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are you sitting here, as his fellow-citizens, and under the sanction of
your oaths- by what rule of evidence, by what rule of law, by what
rule of justice, by what rule of right, are you to say that Mr. Littie-
field has not entitled himself to your credence?
There are various modes of impeaching a witness. One is, by
attacking his general reputation for veracity. That gives him an
opportunity to sustain his character by counter testimony. If the
Counsel here had undertaken that mode of attack, they knew very
well that, like the unskilful engineer, they woujd have been hoisted by
their own pet~ird. They knew that we could present ample evidence,
both to corroborate his statements, and to sustain his character for
truth and veracity. Another mode is to impeach him, by showing
the conflict of his testimonv with that of other credible witnesses.
No such conflict is found here - corroboration and confirmation
rather. A third mode is, to show the inconsistencies and discrepan-
cies in his own testimony. This has been attempted-with what
fairness or success, we shall see, and you are to judge.
I have another consideration to present, which, I think, is demand-
ed by a sense of justice to an humble and honest man. To him, and
to his wife and children, his reputation is as dear as that of a College
Professor is to him, and, in-the eye of the law, is entitled to equal
consideration. When I remember the load of obloquy which, corning
originally from the defendant's lips, has been borne by Mr. Littlefield;
the imputations which have been heaped upon him, so that, during the
rest of his life, abroad or at home, his name must ever be associated
with this terrible tragedy,-when I remember that those children of
his must have it said that Dr. Webster, and Dr. Webster's friends, and
the reckless and thoughtless who sympathized with him at the risk of
injustice to others, imputed to their father, if not a murder, a most foul
and unrighteous conspiracy,- when I remember, also, that he has been
here upon this stand an entire day upon his examination, and taken up,
on another day, and subjected to a cross-examination by those whc
rank with the ablest cross-examining Counsel in Massachusetts, and
been subjected to all the scrutiny and sifting which their masterly
powers could command; when, if he was untrue, if he was open to
contradiction, his falsehood must have been exposed,-and when I
reflect that he has gone bravely through it all, that he has come out
of the fiery furnace of an ordeal like this, without a trace of fire upon
the garment of truth which he has worn, -I put it to you, whether
he shall longer continue to bear the imputation cast upon him by this
prisoner, and which, with a less directness of charge, his Counsel
have now undertaken to impress upon you and upon the community !
I challenge your sense of justice, whether that shall not be put to rest
forever!
Gentlemen, are we here in a Christian Court-room ? If he had
contradicted himself, or been contradicted by others-if he had been
proved to have done any thing which opened him to such an attack-
I should not, most certainly, stand here to defend him. But he is
charged with having told you an improbable story. We will see if
he has done so, in a moment. My present purpose is, to show that
injustice is done to the man. If that is the case, there is no defence
for Dr. Webster. For it is certain, that, these remains being there,
it must have been known to Littlefield or Webster. And I think,
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