Year: 1859

he should give up so much of his liberty as society
should render him back. If there is NJ other pro-
lection than nasty action OF damages. the wives
OF the people were badly protected indeed Let this
be So and let the coins of the aduerer soothe their
wounded feelings.


The speaker defed the counsel to give the case Of
British jury not finding verdict of acquittal in
case Of the killing of aduterer. Here the speak
er read from a famous case that of Manning's, to
show that at the time when it was the purpose to
make the royal revenue the largest, there existed
an instructive shame at burning the hand of the
man who slew the adulterer of his wife. Also from
18th State trials, page 20, as to the point and
to show that it the greatest of crimes seduce
mans wife, and had been so regarded through
centuries. The aduterers act brings bastards into
family, and puts the offspring of mans loins on
an equality with bastards. The act of the adulte-
rer Injuries posterity.


Think of the District Attorney coming into this
court and hunting down petty criminals, and then
going out and compelling even Heaven to turn its
face against him for the enOrmity of his crimes
keeping the burglar out that the aduterer might
enter GChetrovied, Is State Trials BOG Hehad
shown by the Bible that the greatest of crimes was
that of adultery Foster, 295 Reference was also
made to Easts Commentaries, to show that the
provocation Of adultery was too great for human
nature to bear IN the first transport of the passion
on discovering the evidence of that adultery, and
to show that no u in general verdict ever con-
demned man for standing in defence of his wife,
1t is folly to punish for doing what he can
not help doing In this very court the Judge had
instructed the jury, when man killed the educer
of his sister, that the jury were the Judges of the
prisoners state of mind.


In the lst of Howell (Ewclins preface reasons
are given why the law does not adequately provide
for the offence of adultery By the Mosaic slaw it
was always punished with death. This was also
the law of Romulus; but later it not enforced.
but when tie empire became Christian-he asked
the jury to note that fact-when the empire became
Christian, when it was established upon the prin-
ciples and teachings of Him "who spake as never
man spake," the punishment of adultery was death
This was in the time Of Constantine, and the law
continued to be enforced long afterwards
| He would now take up the fourth question as to
the meaning of the old law, making the staying of
the adulterer and adulteress manslaughter when
it was provided that the husband who discovers the
adultery slay either the aduterer or the adul-
teress. He may pick from them and slay either.


If the husband waits till he catches the adulterers
In the act, he will never have opportunity to
defend his name from the nfamy which attaches
to this most horrible of high crimes. The ques-
tion to be contemplated was whether the husband
Is entirely satisfied of the commission of the adul
terry. The rule reducing the crime to manslaugh-
ter was hgurative one. All that was required
was imputation and circumstances leading directly
to the very door of truth to justify the killing
Ii man found another coming from his wife's
chamber, he would have the right to slay him. If
he found him going into her chamber he would
have the same right The only question to be de-
termned was care the parties guilty." That
stitutes the provocation, and it is entirely imma
terial whether the act is committed under the eyes
| of the husband or not. If the husband says when
the proof strikes him, by the old law the crime is
reduced to manslaughter. 1t was not necessary to
see the act He did not know that he could express
what he meant better than by using the words
| which the great dramatist puts to the mouth of
Iago, when in addressing Othello, he says
..Woulds't thou the supervision grossly cape on.
| 1t is impossible you should see this
We're they as prime as goats, as hot as monkeys,
AS salt as wolves in prime, and fools as gross
Asignorance made drunk But yet, l say,
II imputation and strong circumstances
Which lead directly to the door of truth
Will give you satisfaction you may have itn
| All thatwe can expect is that the circumstances
shall be strong enough to point clearly and certain
| ly to the door Of truth.


| In England, the punishment for him who unlaw-
| fully cohabited with the Queen, was death. And
| why? Because an alien race-a bastard offsprinp
| might usurp the place of the legitimate issue
| And was not the dadem of family honor as costly
and as well worth preserving as that which ever
| graced monarch's brow? Is not the honor of
descent passing from father to son as dear as that
which attaches to any governmental crown? The
allegiance OF an Englishman to his sovereign is pro-
verbal for its fidelity; his attachment is deep and
lasting; how much greater must that be which ex-
| lists between members of the same family? Let the
@gis of the law extend its protection over every
family circle. Who would live to have the word
"cuckold" written on his back?


Should Mr.. Sckles quietly have rested under the
imrutation and permitted this unhaowed inter-
course to proceed? What man, unless his heart
was made offiint, could have walked forth and felt





| hind his back? What other choice was left him
than to take his own life that of the seducer p
Man was made in the image of his Creator, and
when the immortal soul breathed into his nos
trils, he invested with dignity of character and
instinct to protect that dignity.


