necessary to refuse to stand
upon the broad facts of criminaliy, TO refuse to
| accept the admitted facts in the case, and TO
| seek by means of this kind, unfair in their
| nature, to disgrace the defendant before the
jury who are TO constitute his judges, by draw
ing out, item after item, that are admitted facts
| in the case, believing that they might tend in
| some manner
TO AROUSE THE PEEUDICES OF THE JURY,
| And by that means crown the prosecution with
u success which il could not otherwise hope to
accomplish. The ruin of an honorable man
based upon such q proposition would be mon
strous. tell you. gentlemen of the jury, that
| when you consider the fact that many of the
items thus drawn out by the prosecution were
not involved in this controversy, and that the
! prosecution was unwilling to receive his admiS
| sious of these collateral facts, offered by his
| counsel in the case; when you consider the
| cold calculating hesrlessueSs of an attempt.
| such as has been here made, by refusing 10 ac-
cept the admissions of counsel to badger the
| brother-in law of the defendant simply because
he was n relative, with the view of rejecting an
unholy light upon some member OF his family,
you viii not think that this prosecution has been
conducted in the spirit which induced the
fathers OF this republic TO attempt to secure by
every constitutional safeguard the lives and lib
critics OF all its citizens.
Why, gentlemen of the jury 1 have never
been able to comprehend how il is that any man
may desire that the liberty OF an individual
able to comprehend how il is that a man may
| desire that another may he incarcerated in
| prison. I never have been able to understand
| how it is that men come here from san Fran
cisco. aud in order 10 further the defense OF an
| other would be willing to sink Dan Burns into
| everlasting ruin. When the fathers began 10
| construct republic in accordance with the
| views Of men, who had seen the tyranny OF the
| old country, the very first safeguards which
| they sought 10 build were those around the
liberty OF the citizen. which should take from
| IRENE exercise, OF destroying either
| lie, liberty or property; which under
| took to broaden and expand the rights of the
| citizen and give to the Government no powers
| except those which were absolutely necessary 10
Just enforcement OF the laws; and ofthese rights
thus secured, that of liberty has ever been CON
| sidered the most sacred. l remember that in his
| Gpostrophe to the Goddess OF Liberty Mr.. Sterne
| once said with thee 10 watch upon him rs
| he eats his crust. the swain Is mightier than
| his monarch from whose court thou art ex
! He'd And no finer sentiment ever fell from
| the lips of any man Whenever we seek, either
| rs individual citizens or as officers in the en-
| fOrcemCnt of the law, 70 take the liberty OF an
! individual from him by unfair means. we strike
| at the very foundation of the structure upon
| which has been huilded the hopes and as
| piratiOus of Americans, and we threaten
! boosted so long and truthfuiy. But
| in this prosecution. unmindful Of the
| interests Of the individual on trial, urmind!ul
of the fact that ne was entitled 10 fair investi
| CATION and determination of the issues submit
| ted. the prosecution comes into this Court
| and by in.lnuGtlOns meaner than could have
| been made of him # he had been a villain,
seeks to destroy his defense in the minds OF this
! jnry and to convict him Of an infamous oflense.
! I wish to
PHOTOGRAPH THIS CASE
To this Jury not in It's detail because it does not
need r. III order that We might not be subject
! ed TO mseoustruction we have consented in this
| ease that the prosecution should 90 TO the first
! item Of Mr.. Burns term, and pursue the books,
! item By item, from the first day of his incum-
bency until the close of his term of Office. and
this We have done Notwithstanding the fact
! that he Is upon trial only for the embezziemcnt
Of the Slh5 named IL the Indictment
| We have thus enabled them to prove in this
| trial. item by item, aCcruing day after day, week
after week, and month after month, until we
| have placed before this jury perfect picture of
! NJ. Burns term of Office, including not only his
| own individual conduct but that of all his dep
uiies. We have been willing that this course
! should be taken. but We have protested that
they should not be permitted in this case in ad-
d!tion tOail the liberty given to them by the de
( Tense, 10 place Ny. Gale upon the stand and
! seek Il conviction Of Nj Burns by subiecting
their own witness 10 I cross examination invov-
| ing an insinuatiou against his integrity. Gen
| ticmen of the jury some OF you know George
| Ga'e You saw him he sat in the witness
char, and was subjected by those who called
him, not 10 examination IN chief conducted
according 10 the ordinary rules hut to a
| cross eXWninstion filed with insinuaiions
against his integrity. Thought at the time that
the purpose OF the prosecution was to put him
up As u straw man and knock him down azain
IL possible IN order that they might find some
remote pTpteDse upon which they might seek to
0>pcrse the character Of Mr.. Burns. The phi
losophy upon which this examination was con
ducred lnnst have Eeen that Gale was his
/ h!ntHCr-iu-iaw. protested against this method
because 1t was Unfair, and, may say unaigni-
fed, 80 lir as his family history is concerned
would lie proud IL il could be written IN words
I that might be understood 10y all for Mr. Burns
! IS not ashamed Of his ancestry. He was born of
noble blood. and when, a poor orphan boy In
! the town Of Woodland, he was laboring TO raise
himself 20 the emineDce which he subsequently
/ attained no man could justly point he finger of