The Republican ; and Savannah evening ledger. (Savannah, Ga.) 1807-1816, June 20, 1807, Image 2

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TRIAL OF COLON!.L UUUR. ITDLB AL COURT. JOcuuoNO, Thurtday, May 23. ATtr r the o|>infou o! the <our! re.peeling the inadmi siuiliiy oi Duiibaugh’s, uilidaiU Ltfo been dciT ci eu— Vie. 11a y observed, that t,s the cxatnitia’ion iu colonel in. tui tt i ! ‘ki alrtu.fiy taken tin inucli ii iu without beiu;, a!.;e to make any progress i.i the ijifiii.es-. am trom the (Hs|><>i lion maniteste iny his cou.i - Ii: m'glil lust not < toy ten d..ys l>at even ten years longer, lie considered it U'suuiy, tiuin nfonnalioh which ire had reee ■1 ■ ■-t ni'U’. ■ryto si ‘ est to the court tlie: ;> opi i -iy ol hi: oiiiij colom ! Burr in a tan her -eeog iziiicu ho n day today, till tire exami itiou eoiud he elide 1. Ho .Rated* cm the aulboiily ila letter j ,t con.e to hand it (jin the secret, v t v* .r, il at . and Y\ ll kinson w: n >,:••<•...l other v iii.fv.es might be expected hei c nctween the -B li and both oi till. i non: il. i his ci. cimix’ .nice, s.ud he, iif i clersit essentia! that he ahould bec.,n4deic<. fit custody uinil lie • i.e secinity tlui his r>er-.on shall in- forth coming to answer tiic cha ge ol ti casou jg.tinst the United Stales. ‘1 he gen lb;,nen WHO up, 11 IS coulmei for Colulid ii i I rn.iv be .aid no doubt aie ‘ineere in the opin i si they hare expressed th it he will notshiink J ian ihe eb •t - exhibited against him, and —v ‘-’•"juncture of tfi < u instances xvlnch may occur, Hr {,. ■ ■ - , out ii. sc gentlemen mux; pardon me Ibr saying tii.it 1 cn'ei'tain eery different, opinion. I must be lie e dial hi, c on'd for the safety of his own Ii”- would, it he perceived i in danger, prevail over his regard lot the interest of ins securi ties. I ttivc notice iheicfoie that 1 cen.xii.lei l.i a as being already in custody to ui ,wcr die in” ion I have made for hi ; comruitn cut, and th .t lie cannot lie permitted to go at huge with out i.ti ig bi""i itv for his appearance from (i iy to day. flix situation now, is the sane as t : mi whcnliew.it first apprehended and brought Let ne a single nidge lor the purporr oi ttsa n inaiion. Your honor at that lime consideied him as in eti itody. and bound him over from day to day ; and i only contend, that (he xutne course should he pursued al this lime. Mr. \\ ickh VM. I lie gentlein ,n thinks he h i (.tjt.ii neil the effect of his motion merely by h niiig made it I cannot perceive the proph et'.’ of a moti in to co npel colonel Burr to give bail in any sum before the proli ible cause to heneve hint guilty of tie..son lias been shown. \\ lien he was brought before your honor for c . iminaiion. von conceived the sum of gi.OOO su nuent security for his daily appearance;— it'it a recognizance has already been given iu double that sum, binding him not to depart without the leave of this court. Yet now, al though no proli tide proof of treason has been exhibited, Mr. H. v ret|uiresthe court to de mand ol colonel Bun additional secuuty ! 1 trust that such a motion will not prevail. Mr. M a itis'. It has been already decided by the sup, erne court of the United Mutes that hot a single espies.ion in Wilkinson’s affidavit iinioimis to any prool of ihe charge if treason, and ue motion oi the gentleman amounts to this; we itave no evidence ol treason, and aie not ready to go to trial tor the purpose of prov ing it. We therefore move toe court to increase the hail. iir. Uaxho!.ph Tile fust motion of the Counsel lb. me , ii;cd States vv..s to commit C'douol B ire on the ground of probable cause only. I his goes a v,*p farther; aid vvidies the s i ne Uii i ; to lie done on the ground of a / j i.ci/• ruu cau.sr. Hut we trust la it we >a.dl not he deprived ot our liberty, or h Id to bail on a mere uncertain expectalijii of e,idc ire. Mr. M-Rak. The gentlemen re'm to con sider tlie recognizance already taken as sulb rient for all ciicuinst.uices, and that colonel Ter will comply wi ll it at any late. But we have not the same expectation that lie will ap pear in case he discovers that sufficient fu el.