V.
vw
XV 1-',' :. .'' -.
stood, that I ahiTl object to tbcir brlnj on-,
pecessarily proceed. ' ' ''-'. .
Ittr. . U will takt four .days at leatk-'i
V to mccrctftiiga letter between this city and,
"Washinqjtoa, atil tiro or three days' to cop
ths papers. So that six day wilt be totally
last to tiu I the m-ait tints, 3.) oMt wit-'-Besses,
an i 16 GraiJ Jurymen (they might
p;r:ups require themi-wofcU be detained
bfcrf; ,ail after ell, ttie attorney's applies
. .. tioa to, ths jiTsraoBiiU wight be unavailing.
.. My tfj. Since then gentlemen, sir, will
' -prei this su1) )ct t t ait na mars taaa that
: tfiey will wave "thiiMdiicu.siun' uU to-mor-
row . vi s . . .
- 'Ths court wat then adjourned till to-mor-
raw, ll o'clock.'
ttt tttacVmsnt tit said it wist trte that Mr.
Hay misfit or might not eend the illa W the
grod jiiry ; bat if -he might tendHieni; Col
Burr might want the witnesses in ha defence i
that tha motion to commit which a been
made the other day, was not refinqtishedV
bar oaty suspended ; that the . argunent re
lative to the return day of the process Swas'
not of any weight, for, the court: cmld! ap
point a da?, and bad doae It ia hunJreds of
instances ( and that if on a motion fgrjonttnit- prenience which, might attend the production
ment, "a prisoner cannot haW a cont'iuancet of these papers oubttobe disregarded ; be-
that is the tiroiieest reason for bis bemVlbre- ' cause the law arave Col. Burr a riirht to de
pared with. testimony to meet it. ' lie eon- f mand them. . Butin lact, there would be no
witness if,vwif hhvM he not produce
ibis letter ? T Ai-- 'i:t-:- :r
Alt eaid that he doubted whether the teOi
monjr of General ' Wilkinson would be cor-'
reel, that he had already violated his oath
to support the constitution, and was interest
ed tq establish the guilt of Burr to excuse
himself., . It was therefore peculiarly neces
" sary to confront hi in with lYis letter. ' .
Mr. Martin alio observed that anjr.incon
'..'-. une 11.
:" On Wednesday last at uncomm nly ani
mated and eloq uat discussion commenced
on tha subje'ci'uf CjI. Bjrr's 'mjtion Uf a
writ of subpe.ia ducts tecn, to summon the
Presid.nt of. ttm U iuel States to produce 4S
evidence the oriin letter of General VVil
ki.is.in (dated' the 2 i diy of October, 1 805,,
and referred to in his message to Congress
in January last ) iog'eiher wish Copies' of the
ortLers .which were isucd by his directions
. to the "hav"l ;! aultury oiS -.ers of thelU.
Statesc-jsnTii liii (ha.n To suppress, thf T
com raeV'iined to,'. Varoa rjrilTv,
' Mr i eointeaded - that preliminary
question o(m to be decided ( whether in the
aituawon in which Col. B-it now stands, be .
fore any bill of jndictrrtent has been fund
again.it him. he couM, as a matter ot right,
m,ove for any subparts. for, wunee in bis
" favor. He solemnly declared, it was'- not bis
wish, nor that. of the gentlem.n associated
. with him in the proieculton, to witTfhold from
' Col. Burr any testimony requisite for his de-
ence ( that he firmly believed thoe who ad
' minixtered the government were disposed to
furnish every paper properj te produced for
. the purpose, of enabling the accused to prove
. his inrtocence'if he could. He stated there"
j,- fore that he' had written-'to the President re.'
v questing him to send on the documents which
.were wanted and he doubted not they would
v be furnished. ' But, as the gentlemen on the
. other side Insisted 'on the subpotna duces
i .- : . - LL .1 I J ?.L.t
, lecRin as process 10 wiiii.ii nmjr uau a rigiii,
. and toundeJ their rautiort on a supposition
thattue lJi tsideiu wcuiu refuse these docu
tnents, he would examine the founJat'wn'of
. ' Ihe right for which they contended.
llw court consented that the previous
. question should be brst discyssed. ; --
' Nlr.' Zir then opened the debate,and en
. cesvorea to demonstrate that the motion
made by . col. Burr was pferoalure t that he
atood before the court, at presebt, only as a
'. pel-son bound in a recogrtn'-ance to answer the.
