Year: 1859

other pleas for the State, there was bill
of Indictment for arson against Edinbor-
ough, slave. The Judge who presided
was gentleman of large learning and ex-
tended legal experience, and he still lives
to enjoy the rewards of high professional
repute at the capital city of Mississippi.
The accused was native African, and was
the property of gentleman of the county
in which the bill was found. The arson
was laid in the destruction of the GIN
house of his master the plea was-Not
| Guilty, when jury was empanneled and
the cause proceeded to trial. The prose-
cution was conducted by the District At
torney, while the defense was under the
management of one of the most thorough
ly read lawyers of our State, assisted by
his son, young lawyer then in the open
ing promise of brilliant future.


The evidence on the part of the State
disclosed the following facts /: that few
days previous to the burning, the defend
ant had run away upon some insufficient
cause that the day before the fire, which
occurred between midnight and daylight,
the defendant had been seen lurking about
in the vicinity of the gin that an inefec
tual attempt was then made to capture
him that the overseer and a portion of
the hands had been engaged at the gin till
a late hour the nj ight of the fire, packing
cotton and loading wagons for Grand Gulf !;
that when they left for the quarter" they
left everything, as they supposed, safe at
the gin that when the alarm of fire was
made, the force was carried to the gin, and
an attempt was made to subdue the flames,
which proved abortive that suspicion i'm
mediately fell upon the defendant, from
the fact of his being a fugitive, and that
he had been seen in the vicinity the day
previous and that, upon that supposition,
a more vigorous search was instituted, and
after a diligent pursuit of about an hour
and half, the defendant was discovered
in cotton-house, in an adjacent field,
about mile from the gin that he was
then whipped. but not for the purpose of
inducing confession, but as punishment
for running away and after that, and
while on the way to the quarter, the de-
fendant had voluntarily confessed that he
burned the gin that he set it on fire with
a view of duplicating a negro on the plan
tation who had incurred his animosity.


The evidence for the State closed after
introducing the negro to prove that the de-
fendant did owe him a grudge for some
cause not necessary here to be detailed
The defense offered no evidence, and the
argument proceeded. The District Attor-
ney opened the prosecution by brief ref
erence to the facts and the law applicable
to the same. The counsel for the defend
ant, eminent for high legal attainment, pre-
sented powerful series of arguments and
hypothesis inconsistent with the conclusion
of guilt.


The law was given in charge by the
Court, and the jury rendered verdict of
guilty. A motion was made to set aside
the verdict and grant new trial, for va
riety of causes, and, after a labored argu-
ment was overruled.


The next day the prisoner and another,
who was convicted of murder, were placed
at the bar to receive the sentence of death


The Court, having regularly pronounced
Judgment upon the murderer, then said to
Edinborough:


Edinborough, stand up! You have
been regularly indicted, tried by a jury of
your own selection, and by them found
guilty of the crime Of arson. The pun
ishment for that crime is death. You have
had able counsel, who have conducted
your cause with unmistakable skill and
ability but if you have anything to say
why the judgment of this Court should not
be pronounced, the law gives you the lib
erty to speak for yourself. What have
you to say {"


The negro advanced step or two, so as
to face the stand, and expressed his thanks
to Massa Wiley" for it appears he had
often seen and heard of the Judge, and it
was quite natural that he should so ad-
dress him. Said he


"Massa Wiley, Edinborough glad he
sa Wiley, Edinborough no burnee de gin.
Dat slave tell you lie when he say Edin-
| borough burnee de gin he git back whip
ped. Marlborough old slave he git
drunk overseer whip him den Edinbor-
ough do bad ting he run away. Ber-
ry bad but Marlborough no burnee de
gin-he see de gin dat day. Young mas
sa and overseer tell truf dey did see me
dat day, but hide in de swamp till night,
and den go to de cotton-house and git un-
der de cotton to keep warm. Edinborough
wanted to go back to he massa house, but
he 'feared-so he stay in de cotton-house.
Bymeby night come ON Edinborough see
slave go to gin, and want to go dar, but he
feared de overseer whip him. Slave pack
cotton, slave load wagon, slave smoke pipe,
and hab leetle fire to warm he fingers when
he git cold. Slave stay long time den
when seven stars right ober he head, he go
to quarter. All dis time Marlborough lay in
de cotton-house, and presently, when eve
rything still, Edinborough look towards de
gin and see big light Light git bigger.
Den Marlborough say to heself, you go
put fire out-no, den dey say Marlborough
burnee de gin. So stay in cotton-house,
and after while Edinborough hear oberseer
and Massa Henry comm. Dey say, he
here > one say no den dey say, let's
j I 1 I