*.no for his conviction his been obtained. \\ hen they speak ol the sum in which he was hound on a former occ.a-,ion. tliey donut lecoi le.", the civcunistv,nces vvhi. Ii induced the judge to take bail in so small a sum. It wo express ly mentioned by yoor honor that his having teen brought to a pl.u e at a ths f nice from the circle of his f. ieuds, and the nature of the ol io.ice, (a misdemeanor only) induced you to h Ul him to b..ii in that sun ; and the charge oi treason was almgeJier excluded from view m taking the recognizance. Mr. >V’irt. Al •. vVieKham, in saving that my liientl Mr. Hay thought he h and obtained tue object ol his motion merely bv hiving in ale it. clearly misconceived the object of the mo mn now before the court. The motion we m ale yesterday was to commit colonci Burr oo ach age of treason : out nr i m to day is to h >ld hini in custody to abide the opinion which the court in iy pronounce upon the question of commitment. l'hc gentlemen siv that we Lave seemed the object vvi have in view by the recognizance alre ,dv taken. The court ex piessly excluded the charge of treason Lorn thi recognizance, vvhi h applies only to tlu rni.deine nor Let us suppose that the nvi ti >n to commit colonel Bun was made out of court before a single magistrate. If the eva mi i it ion of witnesses in support of ihe motion occupied move thin one <Lv. would the nia g grate let him go at large, while ii was depen ding ? \\‘m Id he i.oi rather, eiilier hare him is i ie'd in cos ody. or take sveuri v for Ins ap p n , ice. and e icvv it every evening until the limMon should lie determined ? This is all that xv now ask of the court to do. The recogni zance which has occ.. gi.cn applies to the mis- v cVinennor only Ts tbei efore it should Ik; for feited bv his going away, we shou.d have hail no security for his answering a charge oi lira son ; a much more enormous otknee, and at- . tended with a very difietent punishment. We contend, the . eforc, that addiuoiial secuiiiy ought to he taken. Mr. Botts. I shall endeavor to place this■ siibjcci in some measuie in anew light. It . has been said that tiie former examination of; colonel Burr did noi p- eciuue this motion, il • so, every new edition of I lie volume of evidence I would justify a renewal of the mo ion to ile nii.iid additional bai.— I In; motions mi lit he :ieped upon nio ions, and b ii upon h. il, until tht perpetual imp: isnnmcnl ot the accused might he the consequence. ii was api ac;ice in former times to drown a person accus’ and of lieu g \ witch, in order to try her. I think that practice is renewed on the present occasion in another shape—A mo tion is made to < orn.uit colonel Burr for treason. Befoie the evident e ;a i be gone through by which alone itCuiiLe ascst'ained that he ought to be commuted, toe io, ‘t ne requeued to predetermine the effect of u e evidence, and commit, before tliev ii.vc decided whether they ought to commit. Besides no warrant ha, been issued against colonel Burr m the j.iesent occasion. He has not been attested for Ufcason ; and thcreloie cannot be consider ed as in custody for that offence. Mr. Hay then made some further observa tions on me importance of the charge of trea son. (wi.j. ,i is of the highest nature, involving tiie lepmation and iile and the piisoner) and the g reat i ecessity therefore of the most ample security to compel his appearance tc answer it He slated that tr.is examination niight l .st ma ny day s ; that alter me cou t hat'ni.ele up an opinion tlial coloi e Burr ought to hi < ( inmit ted, he might march off aiul leave the court to pionounce it; so that an order to commit, might he made by the cult, and no person found on whom it c iil.i i>e executed, .'