. . charge of a mudemeanor wher. it should be
V exhibited that", no bill "having yet been sent
i to tbe graou jury, no charge was yet eihi
, bited against him i that as there for no trial
" , fiependitigrhe 'could not with propriety de.
' ' Ynand i'i paias for witnesses) although they
" bad been issued to him by the courtesy of
ir.eciera, ana ii wh me uxuai practice to ao
' so in similar cavsr- Mr. H, laid, down this
.. V'oad proposition that no person acrtlted has
. riglit to subi-os ia until he is on his (rial.
) hat Is, until the grand jury have found a
1 till "Of indTci tnviit against him. Me . denied
- "that any law could he bewn which gave that
tight i and asserted that ihe comprcated
prov'isionsof the common aw, and the Acts
; , of Congress might be searched in vain to
aitpp'rt it t.that the amendment to the con-
'. atituiiori of the "United ttes which entiilce
tvery penon charged with a crime to tom.
puU'iry prores tq obtain his witnestes, ipr
7 plied, to a diCereent stajje of the proceedings,
sot.ta the preliraii) try measures which had
.. teen Uken, with regard to Aaron Burr that
the iaten'iqti of that. amendment ws tn'se
care a fair and .impartial trial; but ait tt
r amiiutioiibtf ire a magistrate or an enquiry
before a jrrand jury was not a trial. , In order."
. to shew the premaiority of tht motion. , be
.atkedif the President was actually ,sum
.'uiijntd and attend.!, whatcwiM be done with ,
' bis evidence i It could not be used unlets the
trial should corn on-; unless the bills of in',
dictmen should be found true bi!K , . -, , -'
He sugsested another 'difficulty.' trial no
diy could be appointed it which the proeeH
should be refr.rnabfe. He acknowledged that
on a motto? to commit, a prisoner ia entitled
' to ersmiae witnesses en bis behalf; but
'there was no such motion now btfore the
court, ' tha' it would be made if Gen. .Wil
..kinton did not arrive. .On a motion" to com
"nit,, a priuxief may examine witnesses if
they are present, but has not a jighl to. lure
such a moiioa postponed on account of their
" abence. ' . , ' ? ' " '
Mr. litkham ,on the other aide. Insisted
? that the rootioo was only msdc through" I
... nirit of accoiswuMdation, for tha cUik-w
bound tolisue tba nubpana at the request of
' Col. Hurr. He declared that this was the
- rt time he had aver known the doctrine ad
eluded with saymj lhat the rule that a person
accused had a right to subpfenaa for svitnes.
ea in hi hvor, had beea seitkd ever smce
: he 'daya'f;Magn Charta.';. vfy
Mr. ilnrti -'cited eomW parts bf a report -I
of Ogden's trial to confiim the sbsefvauons'.
made by Mrs' Wackham,. y--J. - c ,,
Mr. Jiat said the gentlemet wrer;Jmista-'
. ken as to the subpanas in O pith's Case that
they were not issued before tic indictments
were found that Mr. Wickm bad misre."'
