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1 t - 1 i 7 WE E K L Y AD E RT I S E;R. ' ' I..'.-; - .-:;7i ; '.! . ', - 4 :r C i " - . i ' ' ' - " t t ' x- . i -ir.-i iSnVji McJ;"'v. :"' ' i ' '- " " '- 1 .' ..'.':'.... I'" 1 K Vol. I. TRIAL OF THOMAS COOPER- (Continued from ouY laji) MR. RAIVLE't REPLY. Gentlemen of the jury, THE defence you have juft heard, Is one of the moft ex raordioary, and unexampled I ever remember to have witneffed in a Vourt of juftice. It is no lefsjhan to call into dccifion; whether Tho mas Cooper: the defendant, or the Prefident of (he United States, to Thom this country nas thought proper to confide its moft impor tant interefis; is. left qualified to judge vhether the rrjeafurCs adopted iv our government are calculated 9 prefeive thepeace. and promote. he happineis ot America, mis, however, does not feem to me the peal! point which you are to try : and I shall therefore, lupder direc tor! Jof the Court, proceed to IUte hat I conceiveto Dq tne queuion hic you, GcntlmeiVbf the J" rv. are' now called upon to; deter mine. Thomas Cooper is charged iy the lnditlment with having put) lisheda falfe, fcandalous, and ma licious libel. ': with ilntent to defame the Prefident of the United States, and to bring him into contempt and difrcouie, and to ekcite againft him e hatred of thejgobd people : of tfus cu ntry . In the act which Refines this offence, and points out the punishment, a liberality of de fence is iven. "unknown believe f any otner country wnere mq party is tried lor a libel on the Lro Vernment. Here, the defendant js, allowed under the third feftion of that aft, to give in evidence (he truth of the matfers charge 1 as ali- & in the publication, and the Jury wave a nsni 10 aeterjninc . uic . ay nd the iafcl under the direlion of the Court.' The true fpirit of the jaw is, that the: defendant shall not found guilty of publishing defa jnatory writings, ' urilefs .they be Jajfe, nor , although they may be falfe shall he be confidered asguil .U.nderthe lawj unlefs the intent -o,f 4he publication appear to be ma lifius. ' . .-: . That Aich publication has pro" feded upon a knowledge of; the ruth, he is! permitted to giveas mat ter of evidence; and if true, itmufl allowed to go far "to fatisfy tjje linds of the Jury, that the malici ous motives impjuted to him are not $xe. In private aftions for lan der, where a man feeks pecuniary jdrcfs for the injury his character har. iultained, the dctendant is en . tlcd to give in evidence5as a defence tP the a6tion, the trufhef the words , jpoken, or the written1 libel; and if' he truth of the affertionsbe pro--VVitwill amount to a juflificati ftU. There is no difference then between the defence that may "be fet up to an atlion of (lander, or Vel on a pr ivate per fon, and that vhich is permitted under the law vyhereon this indictment is rround- Tbe defendant has undertaken to, fatisfy themipd cf the Jury tlat jfi thi? publication he had no mali cious intentionagainft the Prefident o,f the United Sjates ; ,1 join' iffue v-ith him on the point, and requeft your particular attention to it. He ?! 'edges that he did not'irnpute im prpper motives to the Prefident, and attempts to fubftantiate. his al legation, by referring n-cru to his declaration in the outlet wT.ere he Jays that "I cannot believe him (the Prefident):; capable of fuch grpfs mifrcprefentations, for I Itill HUnk well of his 'intentions, howe Vprl may disapprove of his con 4ua;" but to this J. hall add that ' e ges on, and concludes with a paragraph, evincing in the clearell P?nner, a fettled defign to perfnade m public that the Prefident of the Wmted States is not fit for the high ce he bears, land of this you Hiult be fully convinced from the Whole tenor of th vn. "'Hch -have b; IndiGment.- a icduio youwn tne , ,. fc 'i I 'I i ill i i i' i '".i ' "nil '. ,;'-'- - J. i ' mi.'