.nch ail event, tie Said, would cxi ilc ilie laughter and scorn ol all he people ot the United Mates. He mentioned that ait immense expense had been incurred by the government, io collecting witnesses, anti picp.oi, g for mis t.iai; that, therefore, he urn not vu-di the vvl.ole of that expense to be thrown away. (General Wilkin son is expected to ani.c between the 28th and 30ih ot tins month, li he at lives, Uidi the bills of indict.nent will be imuieui.itcly sent to the grand jury. L'his is the fnat instance in which the ministers oi tire law have been re quested to say to the accused, “you may do as you please, and go at large, until we pronounce sentence.'’ Ihe gentlemen contend for new principles in favor ot coionel Burr; but l trust, that greater piivi.eges will not be grained to him than to the humblest deluded vicdiu ol his ambition. 1 he circumstance that he has already enter ed into a recognizance to answer for a misde meanor, is no argument to exempt him from entering into another on a charge of treason Mmll the accused clear himself of a responsi bility for one crime by his having committed or being charged vviin another? ‘I his would mde and be to violate that maxim ot law. that no man shall be benefited by his own vvtong. Mr. lfotis has contended, that there is a difference between the ease on the examination and that now befoie the com t; that in the first instance, a war.ant had been issued; hut none in the present. Bui a warrant is certainly unneces sary now that the prisoner is he foie the court, lne object of a wai rant is to hi ing him before you \v nen this has been done, it is funr:tu •jfi ‘io. Here i, coio..ei bun, before the court. It is therefore immaterial how he came befoie u; but he ought to he consideied i.i custody, uiid. discharged by the due course of law. I lie Uhikp Justice delivered ihe opinion ol the court, the substance of vv nich was as fol lows. Ii is certainly necessary that a per on accused should be retained in eusiodv, or rc nuiied to give security for his appearance, vv..ile Ins examination is depending-. Lie a mouni oi ihe security to he required must de pend, however, upon the weight of the testi mony against him. On a former occasion col onel Burr was held to bui, for his daily appear ance, in the sum ot five thousand dollars only, because there was no evidence before the judge to prove the probability of his having been guilty of treason. When the examination was completed, the sum of ten thousand dollars Was con idered sutfiv cut to hind him to an swer the charge of mi .demeanor only, because the constitution requires that extensive hail should not he taken ; but that recognizance hal no application to the charge of treason Yet, whether additional security ought lobe re juired in the present stage of this business, before any evidence lias appeared to make the charge ot treason probable, is a question of some difficulty. It would seem, that evidence sufficient to furnish probable cause, must first he examined, before the ac, used can be depriv ed ot Ids dherty, or any set urity can be requir ed oi him. Yet, bet ,v this could he done, he might escape and defeat the very end of the examination. In common cases, where a per son charged with a c ime is ai rested and hro’t before a magistrate, the arrest itself is preced ed by an affidavit, vvbich furnishes ground of cause. Ihe prisoner therefore is con tinued in custody, or bailed until the examina tion is finished. But here there has been no arrest tor treason, and colonel Burr is not in custody for that offence. Ihe evidence then must he heard io den ‘mine whether he ought to he taken into custody. But as the present public and solemn examination is ve"v differ ent from that before a si glc magistrate; as very improper cfTcc's on the public mind, may he produced by it. I wish that the court could be relieved Loin the einoaitassii.g situation in I x yVVi w vhiih it is placed, ard exempted from there cessi y idgi u.g any opinion upon the cast- pie viousiy to its Icing auen upon Ly the grand juiy. 1 is the wish ol the court ih..t the pet sniial appearance ol ooh r.el Bmr could he se emed. without the nctessi y of proceeding in this enquii y. Colonel Burr rose, and and served, that he denied thericht ol ihe citnito held him to I b. il in this stage oi ih< pit ceetiii gs; that the ; consiilutit.n <■! ihe United States w..s against it; declaring that no person