presented his argument in uuolrig that ha
a .i ! i -1 . . - '. l
inconvenience. .1 hey did not want the per,
aonal attendance of the President; he might
:comp(y with the subpeena by sending the o-
rigin! letter, and the copies required,' J ' -I
v Mr. JfRai'ih answer to Mr.Martin, re
! gretted that he bad oed suuh intemperate
'(.language, and wandered so much from the
subject ; observing that he "would not follow
bis example. and indecorously declare in ar
'" gutne'this plain and simple question any o-
piiiion on the guilt of Cot. BurrHe repel-
',- led the comnlainta of neraecution which had
denied the power uT the ckf ( to isitie sub- i ao often been repeated. : He said that ' pre
posnas in this "stago ol the prosecution j iat cedents might have been produced to sdp-
ne uaastateti mat it sramhe practice to, is- port them in objectmg to thenght of aurnv
sue -inemy uut practice and right are dif. , : moning .the1 FresnJent (particularly Judge
ferent, things He called fbrmty authonly 00. Chase's opinion in the trial of Cooper for
the point. ' ' - ; ,i ( - fibelj as awitntas in antjcaWj but the con-
: Mr7 Wickham conteftded b"a -was AzW ai ' t'kl for the U. S. to shew that tbeY felt no
to Ogden'f case, because It proved that ssh
;ira. inuvu iur m jJim'iicr Wldlin llTCgU-
lar. He acknowledged ; that no kuthority
could be produced( for ho such qiis ion as
that made by. Mr," Hay had aver ben raised
before. ' z',; ,-.'.., ': - :',;
,Mn Mj said he was willing to sit mit tha
question to the court. ) ;. 1;
Mr. JJMt read an act of Congress which
proves the right of a peraon accused as -
well as of a person Indicted to hive sub-
potnas;';;:;;,;':',..;:. 'frf'r
1 he court seemed inclined to-decide the
point against Mr. Hay f but desired It to bo
reserved a k part of the argument oothemaiiV,
question, irt the opinion of the court on whjch
the previiua question would be involved ; and
directed col., uurr s .counsel to commence
their argument in support of theirmtjtn for.
a subpasiia duces tecum to the Preniicntaf the
United Mates.- ;.- a y . -fr7 . V- ',
Mr. Stjrtin then dehveM a Very anima
ted haraiigue, i which we are able to le
only a brief abstract at preent. It cnm
ed in s grejt mrasbre of im passioned de
clamation on the wrongs which he alkdged
Col. "Burr had sustained,' Imermingled with
sarcastic insinuation: againitt ien. aV iIKin
son and the President of thb United itales.1
In the beginning ,bl his argument he pro
ceeded on the.Aupposiiion that Mr.-llay de
nied that the President toidd be summoned
as a witness in any case i but the Chief Jus
tice having informed bim that Mr.. Hy did
not contend firhiirh a d tdrine- but OulsJthat
he' could not be umnlned to produce the
papers req ieted ; he acknowledged he had -iinUuoderstnod
that geniteman and proceeded
to argue, that those pspera ought tb Otf'prk
'duced. : '. v.V V.: ; V.
Wiih reject to tVilkihemh'a teller lo (Ke
president, he said it was wanted to confront
him Incase he should be introduced as a
Witness, and to shew that he bad givrn con
tradictory ststements at diflVtmt times fori
cernlng CoU Durr's transactions! that tht
affidavit bled by Col. Burr in support 01 his
motion wis sufficient together with the o
pinion of" his counsel, that the letter was ma
terial to aulhorUe him to demand Its produc
lion. As to the orders which the President
bad issued j he, admitted that ty, thight
have applied for copies of those ofticiul copies
and thst every citiren Had a right to dMiiand
them1 without applying for ji writ of b
tna duces tecum S but thtthe Secreiiryof
the Navy (he presumed by the 'Pj cedent's
directions.) hsd reiu-ed thoe iir wmrn be
had been applied to. and the other Secreta
ries would probably art in the same trimmer
The protege desired was therefure necessary
toobuln tbeni. .The bj-rt for which they
Were wanting he candidly staled to beta shew'
thai iAom trdert totrt Wtral nnl.mititutiMaL
- etitiro'j dnJ 3pt'rw( I that Cot. Uyrfiod
rirht la tesltt i hem S and Inat the irmed at.
stmihjr if tr under kit f'mond, f if tuck
a tstmbluft ttrr tiitttd ) w oj frt fur.
pout of Itl djittt't and rttntanct It efyrct.
HtH ! ' " ' ' ' ' ' " ' ' , .
Mr. Martin furthel1 sfavd thl tda oppd
, attion of cnunsel Tor the United States to this
iffotion would leave an imm-bn on the pub
lic mind that the Pp-sideM, Would hr sort If
Col. Burr should prove to be innocent be
cause he had In his address to Ons-prt4i,
Judged and declared him guiltv that te had
denounced him ia a traitor, hsd Jet loose a
', gainst him the bloodhounds of pert -ru'lon
and bunted him into ihe- toils lht llw Pre'
sideiil had himself occasioned all the 'clamor
' againsLhim, and ought n4 to be permitted
I to wilhhoUaav pipers which vindicate a .
to jmawef eerjainqatitfonaipntto him, en the
ground. that he-should thus criminate htmseu.
