Ye're wuss than
th' parsons, an' the' hain't fit ter tote vittles ter a bar.' Turning to
the 'judge,' he added, in a more respectful tone: 'I doan't know th'
fust thing 'bout lor, Major Gaston, an' this man's nigh as mean a cuss
as th' Lord ever made; but ef ye'll 'cept me, I'll go in fur him!'
'I will accept you with pleasure. You're doing a gentlemanly thing, Mr.
Larkin.'
A murmur of applause went round the assemblage, as Larkin and the other
counsel took seats near the jury.
The 'judge' then rose, and said:
'Gentlemen of the jury: You have engaged in a solemn office. You are
about to try a fellow being for his life. It is a painful duty, but it
is an obligation you owe to the community, and to yourselves, and you
will not shrink from it. Society is held together by laws made to
protect the innocent and punish the guilty. But, as _our_ society is
organized, there are some offences which our tribunals cannot reach. In
such cases the people, from whom all laws proceed, have a right to take
the law into their own hands.
'The prisoner is charged with crimes which, from the circumstances
surrounding their commission, cannot be reached by regular courts of
justice. They were witnessed by none but blacks, whose testimony, by our
statutes, is not admissible. We, the people, therefore, are to try him;
and, to get at the facts, we shall receive the evidence of negroes. You
will judge for yourselves as to its credibility. If any doubt of the
prisoner's guilt rests in your minds, you will give him the benefit of
it, and acquit him; but if, on the other hand, you are fully persuaded
that he committed either or both the crimes of which he is accused, you
will convict him.
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