shali be attested w iilv,tit ftrobubh ccu*c, made out Ly oath or af firmation ; but if the court xveie embarrassed, he w tnd relieve them by consenting to gi.e bail; ptovided ishould be understood, llg.t no opii ion on the question, even ol probuUe aius , was pi out un; ti bv th.e touil, by the cii cumstance oi his giv ini bail. i 1 he Cn ikf Jv si it t s..iu that such was the meaning otilie couit. Mr. Martin said, foi his part, he should prefer thatai the evich nee should be fully gene into. Instead of fearing that pub ic pieintiice wou'd theiehy I.e exciied against coionet Burr,! he believ ed it would remove ail the piejudices! of that sort whic.ii now prevailed. The Chief Justice. Asa hill will proba bly be sent up to the grand jury, the court wish es to declare no opinion tiihei way. Some convei ation then occ lined relative to the (/van turn ot Uuii; and colonel Burr n en tioned (hat he would ptopose that the sum (should be ten thousand dollars, if he should be able to find security to that amount, of which I he exprt- ed innisell to be doubtful. Mr. H.,y j contended that 50 000 dodars would r.ot be too much ; but the court finally accepted of the 1 offer made by cofont. Burr ; who. after a short iuerval, entcrc ! into a recognizance with four j! securities, to wit, Messrs. Wm. 1 angbouni, j'l lion,as Taylor, John G. Gamble and Luther S Martin—himscl! ii; tfie sum of ten leousand l dol.es, and each security in the sum of two tluinaud live hundred dollars—conditioned, ■ lha. lie would appear to answer the charge £ offeason, and not depart without leave of the court. [j Air Martin*, when offered as secuiiiy for j) col* pel Burr, said, that he had lands in the do ji triclot v irginia, the value ot which was more ! j than double the sum ; at.d that he xvus happy I to have this opportunity to give a public pioof g ot his confidence in the honor of colonel Burr, J and othis concur ion that he was innocent, j Ail further proceedings in the case were j thereupon postponed until the next day. Friday , May 29. !The grand jury were called over, and again adjourned until Saturday morning, ten <> ’clock, but general Wiikinson not having an ived, no thing else was vione. Saturday, May 30. General Wilkinson failing still to appear, nothing wasdone this day relative to the trial; of colonel Aaron Burr. Monday, June 1. The grand jury having been called over, Mr. Hay observed, that lie lelt great embarrass ment and difficulty, as to the course which ought to be pursued. He had confidently ex- 1 peered the an ival of general Wilkinson, and was di- appointed. He vv as therefore unwilling io subject the grand jury to the inconvenience of farther attendance—but he thought it pro per to inform the court that he had t his morn ing received a numtjer of affitkr. i's of witnesses residing in the neighbo. hood of Chi.icothe u"d of Blannerhasset’s island, which bore directly 1 upon the charge of treason against colonel Burr. hese affidavits, however, according to the opinion lately giv en In* the court con cerning me affidavit of j acoh Dubaugh, were not admissible as evidence, and would not be permuted to he read. He expected to hear from general Wilkinson, pis he should not appear i.i person) bv the Lynchburg mail ; which he understood vvouhl arrive on Wed nesday morning. He therefore hoped that the grand |tiry vvotild not be unwilling to make a farther sacrifice of a portion of their time for the public good, and would consent to wait with patience. I he grand jury were adjourned until Tues day ten o’clock. 