“CHIEF JUSTICE (in a great rage)--Silence, you d--d Yankee rebel! Not another word or--
“My Lord, I will not keep silence when my life is at stake.... A jury did I say? They are all strangers to me, but from the proceedings I have witnessed to-day, I have no doubt they are mere tools of the Government, pledged to render a verdict of guilty and perjure their own hearts.
“A JURYMAN, from the box--My Lord, are we honest men to be insulted and abused in this manner?
“No doubt the gentleman _is_ an honest man.... My Lord, I have done--but I again _demand_ from your lordship the full time allowed by law for my defence.... At present I have only to request to be furnished with a copy of my indictment.
“CHIEF JUSTICE--The Court will not allow you a copy.”
There is no reason to infer that this is misquoted in a single letter. In fact current testimony will bear out all that Miller says, and the reading of this court scene will give us a very true insight into life in Canada in 1838, and will be quite new to the present generation of Canadians. The author gets this court scene from “Notes of an Exile, on Canada, England and Van Diemen’s Land,” by Linus Wilson Miller, and it is probable that the copy of Miller’s book that I possess is the only one in Canada to-day.
“On August 5th, 1838, Linus Wilson Miller was again tried at Niagara, and here follows the scene in court when the jury brought in a verdict of ‘Guilty, with an earnest recommendation of the prisoner to the extreme mercy of the court.’
“CHIEF JUSTICE (in a great rage)--Gentlemen of the jury, do you know that your verdict is virtually an acquittal? How dare you bring in such a verdict in this case?...
“THE FOREMAN--My Lord, the jury regard him as having been partially deranged some months since, but of sane mind when he invaded this province.
“CHIEF JUSTICE--Then retire, gentlemen, and reconsider your verdict. You cannot recommend him to mercy.
“In a few minutes they returned with a verdict of ‘guilty, with a recommendation of the prisoner to the mercy of the court.’
“CHIEF JUSTICE--Gentlemen of the jury, I’ll teach you your duty, how dare you return such a verdict?...
“A JURYMAN--My Lord, we recommend him on account of his youth.