Reading Time: 3 minutes [342 words]

804 ¢ X. AMERICAN STATE TRIALS.

liberties. They ahould be under no influence—they are only
accountable to God and their own consciencea—your present
judges are in that situation.

There is a little circumstance which the Attorney General,
in his observations to you, omitted to state, but which I think
it right to recall to your recollection, as it appears with what
design the traverser made this publication. In this allusion
to Jonathan Robbing he expressly tells you this is ‘‘a case too
ttle known, but of which the people ought to be fully ap-
prised before the election, and they shall be.’ Here, then,
the evident design of the traverser was, to arouse the people
against the President so as to influence their minds against
him on the next election. I think it right to explain this to
you, because it proves, that the traverser was actuated by
improper motives to make this charge against the President.
It is a very heavy charge, and made with intent to bring the
President into contempt and disrepute, and exeite against
him the hatred of the people of the United States.

The traverser has read in evidence a report made by the
President to the House of Representatives, and a letter writ-
ten by the Secretary of State, to show that the President had
advised and directed this Robbins to be given up; but subse-
quent facts could not excuse the traverser for what he had
written before,

Now, gentlemen, with regard to this delivery of Jonathan
Robbins, I am clearly of opinion that the President could not
refuse to deliver him up. This same Jonathan Robbins, whose
Teal name appears to have been Nash, was charged with mur-
der committed on board the Hermione British ship of war.
This Nash being discovered in America, the British Minister
made a requisition to the President that he should be deliv-
ered up. Then we must inquire whether the President was
obliged to give him up? By the 27th article of the treaty
with Great Britain, it is stipulated, ‘‘that either of the con-
tracting parties will deliver up to justice all persons who,
being charged with murder or forgery committed within the
jurisdiction of either, shall seek an asylum within any of the

Related Posts