7';trgdav,Jur.c 2. The grand jury xvere called and attended, hut (general Wilkinson not having arrived) were agai.i adjourned until Wednesday morn ing ten o’clock. Wednesday, June 3. The court opened tit 10 o’clock, pre sent the honorable Chid” Justice Mar shall, and the honorable C. Griffien. The grand jury was called and retired to their ch. n.ber. Mr. Hay said that he had had some conversation with the gentlemen associ ated with him in this business, and from further information which he had re ceived, and calculations which he had made, he was of opinion th tt general Wilkinson could not reasonably be ex pected hi re until the 14th or 15th of this month, and proposed that the grand jury be called again into court, and adjourned to some future day. He was anxious that the business shou’d be finished this term, and wish ed to know ii’ tiie counsel on the c:hcr side Lad any olxct’cn to this prepo ha!. Mr. W ickh a m had r,o objection, provided, that the grand jury would Le certain to atier.d u, ti ecny aj point ed— Ke thought, however, that if ge nu; 1 Wilkinson would be here duiing the present turn, that we vend l ave son e account cl him in a vtiy lew days. Mr. Hay had made a calculation, by which it appeared to him impossi ble that ger.en.ii Wilkinson ccu.ci pos sibly be here in less than a fortnight, il he had come by land—that the dis tance to Nev.-Orleans was 1370 miles, and‘if general Wilkinson was coming on by land he must travel a horse back, there was r.o other way of travelling a greater part of that ccuntrv —he did not suppose that general Wilkinson could travel at a greater speed ih: n about thirty miles a day, which would take up 44 day s to reach this pi, ce from New-Orieans, and if he started early in May, as he had reason to believe, he could not be expected to arrive here before the 14th or 15th of the present montl —the court knows the perilous situation of that phee. He wished to know on what cby the grand jury should be called igam. Mr. Wickham observed, that the last information received hem the se cretary cf war, stated, ihat general Wil kinson should be here by the SBfh or 3Cth of h st n.cmh, and ii there were any new information Mr. Hay mentioned a letter from governor Claiborne, which confirmed his opinion that general Wilkinson h and set out from N.-Orie; ns early in Mi y. The Chief Justice observe cl, i hat in the- interval the busine'ss could not progress, and that it would be best to call over ;he grand jury and adjourn them to seme given day. Mr. \Y ickh a m should not oppose the motion—if there were a certainty that the attendance cf the grand jury could be at that time obtained. Il the government had dene its duly (and he had no doubt but it had) general YY i!- kinson must have been summoned in time to have enabled him to appear here by this time. Mr. Hay stated that Mr. Perkins, who had better means cf travel.it.g titan general W ilkinson, having th.e ad vantage of taking fresh horses where ever he could fmd them, and wherev er they were wanting, took 33 or 54 days to travel from Fort St< ddert, ai ihoueh possessed of every meats to f ciiiuite his journey aid render tra velling expeditious. General Wil kinson could not be here in ‘his time —“ He is on his wav ; at el that he will infallibly be here, as sute as he is a liv ing man, 1 am confident.” Heie the grand jury came into court, and being called over, Mr. Hay renew ed his former observations, staling, that general Wilkinson, who was a principal witness, was absent, aid that lie expected him in a Tort time—v as unwilling to put the gentlemen of he grand jury to the inconvenience of at tending from day to day, ar.d wishc cl to know what time it would be agieeabie to these gentlemen to be again called over. Mr. John Randolph. Anytime will be agreeable to the grand jury that will be convenient to the court and to the parties. Colonelßurr mentioned the si'u ation of the witnesses who had come from a very great distance. He stat ed the distance from New-Orieans to be nearly the same as that travelled by Mr. Perkins, and that his journey was performed in 31 days—that the calculations of the gentlemen might be more accurate, but if general Wilkin son was coming, he would probably be heard of very soon. He appeared txy doub% as the gentlemen of the grand jury lived at a great distance, whether, if they now separated, something might’ not prevent them from an attendance on the and v which should be appoir.ted- Mr. Martin submitted whether it is not better to conti. ue by adjourn ments from e 1 y to day, as general Wilkinson, ifnowonl'h journey, must very soon be here. He t tought that