2

538 HISTORICAL COLLATION

143.35 murderous] reckless E1-4
184.12 by reason of his being a Jew, as] by Daniel O'Connell as E1-4
196.8 Candlish] Cavendish E1-4
205.35-206.14 out." [pilcrow] Among [less than sign]...[greater than sign] aid. [Pilcrow]Of] out." [pilcrow]Of E1-4
236.2 $1,000] £200 E1-4
239.29-31 court, subjected to a nominal trial, convicted of high-treason and inciting
slaves to insurrection, and was executed. [pilcrow]His] court. [Pilcrow][The preliminary examination
of Brown took place at Charlestown, Virginia. He protested against the unfairness
of being so hastily charged, and denounced the whole proceedings as a mockery of
justice . His conviction was a foregone conclusion, as the conviction of any man
must be, who is taken in the very act of breaking the laws. He had challenged the
strength of the Virginia, and indeed of all the Southern States, and of the Federation
itself. He had defied ordinances which he knew to exist, and roused the passions
and fears of men. It was not to be expected that the slave-owners would show him
any mercy. They had power on their side, and legal right; and, however great one's
admiration of the motives which influenced this man, it is impossihle not to see
that a slave-insurrection, had it been really brought about, would have proved the
most disastrous method of settling the great difficulty that could possibly have been
devised. Brown was warmly supported hy the Abolitionists; but, even in the North,
more temperate politicians deplored the error he had committed, and saw that there
was no reasonable hope of his being spared. The case was handed over to the grand
jury, and the trial took place on the 27th of Octoher. The prisoner requested time to
prepare his defence, the assistance of counsel from the Free States, and liberty of
communicating with the other prisoners; but most of these demands were refused,
and the trial was pushed on with cruel and indecent haste. Virginia was frightened
and vindictive, and, as an excuse for not granting any delay, it was urged that the
women of the State were harassed by alarm and anxiety as long as their husbands
were away from home, and that the jurymen desired to return to them. When Brown
was brought into court, he was so weak, owing to the wounds he had received, that
he could not stand upon his feet, but lay full-length upon a bed; yet the fears of his
enemies were even then predominant. The Governor of Virginia, Mr. Wise, is stated
to have remarked at Richmond, before the members of the Legislature, that Brown
was a murderer, and ought to he hanged. As it was one of the prerogatives of the
Governor to grant pardons, after convictions which might appear to him not strictly
in accordance with justice, it was a monstrous outrage on propriety to give utterance
to such an opinion while the case was yet awaiting trial. But the remark was only of
a piece with the whole procedure. The prisoner was, indeed, furnished with counsel
by the court; but the gentleman to whom the duty of defending him was assigned,
had no time for preparing their speeches, for calling witnesses, or for examining
the law of the case. He was supplied with no list of witnesses, for the prosecution,
nor had he any knowledge of who they were to be, until they were produced in
court. Brown himself had sent for counsel to the Northern States; but on arriving,