believe, gentlemen, that you have the speech of freedom here;
but I claim, gentlemen, that the real spirit of freedom has
fled these shores many a century ago--has sped across the
Atlantic, and perched upon American soil; and, gentlemen, it
ought to be your wish and desire--as I am sure it is, for I am
unwilling to believe that you are the men the Attorney-General
deems you to be--to do me justice, and to prove that Dublin
juries do not on all occasions bring in a verdict at the
dictation of the Crown. Gentlemen, the principle of freedom
is at stake. Every man that is born into this world has a
right to freedom, unless he forfeits that right by his
own misdemeanour. Perhaps you have read the Declaration of
American Independence. In that declaration, drawn up by one
Thomas Jefferson, it is stated that every man born into this
world is born free and equal; that he has the right--the
inalienable right--to live in liberty and the pursuit of
happiness. These are the cardinal principles of liberty. I
claim these rights, unless I have forfeited them by my own
misconduct. I claim there is not one particle, one scintilla,
of evidence to warrant you in finding a verdict for the Crown.
I have not conspired with General Roberts or any of these
other generals. There is no evidence to show you anything
about any such conspiracy, as far as I am concerned. With
these facts before you, I ask you, as reasonable men, is
there one particle of evidence to show that I am guilty of
the charges preferred against me? I shall simply conclude
by repeating the words with which I commenced--that I leave
it between your conscience and your God to find a verdict
according to the evidence and, the truth. I leave it to you
in the name of that sacred justice which we all profess to