French despot found it; and when the king of France pardoned one of his own blood for a murder, which he had committed, he publicly bade him observe, that he would likewise pardon any one who should murder him. Now, gentlemen, picture to yourselves the Americans of Lexington and Concord sleeping quietly in their beds, their wives and their infants by their sides, roused at the dead of the night, with an alarm that a numerous body of the king's troops (their numbers, perhaps, augmented by fear and report) were marching towards them by surprise, in an hostile manner-these troops, who were not to be brought to justice by them for any murders which they might commit! What shall they do? Shall they attempt to fly, and leave the helpless part of their family behind them? Shall they stay and submit themselves and their families to the licentiousness of these ruffians!

"I suppose there might be amongst them (as amongst us) some of both these sorts; but however, for the honor of human nature, there were also some of another temper. They hastily armed themselves as well as they could; they collected as they might; and they staid, waiting the event, determined not to attack, but to defend themselves from lawless insult, or to sell their lives as dearly as they could. There is nothing in this that will justify the slaughter of them which ensued. And you will please to observe the time which this happened; for it is a very striking fact. As soon as the act of parliament, exempting them from trial for murder in America -as soon as that act got to America, and the weather would permit them, the troops did instantly, and without delay, commit those murders with which I now charge them. That act was proposed by the confidential friend of my judge; it was proposed by Lord George Germaine; and though the Attorney and Solicitor-General, according to custom, were instructed to bring in the bill, he proposed it in the committee. He mentioned the word

soldiers troops :-but the Attorney and Solicitor-General, or the other gentlemen who are in office, (for I believe their names are mentioned for form, I do not mean to accuse them) those who drew up the bill, knew what was the secret intention of the proposer (not the intention of the government), and therefore no soldier is to be found in the bill; but it is left at large-those assisting in the execution of the orders of the officers of justice; and the general of the army was at that time the civil governor of the town. Lord George Germaine, whom I have subpoenaed to appear, and who I understand does not mean to attend, was not then, it is true, in office; but he was very shortly after made Secretary of State for the American department. You see then, that secretary, Germaine was more subtle and cautious than secretary Stair. Now, if we should prosecute those murderers, how is it to be done? How shall we find the surviving witnesses? Having found them, how shall we get them to England? How shall we find the individual murderers? And if found, how shall we bring them hither?

"Gentlemen, do you not plainly see? The act passes that they should not be tried for murder in America.The murders immediately follow.-They cannot be tried by the Americans;-and, (if the doctrine now attempted by this prosecution is established by you) our miserable fellow-subjects in America shall not have even the poor consolation of being pitied here. The murderers shall not be tried there: they shall not be charged here. But, gentlemen, I shall be told (as I have been) that the Americans were rebels. I answer, that it has not been proved. Times of discontent and suspicion are not times of rebellion: suspicion may be groundless, as well as discontent.

"But, gentlemen, you will be told that it was no murder, because there was a necessity for it.-Lord Stair said the same for Glenco.-Well, gentlemen, if upon the trial of the murderers, it should so appear, that would

save them from a verdict of murder. But, till that necessity appears, and is proved, every man is justified in calling it a murder. Necessity shall save the accused from a sentence of death; but it shall not turn the accusation into a libel, because it had a reasonable foundation. Men were killed without the sanction of the law. However, I have never yet heard of any necessity, any real necessity, shewn for this slaughter; and I take it that my evidence will be sufficient to make it appear, that it was a voluntary act, not unexpected or waited for, but sought for by the troops. Indeed, the Attorney-General has excluded any such notion; for he called it a victory! Necessary self-defence (and no further than that reaches is any man justified in putting men to death), necessary selfdefence has, I believe, never yet been called a victory. The utmost which that could ever be called, would be a lucky or a happy escape. But necessity did never yet excuse him who attacks, it will only excuse in self-defence.

"The law tells you, you must go back to the wall. If you go and attack, and so invite what follows, necessity will not afterwards acquit you. But, gentlemen, let it be necessity. If it is necessity, I am sure, I am still justified in calling it a murder, by the greatest and (upon this occasion) the best authority for me in this country. For if, when at a critical moment, to save this nation from an universal famine, it was necessary for the ministers of state to act contrary to law: if all men, with one consenting voice, approved this salutary measure to save the lives of men, and both houses of parliament returned his majesty thanks for concurring with it. I say, if, notwithstanding this, it was necessary, in order to heal the wound which the constitution was supposed to have received, (by the subjects lives being thus saved contrary to law,) if it was necessary to have an act of parliament to indemnify those who have put our fellow-subjects to death

contrary to law! I know indeed his delegated authority, as to affirm that,

""Twere all as good

To pardon him that hath from nature stol'n

A man already made, as to remit

Their saucy lewdness that do coin heaven's image

In stamps that are forbid.-'Tis all as just

Falsely to take away a life true made,

As to put mettle to restrain means

Lust, for its crime to give

"But the doctrine now held out to us goes as much farther, as revenge and tyranny are more odious, more pernicious, and more detestable than lust. purpose, argued only that it was an equal life contrary to law, as to take away life contrary to law. But revenge and despotism only make it a crime to preserve lives (which is a better kind of giving life than generation) contrary to law; and deny it to be any crime to take away lives contrary to law, unless it be also, at the same time, contrary to the inclination of the tyrant. Admit then, gentlemen, if you please, admit the motive for killing those our fellow-subjects at Lexington and Concord to be as necessary as you please; go farther, admit it to be useful, admit it to be highly meritorious :yet I hope the warmest admirer of such kind of executions, the most thirsty after American blood and confiscation; I hope he will not insult our understandings, by contending, that it could be more meritorious, that it could be more useful, that it could be more necessary to kill men in support of the measures of some particular ministers, than to save this whole country from famine. Our law, gentlemen, has not called such an action as that illegal embargo on corn by any specific name, as it has called the illegal putting of men to death by the name of murder. Suppose then (what indeed was freely done)

that any one, for want of a specific name, had called that necessary embargo on corn, an illegal action: as when we say murder, we mean illegal slaying. Now then, I ask (and I hope the Attorney-General will tell us), would it have been a seditious libel against the king and the government, to have called that measure illegal, (for want of a specific name) which the real government itself, the legislature, by the indemnifying act declared to be illegal? Whether the Attorney-General may pretend this or not, I cannot tell: but I am sure my judge must direct you otherwise. He cannot for shame pretend, because he forced an act of indemnifying these men, who themselves thought the act sufficient justification of itself; he forced them to be pardoned, to be indemnified by an act of parliament; and therefore I am sure that he cannot pretend that utility and necessity shall justify the deaths of men, when he would not permit utility and necessity to be sufficient, without an act of indemnity, to jus tify those who had illegally saved this whole country from famine. But, gentlemen, I am ashamed to have said so much upon a point so clear. It is not because I am tired, or because I am failing in many arguments equally strong. But I disdain to take up more of your time; or to say a word more upon this subject. I will leave it just where it is. I will leave it to the reply of the Attorney-General, and the direction of the Judge."

When Mr. HORNE was brought up before the court of King's Bench, on Nov. 24th following, he made the following speech previously to his receiving the judgment of the Court.

"My Lords,

"Though your lordships judgment is to be pronounced upon myself, I shall attend to hear it with the indifference and curiosity of a traveller; which I was early instructed