If in Brown Street, was he there by appointment? was he there to aid, if aid were necessary? was he there for, or against, the murderer? to concur, or to oppose? to favor, or to thwart?  Did the perpetrator know he was there, there waiting?  If so, then it follows that he was there by appointment.  He was at the post half an hour; he was waiting for somebody.  This proves appointment, arrangement, previous agreement; then it follows that he was there to aid, to encourage, to embolden the perpetrator; and that is enough.  If he were in such a situation as to afford aid, or that he was relied upon for aid, then he was aiding and abetting.  It is enough that the conspirator desired to have him there.  Besides, it may be well said, that he could afford just as much aid there as if he had been in Essex Street, as if he had been standing even at the gate, or at the window.  It was not an act of power against power that was to be done; it was a secret act, to be done by stealth.  The aid was to be placed in a position secure from observation.  It was important to the security of both that he should be in a lonely place.  Now it is obvious that there are many purposes for which he might be in Brown Street.

1.  Richard Crowninshield might have been secreted in the garden, and waiting for a signal;

2.  Or he might be in Brown Street to advise him as to the time of making his entry into the house;

3.  Or to favor his escape;

4.  Or to see if the street was clear when he came out;

5.  Or to conceal the weapon or the clothes;

6.  To be ready for any unforeseen contingency.

Richard Crowninshield lived in Danvers.  He would retire by the most secret way.  Brown Street is that way.  If you find him there, can you doubt why he was there?

If, Gentlemen, the prisoner went into Brown Street, by appointment with the perpetrator, to render aid or encouragement in any of these ways, he was present, in legal contemplation, aiding and abetting in this murder.  It is not necessary that he should have done any thing; it is enough that he was ready to act, and in a place to act.  If his being in Brown Street, by appointment, at the time of the murder, emboldened the purpose and encouraged the heart of the murderer, by the hope of instant aid, if aid should become necessary, then, without doubt, he was present, aiding and abetting, and was a principal in the murder.

I now proceed, Gentlemen, to the consideration of the testimony of Mr. Colman.  Although this evidence bears on every material part of the cause, I have purposely avoided every comment on it till the present moment, when I have done with the other evidence in the case.  As to the admission of this evidence, there has been a great struggle, and its importance demanded it.  The general rule of law is, that confessions are to be received as evidence.  They are entitled to great or to little consideration,