A long and desultory argument then ensued,
which was determined by a promise from
Col. Burr's counsel to pwluce their authori
ties before the coirt on the tollowing day, to '
shew that Wyllie could not be compelled to
answer aucn questions as migm in ui ujhu
lon tend to: criminate himself. .The court
then adjoui ned. ...; ' '': -:
" Four indictments were aent to the grand
jury,4 two of them against A. Burr, for trea
son and for a misdemeanor, and two. against "
Herman Blannerhaasett, for like offences.
Judge Marshal gave a lengthy opinion oa
the motion for issuing a writ of Subpojna dtt- ;
- jes tecum, in which he made Use of this ex-'
pression t ;-;t ;."'. 'r " '
1 thts prosteuttoHthall terminate, at it h ,
txpectxd and wished on tht part of the United
Motet, in the conviction of Aaron Hurr," At-,
ter the Chief Justice bad pronounced it, M. -
M'Rae laid he hoped he had misunderstood
a partbnheplnionTwbichhe had just beard
he hoped the court Was incapable .'of saying v.
that the ' government of the United Statee .
wished the prosecution to terminate-, in tha
conviction of Aaron Burr ; he denied this be to
the wish of himself, and believed hat it : waa
not the wish of the gentlemen with whbm'ho. '
had the honor to act. If he had understood
the court torrectly be hoped the expressioa
was written inadvertently and aecidently for,
nothing would wound his feelings "'more' than,"
that his honor should believe that it was their -wish
that Aaron Burr, shoYildbe touhd guilty,
at any rate, Whether . really gViilty Vinno-
Ali '":'. '"' -' '"'"-'-'.'.' ' ' '. - ''rt-' v
The Chief . Justiiehnswrred, ibat gentle -men
had repeatedly declared their conviction '
that Aaron Burr vhtguiHj. If so, they must
wish him to be convicted.",--';'.
Mr. M'Rae. Our dclaraliona have beeft
oAly. as to our opinions cohcerning the en
T he thief JusiicerbefoVe the fcoutt ad-
aplrtt of persecution, had waved that objec
tion, and seemed to shelter tliemselvei nnder
that opinion, if it was-law; it being1 their
own opinion that no man is so elevated, but
1 he may be a witness if hit evidence is such
as may legally be .admitted. He .doubted
pot tbat, when the tuoiect was fully u-iaer-
stood, it would be found that the President's
conduct had entitled , him to the praise of his
country.. ;..;,''";;-!''
Mr. WK&t proceeded to examine the
grounds of the motion for the "production of
tno dfW-lTinmt HirMinrtrd. i H hhiFrltfr lii. i
the affidavit of Col. Burr; that he had bnly 41 jjotirned, declared that he Jiad itrwca out f hii
sworn that the letter may be material ; where- i
as be ought to have sworn that he believed
it to be material ; and moreover ought to
have shewn in what respect it is mateiiah-
It was therefore too Vague and uncertain and
not sufficiently special to support the motion.
' He contended that Mr. Martm a ruk Con'
eerrting confidential communications was tod
narrow; that certainly .'the. Jaw would not
compel Mr. Jefferson to reveal private 'con
fidential communications made to him in bit
fficial character. It was unnenessary to ar
gue to prove that thin doctrine ia founded " it)
me ounaeki nnncvi - -
. He (cited Marbuy v. Madisdif, I CraHch U,.
166, to Shew that specific information ought
to be given of the nature of the papers requi
red. He said if the President is to be sum.
moned. it must be oh the ground thst be is
in postaii-n of i he letter, if it is s private let
ter it ought not rd be produced ; if public his
filed iathe Orp trt ment of State, and itlsi.ot
in the PrMdckH' poneasloh. It is not stig
irested that Ihe President hasanv Personal c-
yidence to give I it therefore is not necesSart
In direct the kubpebnato him, bilt rather (even
iftKe doctrine they contended for is torttii)
to the Secret arv'lif Slate. ... , t '.
