The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-07-25

him. Let him feel that he will be justly dealt with. that his liberty and his prop erty are as secure and as safe- ly guarded by the laws of Ala bama as are the white mans. The theory of our law Is equal protection tU all of its citizens It rests evenly upon the humble and the exalted, and upon the poor and the rich the black and the white. And 1t will be a sad day in Ala bama when we depart from that theory of the law
 Now then, gentlemen, take this case; it is rather simple in it's salient points; 1t turns on the question that l have out lined to you. If this defendant, in your opinion. is innocent; or, in your opinion. his guilt is not shown beyond reason. able doubt, then In the name of heaven acquit him; but, on the other hand, if the evidence satisfies you that he is guilty, why, then. in the name of all that Is sa- cred, and the oaths you have taken, ren- der that verdict which your conscience tells you is the truth in this transaction.
 l have not time to go over these writ ten charges that have been asked by counsel for the defendant. l will give the substance of what I think ought to be given, and L will refuse all these others and give you an exception. Of course, ii Pat Hill was not sold against his consent and made to perform service otherwise than free-will, if you think that he went down there voluntarily. that he made the contract voluntarily. and staid there vol- untarily. why, then, the defendant would not be guilty. In that aspect of the case 1t would not make any difference whether the docket was forged or not, or what Couse told Franklin, or what Franklin told him, or how much money he got, under these circumstances, 1t don't make dfffarnnnn if ha rOf G1 00n fOr trN in stead of the amount paid. if he went down there of his own free will. That evidence was let into you for the purpose of enabling you to ascertain, first, the bona fides of the transaction. and what weight you would give to the witnesses, Riddle and Couse; but the glst of this offense, the thing that makes peonage, is that a man is held by force against his will to perform labor in payment of a debt or obligation, either due by him or claimed of him, whether 1t Is due or not-that is the substance of the offense. Without that. no matter how much wrong has been done, a man would not be guilty of holding another under peouage, and it would not make any difference how many false arrests or dockets. have been made, or what else done in the case, it would not make any difference. You would not convict him unless you are satisfied be- yond reasonable doubt that he was compelled to perform service against his will, under a claim of debt either due by him, or claimed to be due by him.
 Now, I have already charged you so you understand it. that the law presumes a man innocent until the proof convinces you beyond a reasonable doube that he Is guilty.
 Good character has been set up in this case We'll, good character is a circum- stance like any other fact in the case; you will weigh 1t in connection with all the evidence. Sometimes good character would enable you to acquit a man. when, without it. you would not; but the infiu- ence of good character stops whenever the facts satisfy the jury that the defendant did the thing that is charged against him. man of good character very often com mits offenses, and nearly every person has good character before he falls. For instance. man swears that he saw an. other shoot man in the back whom he had threatened to shoot: in such a case all the good character on earth would not benefit him if the jury believed that the man was shot in the back In this case you are not trying Franklin for this docket or what Couse did; those were circumstances that the court permitted to go to you to enable you to see whether the witnesses were telling the truth. l have charged you, and you would doubtless have come to a conclusion with out the charge. that whole thing before Couse was outrageous and did not author ize anybody to take Hill anywhere, to keep him or to hire him out. The real point in this case is this: This man. hay ing been arrested, carried there before a man that he was told was an officer. car ried there by an officer, going through the form Of trial fnld hal he ~A S5, and that he had to work it out, taken off by the same officer. and the same man to work, when he had to go to one place or the other to work-whether that was voluntary, of his own free-will. If it was Hills free act this defendant Is not guilty; and if 1t was not his free act he Is guilty. If you find the defendant guilty you will say. We. the jury, find the defendant guilty" If you find ths defendant not guilty, you will say. ''We. the jury, find tho defendant not guilty"