The Land Claim — page 46: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

42 THE LAND-CLAIM. So unexpectedly did he appear, and so authoritative were the tones of his voice, as he raised it in vehement depreca- tion of their conduct, that it had the effect to check further action, and compel the attention of the crowd. “Men of Fairview, listen to me! For aught you know to the contrary, the death you propose to execute on an unsen- tenced man may be @ murder more cruel, and more willful and getermined a great deal, than that which you seek to avenge. It is true that a man—a‘dear friend he was of mine, too—has met his death in a manner which throws suspicion of the darkest nature upon Thomas Newcome, [suppressed murmurings,] and renders it our duty to hold him accused until he is proven innocent. On the contrary, the law bids us hold every man innocent until he is proven guilty. In respect to the law, Thomas Newcome is still an innocent man; for he has only had a hasty examination, under excit- ing circumstances, and surrounded by minds so inflamed by passion as not to be able to judge in an unprejudiced manner of the real merits of the evidence produced against him. [Cries of, ‘That’s cool talk for you.’] Well, my friends, every man should be cool when he has the responsibility of life and death on his hands. “Tt is very true that I have acted m this matter against Newcome ; because, as well as I could see, it was my duty to do so. I had him arrested, and I gave testimony against him, which, as circumstantial evidence, was very strong to convict him. It is true, too, that his daughter testified that he had threatened to shoot both Dr. Edwards and myself, [signs of rising wrath.] “He had the same reasons for bearing malice toward me, that he had toward my friend. But, only one of us was shot; and the prisoner was prepared with no other weapons, and no more ammunition. I told you in my testi- mony that there were to shots fired almost at the same in- stant; therefore there must have been two persons in the woods, and that other person, whoever he was, might have fired the shot that killed Dr. Edwards. J do not know that he did ; you do not know that he did not. Let this matter, then, be investigated. Find out who that man was that was in the woods with Newcome, and what his business was; Comicioooks.corn