' Mr. M'Rae remarked thai the cobneii fo
(be proerutioh would consent that a copjf
certified from that dedartment should be read
if the emlrt shriuld be of opinion that the ori
final letter is anmisitble ascvldence It had
barn said that Gen. Wilkinson might object
to a copy bbt the cause Was udder -his con
trol if he objected, it would be frivolous,
for in a few days the original could be produ
ced, which would prove the correctness of
I the copy. , f , .;
Mr. Martm begged leave to rh'ske a single
observation omitted before ; that it was a fa
miliar practice to get copies of ihe ordera of
government i particularly in tnsls of vessels
lor violaun the ndn-lntercourha laws t that
in such casea where Instruction given by offi
cers of government were produced, the only
question wss whether orders violating tht law
could Justify those. acting under them; not
whether such orders were admissible as evi
dehre;
- Mr Bviti next spoke, and Wat followed by
Mr. Wirt on Wednesday, by Messrs. Hay
and KndoIph on Thursday, and by Mr. Mar
tin apjin on Fridav. Sketches of the aub.
stance oflhetr "apeectt will be giren la due
'me ' '
vanced I Jhat a pervm accused was not entitled . II 'tiaen whose life wss irt danprri that, if he
, to.suopwnas lor nil wnncisci. uiuunr.m
' , thbt the United States had had subpanas for
witnesses on their bchslft that the tight to
'the tame process attached to Col.' Burr at the
; fnament when alier havlnsf been aeiaed by
' lawlestans arbitrary forcet he waa brought
t beforf the Ch'ef.ir"l',: f" examination";'
that ia the nial of Smith and Ogdcn at N.
j'.Tvrk. wbkh reistmWcd this, tubf etnu ware
f Issued ia their fnr to summon Mr. Mdi
,. son sod General Dearborn, who failed toat
" tend, Ui consequcneeof whUh so auathment
ws tnoved fur against tbrm tbat In the er
Itumeht bf that case, no person doohfed lh
E jwer of the clerk to issue tha tbbpaiisi but
t court divided Oa the qqciUoO touccr&lof
did wituhoTd iheni, ahdColorttlBuir should
be condemned, he would be a swreVrrr and to
recorded in the register above.' "
He insisted that the clrremVince that
Wilkinson's letter to the President wat con
fidential could not prevent it be lag disclosed
as evidence in a Criminal prosecution. He'
cited the Dutvhrsa of Kingston's rai, and
M Ns'ly on evidrr.ee, fw 939, In rapport of
thVe doctrine and laid It down at a gt6eral
ru!r that no secrets but those roenmumckred
rirofessioaalTy to an attorney rild be ft4CU
y Vept oa an occasion ol this nature.' if
there bad been a verbal communication t
ifte Prtiiu'tm, fif eouU bate btt n en pU4
lo mtti U la jWing la L1T UtUacny ft
irtLMtNGTOtf.
TUESDATt JUNU II, lior.
. On Monday the I Jib Inst. Cenertl Wilkin
ton made his appearance before the Federal
Court, at Richmond, and gracefully bowing
to the bench and surrounding spectators,
took bis stand behind Col. Burr's counsel.
Col. Burr's countenance Is said to have been
Marked bf a hsu . Kty contempt l that of Cen,
WV was catndignlfied, and Commanding
After tsking the oath, kc. Gen. W. attend.
cd tha Marthal to ihe jury room.' A devul-!
lory conversation then ensued, at to tha tcs. '
timony proper to be sent to the grand lurv. !