.. . i . - . - ' 1 1 1,111 ' 1 - 1 - - - - It is: very far from mv views tp pre fs hard' upon any part of his long addrel? to you, or to make ufe gainft him ot any unguarded ex prefiion, which on more deliberate coniideration he might- nave omit ted or corrected; yet when I can not but obferve from the whole te nor of his preferit argument, as well as from his publication, that his; objeft is, not fo much to convince yout Gentlemen of the Jury, that his atiertions are true, as to cau an unmerited refie&ipn on the general character and conduct of the1 rreUt dent, I cannot help fufpcftinghirfiQJ of the motives he difclaims, and I rntiil do my duty by expofing the defign fas well as the fallacy - of the lutmcation nenasietup. . 1 he detendant has uted a little observation refpeclinpr the fepara- tinff in the indittment the text from the context, as l Deiieve ne was pieafed to term it ; and argued that by this means the molt upright in. teptiotis and laudable expreffions might be perverted from their true and obvious .tncaning.- buch an infinuation: however is not ; calcu lated to influence your minds In framing an indictment, itis my duty to leave ou,t ; matters" of little imT pprtance, and to introduce thof circumftances only trat are truly arid legally reprehenfible : and he well .knows that he can read.if hepleafes the whole of the uublication, and that you will have it with you when you" confider of your Verdict:. You will judge therefore, whether by tbfs.pbfefvation.it was his, of whether it is my defign to confound and perplex the fenfe. Whether the reflections he has thrown upon the conduct ol Go vernment in fo many inllances throughout his defence, as veil as in his puoiicauon, evince the re gard he profefles. to entertain for the intentions of the Prefident, is to mc, as it will be to you, ext remely dubious ; . nor have thofe profefli- oris been confirmed by the Angular manner in'which he has. cited and felected the pafiages pn .which bis defence . has beer grounfled.- Throughouj the quotations he has made j particularly from the addrefT fes to j the Prefident, and the an ? fwers to them, there has been a fe rics of mifreprefentation wjhich', it will be my duty j to obferve upon, when I come' to confider that, part of the:charge, and his vindication of it. i But it is fair to obferve, that if from the perufal of partial extracts apd pafiages felected from various publications, he has thought proper to publifh, a libel, fuch as- inai xor wnicn ne is yidicted again It the chara6ter of our Prefidem? there is no excnle for his conducti if on the other hand, he had the whole of thepublicatiohsbcfbre him, and has extracted from them partially and uhfairlv, his conduct Us ftiil more reprehenfible, and there is'the le(s excufe, as it is evident, aiid as yon, (jrentlemen ot the Jury,, mufl have obferved, that he is a man of talents and letters, ' - Mr j Cooper has thought! proper to take up the feveral paffages of his publication, iqthe order in which they ftand in the indictment, and in replying to what he has laid, I fhall fallow the order which he has purl fued. j I pals over the pafiages re fpectirig the incapacity of the 'Pre' fident, and the infancy of political miftakes, as of no great importance; and proceed to that part of the; pub lication which accufes.ouc Chief Magiltrate of having fahctioned and promoted a permanent! NaVy, a Standing Army, and a loan at the high intereft of 8 per cent.in time ot peace, while the unneceuary vi olence of official expreflions might juflly have provoked a. War, . Here, then.thcimpjicationagaing the Prefident, is, that at the fame time when he was unucceffarily plunging us into a war, he pro moted a navy, a landing army', and borrowed money at an exor bitaht lintereft, the one meafiire calculated to enflave, and the other Our are the Plan f f!r lelihtfttl Peace Unwarp'd by Party Rage to live like Brothet. Tuesday, July i, 1800. to oppref. "But Gentlemen, how s;thdeeii(iant:fo proof has Lhe otfied, that thele are