! The fifth proposition which he had submitted
was ''what is the effect of the rule which lowers
| or reduces such killing to mansaughter to show
| that 1t is equivalent to acquittal?"


He had already shown that by the common law
this had been declared light offence. He would
refer to the case of the Earl of Warwick to show
that man who slew another in the act of adultery
with his wife, was entitled to the "pripilege cleri
Gale, or benefit of clergy, upon writing the three
words, "1fiserere mel Del" thus showing tha.
only nominal punishment was affixed to the act
Taking the counsel for the prosecution then at their
own words, the defence could ask an acuuttal at
the common law, for the prosecution could hardly
ask conviction upon the common law and their
purpose to punish by statute. He would also refer
to 4th Blackstone, 373 and Foster 28s to show that
| this privilege of clergy made the crime of man
| slaughter mere nominal offence with a nominal
punishment. These authorities also show that in
the marine courts, where the privilege of clergy
did not exist, the rule had been for the courts to
order an acquittal, when the offence was equiva-
lent to any of those which We're made clergyable
at common law. 1t is your privilege to render a
general verdict upon the law and the evidence
and it must how appear to you that the crime OF
staying an adulterer is one not punishable at com
mon law.


THE argument upon thi. point by Mr.. Graham





legal character, and rapidly delivered, some of il


may not be in his exact language, but the idea i:
given.


Here, at two p NJ, short recess was taken
the Judge retiring from the bench and the prison
er from the dock, under charge of baiiffs. TIL,
buzz OF conversation was great while the Judge
was absent.


Mr.. Graham now proceeded to the consideration
OF the sixth proposition, viz: Chow far the provo


cation furnished by the deceased to the defendant


acted upon affected the defendants mind in re


ference to exonerating him from any legal conse


quence by reason of the killing in question; wheth


er it did not render the defendant for the time be


ing insane, or have a tendency to operate such


state of mental unsoundness relieve his alleg


ed act from all criminality-supposing the act t
J have been immediate or directly PROMPTED anc


occasioned by it; in other words, whether thi


act is one OF pardonabe and excusable unsound
ness OF mind, or wanton and ungovernable pas
/, | son?'


, lie did not mean to say that Mr. Sickles was in


sane from any permanent mental disease, but tina
the condition of his mind was such as to render


him legally unaccountable for what he did. II
was lmmaterial how man became insane-if his


mlnd was IN that condition he exOnerated from
all responsibility for his conduct What was Sick


les condition was matter to be determined by


the good sense Of the jury looking at the circum
stances of the case. Ungevernable passion implies


a disproportion between the anger excited and The


offence committed, and he denied that that was tht
case here. He would refer to II State Trial, &C.


where killing committed in state of ungovernablt
rage IS declared to be mansaughter. Here it wa:
decided that If man provoked another by contu


melious language and was slain the crime wa
maDslaughter. How hypocritical would it be t
put the act of a man who slays another for contu
melious language beside that of man who slav


the seducer of his wife. How can such an act b,
put on the same footing with the Staying of al
: adulterer?


Mr.. G. then referred to Is State trials, 200. an,
also to Foster, 290-29l, to show that the common
law rule in regard to manslaughtsr for adulter1


was that the husband be held puiltess


In reference to American law, he said it aimed a


two thoughts: lst the punishment of malicious kill
ing, and 2dly, of wifu killing under excitement
when the provocation not sufficient to iusti
, the mental condition. The second offence is pun
lshable as manslaughter, because the has nj


adequate reason for being out of the control of hi


will In murder, the man acts in cold blood, anC
with deliberate premeditation; in manslaughter h.
r acts in heated blood.


In order to know that Sickles could not hav
acted in cold blood, it only necessary for tn
jury to be informed of the facts which he Sickes


knew at the time he committed the act. He knew
that Key had hired house in which to have assig
nations with his wife, where he had indulged hi


beastliness and polluted the body of his wife; b
knew that by the aid of the park club house ant


his opera glass; he carried his operations agains
: his honor Conveniently posted in the upper room


of the club house. with his glass; the seducer coult
easily tell when it was safe to approach his friend


domicil. The action Of the seducer was deliberat
!, and well considered he had purposely hired /,
house in negro neighborhood, where there coult
be no legal witnesses of his guilt, and where h
! I reasoned upon perfect impunity. Looking from
d the windows of the club house he could spy int,
tla of SiaLla H.,