.w ir..i.i n .!.., . . "I
too muni'i tor .ui. iurr in.iiunjr ma, no ta. I
pcrs pnouia oe rcceivca oy ids grand jury, ;
but through the medium of the court. .The i
Chief Justice then delivered the opinion of
tne court, wnicn was, taat tht prand iur
thould iitt as ffrt anl hoi wrt netesso.
ritt eonnett tht norrotht of tht witnei. jfe,
Wjllie the reputed Secretary if Burr) waa
then Ufled. !na tourt, and interrogated with
itshett is a cyohcrtd letter la the hand cf
the couBttl for tht proMcmips U$ rtfuitd I
obmon tht txbrttston tlitt tne United Motes
t . . ' . ' .. . . ... ; . .
vnhei Mr. Hurt to bt toniitlpa that he b&a ,
done this tb prevent its being misunderstood ' ,
for hfs meaning waa not that Uiejr w ished bins :
lo be convicted whether guilty or not ;. buc .
that, at the counsel believed him guilty, they
rnbslitecfcssarwy Wish him, tb be convicted
OdTbesday.rlJlUy.ba the 'annexed
letter' from the President of the U. States
respecting the Attorney's application to bms '
for ceitain letters and paprr supposed to be
material to the defence of Col. Burr s ,
' , . . . 'f Washington, June UiAj 1807. "
.V;:VK.;.;;:;V
JTOUR letter bf the 9ih ia this moment
received. Referring the necessary fight bf ,
the President bf the United Statea, to decidei ,
independent tJf all other authority, what pa -pers,
tohling to him at President, the ptiblig '
interests permit to be communicated, and to
whom I assure you of my readinesi, under
thatreatrictina. voluntarily to furnish on all -occasions
whatever the purposes of Justice j
may Require. . But the letter of Gen. Wil-
kinsoniof CxU 1 1st, requested for the de- ,
fenee of Col. Burr, with every paper relating,
to the cbutgtt against him, which were irr ,
toy possession when the attorney general Kent '
to Kicnmona in iviarcn, i tnen aciivereo to.,
hiini slid 1 have alwaya lakeh for grahted ho '
left the Whole with you. . If he did, and the
bundle retains the order itl which 1 hag ar-.
ranged It, you Will readily find the letter de- '
aired, tinder the date of its receipt, which wat
Nov. 25; but lest the attorney gen", should -
not have left thm papers with yon, I will this '
day Write td him to firward thtt rhe by post -
. , .1 - i . - ... ... '
An uncenaiuty wnemer ne is at rniiucipnif '
Wilmington or Newcastle nly produce delsf '
in hit receiving my letter, of. which it ia prcw :
per you should be apprised. ButaeltiotMif
recoltett ihe whole contents bf that letter,:!
must beg lease to devolve on Jrou thetteftUb
of that discretion, wh'u h it would be - toy
right aiid duty to exercise, by withholding
the cbmmtihicaUori of any parts of the let
ter, which are not directly material tot the
purposes of justice, f - , "", - '. ' .
With this application1, which Is specific, a
prompt compliance it practicable ; but when
the request goes la coplea of the ordera in
sued In relation to Cob Burr, td the officers
at Orleans, Hatchet and by the tecretariee ,
or the war and navy departments,' it aeertt
to toVer a correipbndence of many months -with
tuch a variety of officers civil and mili-;
tary all over tbe United Stales at would a
mount to the laying open the whole execu
tive bocks. I bavfc desired the secretary of.
wsrlo examine bis official etnmup'ci'ioni.
I and on a view of these we may be '0j, to judge
j what esn and ought to be oe towardt t
! . t - - laft. iL. . . .
compliance wnn iu ixoti. if tha. OtUt
dant alledgea that ibn Wis any pafrtcvlar
order which, tt a. MUie, product tnT t9tm
tlculsr act bP it p,rt, tb'.fl . WttU know
what the order was, en specify It, and at
prompt ftaswer can bo given. if the objeet
hr beett spSci6ed,-we must then bave bad
some guide lor our conjectures at to what
part of the executive records might be stfwt
to him. But, with a perfect willingness to
do what Is fight, we are without the indies,
tlont which may enable us to Jo iu .' If tha
researchet or th Secretary of War thould -produce
any tlilftg proper lor communication
and pertinent to any wlnt we can eoncelvr
in tbe defence before the crn. It ahall b
forwarded toyo 1 salute you with esteem
a&d rctpctu . ' .
f - tt Tlli JEFFERSON. '
Ctorrt Hoy, ttq, , . .
After reading tbe Tresldcnt's letter, tome
bscrvttiona were made mpeciiiig the lenl.
taeny of Dr. Eollmta and Mr. WjlUe tolrp
.- .1
1
. t
1
-v.
1!