Argument of William H. Seward, in defence of Abel F. Fitch and others, under an indictment for arson, delivered at Detroit, on the 12th, 13th and 15th days of September, 1851.: Phonographically reported by T. C. Leland.

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-;As they now testify, and from the appearance that it wears, when produced in court,
aiaed and saturated with the solutions of hay and earth, in rain water, must it have Wim
oealed there not less than three months. You see the stain, how it has penetrated an
'inh, by looking at this end of the block. Next, take Mr. Stow's testimony, that on the
,ath of April, after Phelps had left the premises, and after they had come into the pos iess of Alfred Metcalf, Phelps, when passing the place with Stow, left hil, entered
-l-e premises and the stable, and was seen through the window, leaning over in ti-e act of
doing somet ing with the decaying hay, which we now know was then lying in that
— ger We have thus found Lake, as early as February, in the employment and in the house,
- Phelps, and have found Phelps and Lake in the month of March, in the possession of
SU s, plane-, saws and lumber,and Lake, in the absence of Phelps, and his family, en.ag,ed, secretly in the use of these instruments in Phelps house. We have, moreover,
nd the material for the matches, concealed on the premises they occupied in March.
Al these thing occurred before the 8th of April; but no match had ever yet been seeni
by any one but Phelps and Lake. You will take notice now, that on April ninth, at
:Detroit, Phelps and Lake show a match to Clark and Van Arman in Gay's house, with
'Ik canivance of Gay; and on April 11th, at midnight, Phelps shows to Clark, at Grass
Hae, nmother match, which he says he had that night received from the defendants at
m.ichigan Centre, and that on the 21st of April the police, with Titus at their head, hav,/g for two days made unsuccessful search of Gay's pi emises, are joined by Phelps, who
advises a se rch under the sidewalk, a little remote from the house, and thereupon, in
B presence, there is brought to light a match, which is produced here as the one shows
atry's houre on the 9th to Phelps and Van Arman. Here is circumstantial evidence
of stringent consistency and damning effect against Phelps and Lake, while there is an
utter absence of all circumstantial evidence, whatever, against the defendants.
I shall be brief in disposing of the falsehoods and sophisms opposed to this circum-stantia evidence. 1st. Fitch was hostile to the railroad. Look at these two mna'ches.
Neither of them could fire a hay stack. Was Fitch a fool I No I Then he did not give
s a match to an incendiary to burn a Depot with, Was he a villain? Then he would
ave given to incendiaries, not these matches, but instruments that would have been ef- atual.
2. Mrs. Phelps, (with Phelps and Lake,) says that the augers were borrowed to mend
the wagon springs, and they were mended with a bed cord. But two augers, one of five,,-.uarters and one of two-quarters, were not wanted to bore a hole sufficient to receive a
bed cord. We have had views taken by the Juror s of tll memorable places and things
Why has not that wagon been submitted to the inspection of the jury, or at least of wit nesses, that it might be seen whether it was ever mended with an auger at all I This
mending of the wagon, is clearly an afterthought, a subterfuge.
S. Mlrs. Phelps and Phelps and Lake say that the augers were redelivered to Moses
Metcalf on the day they were borrowed. I reply that Mr. Metcalf's evidence outweighs
e testimony of them all; and he says that he has no knowledge that the augers were
-ever returned except from the fact that at sometime afterwards, when he had occasion to
se them he found them in their place.
4. Cowden testified that before being admitted to Phelps' house by Lake he looked thro'
- -window by the s de of the door andi saw Lake writing at a bureau, and being informed
7jt Mr. Metcalf that there was no window by the side of the door, hle came upon the
id and, reiterating the impression left upon his mind that there was a wind4ow, corrected
error. You have seen the house, and have seen that it has a window on the east
, as easily approached from the gate as the north front, which contains the door. The
sta.ke was a natural one, and in regard to a matter of no importance whatever. I
-tre to say, that there is not one of you who can tell me how many windows there
sre i the side of this room, behind you, and describe their location.
A. That the only bureau in the house- stood in the bedroom covered with dishes. But
ou know that the earthen might easily have been removed, and that Lake might have
Hen een writing in that room, or that, in the absence of the master and mistress of the
Mse, the bureau might have been removed into the other apartment.
6. That the piece of whitewood ti mber found does not exactly correspond in age and
n fibre to the matches produced. I answer. Here is a blister on the wood: exactly
corresponding to this blister on the Niles match.- But that question has been submitted
-to your examination without proof. I am told by mechanics that these matches mighki