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laws of his country, upon the ground, and for the reason, that it has
been proved here, beyond a most reasonable doubt, that he has been
guilty of one of the most horrible offences that can be found in the
law's dark catalogue of crime ? A grave and serious duty has de-
volved upon us-has devolved upon you, the judges, and upon us,
who represent him in this more than mortal struggle. It devolves
upon you to say, whether Professor Webster shall depart hence to his
family, and there remain, what he ever has been to them, the very
centre of their affections, the very object of their idolatry ; or whether
he shall depart hence to the scaffold, leaving to that family a name
which they would prefer to bury in the grave-which they would
conceive to be their greatest curse, their only disgrace. Yes, it does
devolve upon you to say, whether the fire upon his hearth-stone shall
burn brightly, or whether your breath, Mr. Foreman, when you pro-
nounce the verdict, shall extinguish that fire, so as to cause all its
ashes to be scattered to the winds-its place to be forgotten in kind-
ness by his friends, and in mercy by his enemies !
This duty does devolve upon you; and, if you err, you see the
victim. He it is, and his is the family, who must be offered up as an
atoning sacrifice to that error, unless, indeed, you err on Mercy's side
- upon the side of that quality in which it is permitted man to ap-
proach nearer than in any other to the nature of his God ; - here, in-
deed, you may err, and err in safety too, and no prisoner's groan, no
widow's sob or orphan tear, bear witness to the error.
And here, and here only, is your lot happier than ours. If we err
here, we can err in no safe place. We must answer it to the prisoner
and his friends. We must answer it to an exacting and a scrutinizing
profession. We must answer it to our consciences. There is no place
for us to err in. There is a place for you.
Standing, then, as we do, and as you do, engaged in one and the
same duty, to wit, -in examining, discussing, and deciding this great
question, it behooves us to stand in no antagonistic position to each
other ; but, on the contrary, to aid and assist each other, so far as in
us lies, and as we can truly do it. III would it become us, by any
management and chicane, to obtain a verdict in this case; and ill would
it become you to permit this defendant to suffer by any error of ours.
It is your duty, and your right and privilege, to constitute your-
selves the Counsel for this defendant; to see that he has the benefit
of everything that could be urged in his defence ; to see that he shall
have the evidence presented in every possible view that can be taken
of it, whether we assume those views or not. And it is xour duty to
remember, and never for a moment to forget, that, in the words of
your oath, it is this defendant whom you have in charge. Yet, it is
not this defendant only, but this defendant's family, whom you have
in charge.
And here I pray that you would allow me to make a few remarks,
upon a subject I would not address men like you upon, on any less
important cause, or on any less momentous occasion. But, in the.
name of this defendant, and of all that he has at stake, I must en-
treat you to commence the examination of this case, by examining
your own minds; and that you do it with a strong, settled, stern de-
termination to eradicate everything that partakes aught of prejudice,
or savors of suspicion.
I remember well that, before you took your oaths of office, by virtue
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