nieafures;pr' Ayjtich: the Prefiderit: particular is hlafneable ? ?Need I recal to your recollection thefura- mer o F tiic y ear c 1 798, w hen: in cphfcqucrjce if Ltjie 1 difgraceiul and infulting treatment and rejection of our r-nvoys by tue rrench Uovern- rpent, tne ltizerxs oj xnis country from every part j of the United States, addreiled the Prefident, ap proving his raeafures, and pledging their fupport ? Amonffft others, the Marine Spcietjy at Bolton came for ward, congratulating the American Nation that their beloved W afhing ton h.d been fiicceeded by a Man who treads with equal fteps the ho netr, plain, and ltraight road fo ftri6ily followed by that wife and able fiatefman.y; .. ' In this particular cafe, gentle men, with your permiflion I will read the whole of the anfwer (reads the&nfwerfYom Patriotic Addrefles, page 05.) Now, Gentlemen, I ap peal to you, was it not natural and j pecoming, that in aniwenng the ad drefs of a Marine Society, the Pre fident fhouid dwell upon the topic moft congenial to their inOitution ? Thofe who do not look with a jea lous eye pn every action, and catch witha prbpenfity to blame; at every word he utters, thofe who know the character of that gentleman in private Jife, and who Have impar tially wunefled his unremitting en deavours to promote the; welfare of his country, can fur el y find no thing but what they may fincerely praile in tne anlwer I have lull read to vou. f The next pafTage Mri Cooper has quoted, is from the addrefs .of! the youpc men of Boftpni this addrefs artdtthe anfwer has been u fed for two purpofes ; - to fupport jlis pofition that the Prefident had recommended a navy and an army. Gentlemen, I will read the whole of the anfwer (reads from page 370 Patriotic Addrefics.) I confels, that after theTrefident had recom mended therp to follow the " exam ple of their fathers, one of whofe firff. principles it was to unite in themfelves the character of citizens and foldiers',' and efpecially to pre ferve the latter always fubordinate to thc,fprrner,,? I was much furpri zed to find that fuch an anfwer could be quoted as reprejienfible. M T arms, then, rpy voting menas 1 to arms ; eipecially by lea, lo.be fifed as the lam direfls" Gentlemen, can fuch fentirnents, lo honeftiy guarded, be tortured into proOff the Prefident's inten tion to plunge us into a war, to introduce a Jlanding army and a permanenf navy ? Gentlemeft, thefe are not the conclusions jyou will draw. The paternal care of the Prefident:! has hitherto; happily watched-over tnis country, and he Knew ana wneiy lignipcaine time when we ought to be prepared for thofe. 1 gloomy, events, which we1 had- too I much reafon to expect. Whether the adduction of thefe pafFages can fupport the; defendant mhis defence againft a malici ous HbeU fou are the befl: j udges. The ijetenclanrhas reaci to you a paffage culled from the anfwer of the, Prefident to the ftudents of Dic kenfon College, wherein he hopes that non of them .but fuch as feel a iiamra genius' and diipofition toj marnai exercueana exertions, will ever be; called from t.he pleafing walks of fcienCe to repel any at tack on their rights, liberties,' and independence : furely, gentlemen, if a moderate and affectionate fenti ment of this kind is to be tortured into an -approbation of a military force, or aftan ding army, the' mo ft innocent expreflions arc! not fafe from peryerfion. I cannot, how ever, forbear to remark with how little propriety the defendant has complained of pafTages being felec ted f rom his publication for indi6f -ment without the context, : as he 'calls; it, j when hisf whole! defence refts upon aflagesthuspicSd but. - to fuit the unfair and malicious piir ppfes of his defence, an epithet which I feel myfelf entitled to ufe, when I confider' how that defence has beeri conducted, arid on what! it refts.;,:'; , .? : , y But, Gentlemen of the Jury, the defendant mull have very little knowledge of the