and struck him; am not quite positive as to the number of blows, but I saw him strike twice; he then fired the pistol; I did not see the pistol until he fired; Mr. Sturgus then came out of his room and advanced a few steps; I was excited, and thought he had something in his hand with which he was going to attack brother; I drew my Bowieknife, telling him to stand off; he then retreated; when we had left the school-house, William said Mr. Carpenter. Stop, sir, stop. Mr. Marshall, to witness. Keep cool, don't be offended at the manner of the counsel, we will attend to that. Mr. Carpenter. Well, we will. Mr. Marshall. Yes! we will. Mr. Carpenter. Certainly, we will. Mr. Marshall. Damned, if we don't. Ward. Matt. said he had forgotten the pistol, and I went back for it; the knife I wore on that occasion was one I had worn for six months constantly; at the time the pistol was fired, my brother was crushed back against the wall, in a corner, as far as he could get, and bent down; Butler then had him by the collar or cravat, and did not let go for a second, after the pistol was fired; during the conversation was very close to the parties-within half a foot of each; when Butler pushed my brother back, it took them some four or five feet from and flourish my knife when Sturgus came in; he came three or four steps, and I stepped towards him, and told him to stand back; he then retired into his room; when I returned to get the pistol, spoke with a few of the boys to inquire where it was; did not speak with any of them, before I left the school-house first; have no recollection of flourishing my knife towards the school-boys; we all bowed to Butler when we entered; my brother's hands were then by his side; noticed that he held his hat in his left hand and gesticulated with his right after we entered; when Butler sprang forward, think it was his left hand that he seized Matt. with, and the right that he struck him with; do not feel quite positive in regard to this, as I was considerably excited; know that he struck him twice; may have struck him three times or even four; my brother put his hat on when he told Butler he must hear his opinion of him; and when Butler seized and struck him, he then first put his hand in his pocket; did not know that my brother had pistols until I saw him take that from his pocket; have carried arms since I was fourteen years of age; having always associated with men older than myself, have done so, fearing I might get into a difficulty sometimes, and need them to defend myself. Mr. Carpenter. You say your brother told Butler he must have an apology? He said so; but he did not put the peculiar emphasis on the word "must" that you do. Mr. Carpenter. Where were your brother's hands as he entered? By his side." Mr. Carpenter. On which side of him were you? Behind him. Mr. Carpenter. Was the door shut? I do not remember. Mr. Carpenter. If you were behind him how is it that you do not know whether the door was closed or not? Because my brother William came in behind me. Another lot of witnesses-Dr. S. D. Gross, Dr. Lewis L. Rogers, Daniel McAllister, Coleman Darriel, Major Davis Earnael, Robert P. Rankin, James Lithgold, John Stenwall, James Speed, Mayor of Louisville, Mrs. J. Oldham, Mrs. Gwinn, William Logan, Capt. J. W. Brannon, Postmaster of Louisville, Richard Anderson, Col. Alex. P. Churchill, Alexander Walker, editor of the New Orleans Delta, and others testified to the same effect as those called before,19 as to the prisoner's character, disposition and state of health. THE COMMONWEALTH IN REBUTTAL. James S. Pirtle (recalled.) Saw Mr. Gudgel when he testified here yesterday; do not remember him as being the man who came to the school-house after the occurrence; there were two men came; do not recognize him as one of them; don't think I ever told Judt that Butler struck Ward. Joseph Benedict. Saw Mr. Gudgel here yesterday; I am not the boy he met on the street, crying after the occurrence; had seen Gudgel before I saw him here yesterday. George Sullivan. On the day of this difficulty, had a conversation with J. M. Barlow. He said to Mays and me and others in the shop, it was the most aggravated case he had ever heard of, that if Matt. Ward was not punished for this, there was no use in trying a man in Kentucky for murder; he proposed to go down and take out Matt. and hang him; suppose he was jesting, he continued to talk in the same way about the matter; a while after, I noticed he seemed to change, after he said he had been to see Mr. Robert J. Ward; 19 See ante, p. 91. he said he asked Mr. W. if he wanted to find a man who could swear that Butler struck Ward first; that Mr. Ward jumped up and took him by the hand, and said it was just what they wanted, but where was the man? that he replied: "I am the man," that, he told Mr. W. he was a poor man, and could not afford to lose time to attend the trial; that Mr. W. replied he should lose nothing by it, but should be well repaid; that he (Barlow) replied to this "I don't want you to talk any more in that way"; have heard Barlow say he would bet on the defendant being cleared; has told me that he had played cards in jail with defendant; said that when he had told Mr. Ward what he could testify to, Mr. W. invited him to wait until he called the family down, and be introduced to them, but he declined. Crossed-examined. Have talked a good deal about what I could prove, with different persons; think I first told Mr. Carpenter that while we sat together in the Crystal Palace, Barlow said: "I'll just bet they clear him"; it is very common, when people in our shop wish to affirm a fact or opinion, to say they will bet on it; was joking when I assented to the proposition to take out defendant and hang him; regarded it as a jest. Uriah Mays. Barlow gave me an account of his visit to Mr. Ward's house, just as Sullivan has related it. Dr. David Thomson (recalled.) Have no recollection of meeting Barlow, on the day of the occurrence, either in the street or in Colonel Harney's house; did not carry my case of instruments in my hand on the way there, they were in my side-pocket; never carry them in my hand; am sure