“It may surprise those of you who know me,—­the moral atmosphere in which I have grown up, and the opinions which I entertain,—­but never have I felt so deep and hearty an interest in the defence of any case as in this.  This prisoner I never saw till I came from a sick bed into this court, when I met him for the first time.  I had participated strongly in the feeling which in connection with him had been excited in this community.  As you well know, I have and could have no sympathy with the motives by which he may be presumed to have been actuated.  Why, then, this sudden feeling in his behalf?  Not, I assure you, from mercenary motives.  His acquittal or his condemnation will make no difference in the compensation I receive for my services.  The overpowering interest I feel in this case originates in the fact that it places at stake the reputation of this District, and, in some respects, of the country itself, of which this city is the political capital.  The counsel for the government has dwelt with emphasis on the great amount and value of property placed at hazard by this prisoner.  There is something, however, far more valuable than property—­a fair, honorable, impartial administration of justice; and of the chivalrous race of the south it may be expected that they will do justice, though the heavens fall!  God forbid that the world should point to this trial as a proof that we are so besotted by passion and interest that we cannot discern the most obvious distinctions and that on a slave question with a jury of slave-holders there is no possible chance of justice!  Many, I assure you, will be ready to fasten this charge upon us.  It is my hope, my ardent desire, it is your sworn duty, that no step be taken against this prisoner without full warrant of law and evidence.  The duty of defence I discharge with pleasure.  I could have desired that this prisoner might have been defended entirely by counsel resident in this District.  It would have been my pride to have shown to the world that of our own mere motion we would do justice in any case, no matter how delicate, no matter how sore the point the prisoner had touched.

“My learned friend, the District Attorney, has alluded to the courtesy which he and the court have extended to my associate in this cause.  I hope he does not plume himself upon that.  A gentleman of my associate’s learning, ability, unexceptionable deportment, and high character among his own people, must and will be treated with courtesy wherever he goes.  But, at the same time that he boasts of his courtesy, the District Attorney takes occasion to charge my associate with gross ignorance of the law.  He says the forty-one charges could not have been included in one indictment, and offers to give up the case if we will produce a single authority to that effect.  It were easy to produce the authority [see 1 Chitty, C.L.  Indictment], but, unfortunately, the District Attorney has made a