exifting circum ftahces of this country, when he talks to you of. a (landing army. - There neither is nor can be a itand rhg army in this "country ; the ap propriations for thepay of the army cannot be made for more than two years at a time, -tior has the Prefi dent more todo with the army than the; Congrefs, and the reflections thrown uport your hrit magiltrate, are equally applicable to your Re presentatives. A man fo ignorant of the fubject, or whofe reading has been iocareleis, is veryUnqualihed tocafta reflection on the conduct of our government, or to inftruct the people on the nature and ten dency of the mcafures of adminif- tration With r'efpect to the loan at eight percent, il money has been bor rowed at that , rate of intereft, of which. however the defendant has yroduced to you no proof, it has been done under the authority of Congrefs and their meafures. In this refpect, the Prefident has fahc tioned,, as he had a right to do, and as I tnint (connding in hiswiidom and integrity) he has rightly oone. (jrentlemen,; I do not pretend to be a judgeof :the propriety of this meafure. The defendant fays no other country has borrowed' at fo hieh a rateof intereft in time of peace;-but neither is he qnaJihed to judge of this any more than my- ielt i - I hofe who are Qualified, and who have been appto'inted for the purpole, have judged fOrthe nation: and I am fatisfied, as, I doubt not you are. But to raife furmifes' and fufpicionsbf the wifdomand defign of meafures of this1 kind, which he catlnpt know fufficient of to ex plain, or the people to underfiand, is evidence, in my opinion, that his defign, atJeart, was toexcite the hatred of the good people of this country againft their Prefident. The Defendant proceeds to charge the Prefident with unneceffary vio lence ot ocial exprefiion that might jultly have provoked a war. Gen tlemen, you all know the provok ing and unjuftifiable conduct of the Trench In ation towards our envoys the repeated defigns and attempts of this country to procure an adjuit ment of differences on equitable groiinds, and the ftrange anti unex a rh pled p rdpo fi t i 0 n s m ad e i n re t ur n by the government ot France. It is not for me to dilate upon thefe 19. pics-, or on-the, depredations fubfe-1 quently committed by that nation on the American commerce : Ypu alLof you know, you all mu ft have felfin .10 tne degree the cohfequence of her injuftice. The. Prefident, far better acquainted with thefe proceedings ag.un ft America, and the tendency of them, made ufe of fuch expreIiotis as the Jtate .of the country and the fentirnents of the people' req;tiired. Of this he was the heft judge, ! and I oubt not,' in fhis inftance; as in every other of his wife' and patriotic adminiftra- tion,. he judged for the belt. The. detendent, however, Jlill wifer than the Pre fidehti judged other wife, an has accordingly ventured to advance before the public the harfh crimi nation we are now confidcring. Either Mr. Rawle &r I (fays Mr. C. in a note) rnuft hive very little knowledge of the exifting cirenmrtances of tHis country. ; I fcar he is liable to the retort, muiato nomine dc te faSuIi narratur. The term,- Standing Ai my 80t from England, -.vherc it is acoJied to a Military force m contincaJ, and not in p riodical dilctpline, !iicb the Militia. In that country, there has httn a (landing army,', e. a continual military! force, independent ot the Militia, for 150 yem, at leaft ; the men are enhftei for liie, and yet fhe mutiny bih, un der which.that force exift, is annual. Doei Mr. Rawle know, drdoes he not, that in the five-year army of rh'is country, as Jidge Chafe would call it, ths rde continue to be enliltei for'fieyer;;frotnUhdate cf their VnhfrL f ment ; Xo thatat the end of two vears. for inb j ttance, a man ixnei eniiftti ht t&fee yt; hut Ad! for five yttfs gZ. ' : . - . -i ... ! . 