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.

~it~iiU, LuauL r ILCte, iteu-r nuxing sils alteition uponi tie warrant, said,' I believe that ola
Gay lhas turnecd State's evidence. Thle warrant suggested thaLt o)iniioii. Tle conne;,l for
the proseclution criticise the use of the word" old," which, tlhev say, is inoii,istenlt lviti.
Fitch's denlial; but it is manifest that Fitch spoke of his knowledge of aftirs before tle
arrest. After the arrest, "old Gay's" name must -soon becomne " ftntiliiar as hlouselolds
words."
Gentlemen, I trust that I have proved that the conspiracy alleged in this case, presents
an immaterial issue, and is false in fact;' that the case rests on evidence of adlnissionils only,
proved by three witnesses-Gay, Phelps and Lake; that the evidences of tliose al- i,siois
were false, because the facts supposed to beconfessed atre impossible, whllile tle adinissions
are unworthy of credit, because they are unsulpported by circumstantiil evidleec, iiid tlhe
witnesses who presents them are unworthy of belief, and their testiiiioily is Qoitiilistory
and is in conflict with facts incontestibly establislied. If thlese positions ale truc, it follows
that this prosecution is the result of a conspiracy against tue defendttts. Yon llLve cvidence of that colnspiracy in the malicious threats of Wescott and Phelps iin al tlllsion by
Phelps, showing an understanding withl WVescott; in a necgociation betweeri Phelps ani
Gay to predicate a plot on the casual burninii of the Depot in Detroit, onl the l9tli of No.
last, a plot for thle ruin ofiniocent meii; in the fraudulent mantfacttuie of thlose ]alr,nle,
but fearful toklens, contrived to obtain credit for the narrative of help,; in thc frtuidulent
traisferofthosectokens, by thlose wiho fibric,tted tihem, to the possessioi of' tt of
Filly; and in thle cunningly devised narrative ot Plielps and Lake. But I will not fliloiN
that subject fliurtl-her. It belongs to another prosecutioii-a different tribunal-perI1-)s,i to
a distant jurisdiction. It is ceoughli for our present purpose that the defendants ale liot
guilty.
Gentlemen, in thn' middle of the fourth ino:itli, we draw near toc tle end of wliat s seed to be an euidless labor. Wl-iile we have been hliere events have transpired, - lIich ha e
roused national amnbition —kindled national resentmtent —drawn fortlh niutioInal symptlies
-and threatened to dlisttii b the tranquility of ieipires. He who, althougll lie wol-eltli liiiseen, yet worketh irresistablv and unceasingly, liath susiended necither Itis giar,ia,n cire
nor His paternal discipline over ourselves. Some of you have sickened aln coti veIsced.
Others have parted with cherished ones who, remnoved before they had tiiiie to contreaet
the stain of earth, were already preparecd for the Kingdom of Ilea ven. Ther-e lihve beenr
changes, too, amnong the unfortunate men wlhom I hltve defended. The soun(l of tlle hammer as died away in the workshops of some; the harvests have ripened and wasted in the
fields of others. Want, and fear, and sorrow, have entered into all their dwellings. Their
own rugged forns have drooped; their sunburnt brows have blanched; and their hands
have become as soft to the pressure of friendship as yours or mine. One of them —a vagrant boy-whom I found imprisoned here for a few extravagant words that, perhaps, he
never uttered, has pined away and died. Another, he who was feared, hated and loved
most of all, has fallen in the vigor of life,
'~~~~~~~~~~~1 - hacked down,
Histhick summer leaves all laded."
When sua an one falls, %mid the din and smoke of the battle-field our emotions are overpowered-uppressed-lost in the excitement of public passion. But when he perishesa