he did not suggest to me, to take off his clothes; there was no conversation with Prof. Butler, after I entered the room, until I asked him what the position of the parties was, during the affray; he said they were clinched; no other person interrogated Butler at that time but myself; do not think Barlow was in the room. tore open one of his shirts, and started the other with my scissors, before I tore it. Mr. Wolfe. You are a member of the Presbyterian church, I believe, Dr. Thomson? I am, have been for ten years. Mr. Wolfe. Are you not a teacher in the Sabbath school? I am, sir. Mr. Wolfe. It is usual for members of the church to carry arms? I do not know; am not aware of any regulation in the church in regard to it. Mr. Wolfe. What have you done with those pistols you had on your person yesterday? The COURT. You are at liberty to answer the question or not, as you please. Dr. Thomson. I decline answering it unless I am under legal obligation to do so. Edward Knight Knight (recalled.) If Barlow assisted in undressing Butler, or was there at all, I did not see him; (saw another gentleman there, who I think was a Mr. Rupeus, it was not Barlow, I am sure), either the doctor or this Mr. Rupeus first suggested to take off Butler's coat. Cross-examined. Do not know precisely where Mr. Rupeus lives, but he lives in Louisville; there were over half a dozen persons in the room at the time; Dr. Thomson took off Butler's coat, with my assistance. THE DEFENSE AGAIN. James S. Speed and L. P. Crenshaw testified to the good character and reputation of Barlow for truth and veracity. Robert J. Ward (recalled.) When Barlow called to see me, he said he had been told it was important to the issue of the trial of my son, to ascertain if there was a witness who could prove that, in this unfortunate affair, Butler had struck him first; told him it was a very material point; he said he was one who could do it, and then went on to detail to me the same circumstances he has related here; told me he was influenced simply by a sense of justice; asked Mr. Barlow's name and business, how long he had resided in Louisville, etc.; asked him to meet me at Mr. Wolfe's office the next morning, he seemed reluctant, as his business was pressing; offered to pay him for the day's work, but he refused to receive it; never offered or intimated any inducement to him to testify; never told him he should be doubly repaid. THE SPEECHES TO THE JURY. MR. CARPENTER, FOR THE COMMONWEALTH. April 22. Gentlemen of the Jury: I approach the opening argument in this important case, under embarrassing circumstances. I am a stranger in Hardin County. Not an eye in the jury box, or in the multitude here assembled beams on me the light of recognition; not a face known to me; not a familiar countenance. Against me are arrayed counsel eminent for their learning, talents, and genius, known and appreciated, not only in this county, but throughout the State and the Union. The position of prosecutor is one I have never occupied before by employment, and one I do not covet, but I shrink not from it, when the cause of justice and the welfare of the community demand it. The true calling of the jurist is to mete out exact justice to all, and it is difficult to discern the justness of the proposition that an attorney may be retained to defend any man, however criminal, but must, in no case, prosecute one, however guilty. If we look to the practice. of the most eminent members of the Bar, including such names as Webster, Clay, and Wright, we find they pursued a very different course. I engaged in this cause from a high sense of duty to the public, and a desire to lend the aid of my feeble talents to bring down upon the prisoner (if guilty) the merited punishment of his great crime; and I gladly share whatever odium there may be attached to those assisting in this prosecution. I have taken no steps in this.case that were not imperatively demanded by my convictions of duty. Because engaged in it, I do not feel called upon to ask for a conviction unwarranted by the law and the facts. Weak as I am, I appear before you as the advocate of a million of the people of this Commonwealth, and ask you to hear me for my cause. Man is ephemeral, truth is eternal; no matter who speaks it, it is truth still, ever enduring and immortal as its author. Let my remarks have no effect upon you except so far as they accord with the law and the testimony; and if consistent with these you can acquit the prisoner, it will give me unfeigned pleasure. Allusions have been made to the great, and almost unparalleled excitment existing in the city of Louisville, in regard to this occurrence. It has been said that certain newspapers are responsible for all this unusual agitation. I have as yet heard no one pretend to deny the turth of the facts charged, and if nothing but a simple narration of the facts as they occurred, has been given, why so much complaint? On as bright a day as dawned in the year 1853, in the face of seventy thousand people, without any just provocation or cause, the prisoner entered the house of the deceased, insulted and killed him. Is it remarkable that excitement followed an act of this character? Do gentlemen expect murder to stalk abroad at non-day, and a free press and a free people to be silent? Is not this a case well calculated to arouse the just indignation of an intelligent community? But however natural and proper those ebullitions of the public feeling, then and there, you, gentlemen, are not to give the slightest weight to them, either as tending to show the guilt of the prisoner, or as diverting your minds from the proper issue. I beseech you, gentlemen, as you regard the solemn oath you have taken, the majesty of the law, the well being of mankind and humanity, to lay aside all prejudice-banish from your minds every extraneous influence, forget everything seen and heard before you entered your box, and with minds as free from the stain of previous opinion as virgin paper, receive impressions from the facts alone. Justice, when she holds the balances, turns her head to avoid seeing who is in either scale; so you, gentlemen, must turn |