4 Gentlemen, the? defendant Jits, quoted paffages from the addrefs ot theinhabitants of Vergennes in y er- ; mopt. 1 have betore remarked to you the lingular, and I think the unfajr method of feleclion? '(he de- tenaant nas aaoptea ; ana mc prbpriety of Hating the fentirnents 61 ' the addrefs itfelf,'' as if it wcre'th'e anfwer of the Prefideh? andattribu- tabic to him; tor, wnetuer tne.ien- timents contained in that addrefs are true -or not, they purport lo be he fentirnents ot others, and not dt he Prefident. Such is the way iti which this defence has been icon:-. dueled. I will not go' through: the : reft of Mr. Cooper's quotations; b cauie I do not think they have pfcV duced any effect on your minds, or, -on the minds of the Court,1 which it is ne'eeflary forme to obviate. The defendant next rctirs o thV complaints of the French Jroyferrj- ment to oitr envoys, of expreflions in the Prefident s fpeech. 3NTo doubt, gentlemen, it was the intereft and inclination of the French Executivs ; to raife up fome frivolous objetion to the conduct of our government, that they might have fame plaufible pretext to jutiity tneir ovn. ; xJut ram iuiiy iatished, 'as I hope and believe you are, that the Prefident naa lumcient toundation tor all that he has laid on the condiitV of France towards this' country, and5 If ban leave yoti to judge for yourfelves whether he or the defehdint are tile ' moft proper to decide JHatf Coh- guare ought tqrnayeheeii . . "si. adopted on fuch pro vocatipd.f ; y ! The next, and moft feBoui'part of this indictment, is that which re- j lates to Thomas Nafti, iiras he has ! been called, Jonathan Robbing He read that part of the indictrnenind; dehred the Jur' to remember the remote part of the country in which this libel waspublifhed, and theclafs of people among whom it was dif feminated, and the effecl of affer tions thus boldly advance. . Mr. C. either had evidence before him of the fa&shehas afTerted rieibectihd xrh rti.T!. i r i. am or iouuins, or ne-had not. If he had no evidence, what fhall we fay of a man deliberately propa-i gating, among an ignorant people J libels oF the mofttfenoushature and accufations againft the, hlgheft characters, which, ' it he does not?! 'V know to be lalfe, lie cannot noyf to be true ? In fupport of , his after tions j He has read to you the ' Mef- j. fage of the Prefident on the fubjecl of Thomas Nafti, or rather he h?s read, in a mutilated manner, the let terbt Mr. Pickering. Itis obfcrv able, that he could not have had 7 this evidence belore hirrrat thertime he wrote, and yet this is the only evidence he has offered to the court in his own defence on this part of the charge. ! : Mr. Cooper. I do not wifermit properlto interrupt Mr. R. but I did iftate, that I had other evidence, before pie: that the fah haH beeft' very generally publilhed in thU jcewfpapers ot every defcription : ! that t hey were common hr"M nnwn and much difcuflcd : that 'l oft'ered the Meilage of the Prefident a.s ad dmonaland corroborative teftimonv of what was very generally knowi .' to the public. Beiides this, J had belore me Mr. Pinckney's letters containing all the fa-cts : 'thefe alfo were pubWhed in the papers lforo they were collected in a pamphlet, and that pamphlet was puHli&ed in Augnft,;ii799, while the paner in. dieted was not. published till No vember, 1799.. " i v . 3nd& Chafe, , Sir, yon miift not indireaiy accule the court oi' v;ar,t of indulgence : there has not been Sny evidence denied you.: you may even go into frefh evidence ifb if 'i you pleafe. ' t ' ' : : Mr. Cooper. Sir. I do n r. plain of want of indulgence.; :.' ; - Mr. Rarut'e.' Since ttiedembnf the part orpit ted, Xhl&ahtf thePrefidejit'walxon nas thoughthttd readonly PariJ i i y Mr. Pickering's letter, I mm A the wholeof "it. ' . Headr&m j obferve. .Ghttei&r&rt 1) I 1 .1 S I A i S ii mi
The Weekly Raleigh Register (Raleigh, N.C.)
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July 1, 1800, edition 1
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