The Dock and the Scaffold by Unknown
page 97 of 121 (80%)
page 97 of 121 (80%)
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administering the law, to allow you to speak in such terms
against such law. [Illustration: Augustine E. Costello.] COSTELLO--I speak under correction, my lord. You must, if you please, be assured that I do not attribute any wrong to your lordships--far be it from me; I acknowledge and again reiterate that. So far as the law is concerned, I have had a dose that has almost killed me; but if there was a little--a very little--justice mixed in that law, I would not be now addressing your lordships. Of the law I have had sufficient, but I have come to the conclusion that justice is not to be found inside a British courthouse. My lords, I complain, and grievously, of what my friend Colonel Warren and my friend General Halpin complained of--of being tried in this Court as a British subject; and I think your lordships will not reprimand me much for that expression. I left the shores of my native land--Ireland is the land of my birth, and I am proud to own it. I am proud to say that I am an Irishman, but I am also proud and happy to state that I am an adopted citizen of the United States; and while true to the land of my birth, I can never be false to the land of my adoption. That is not an original phrase, but it expresses the idea which I mean to convey. Now, my lords, my learned and very able counsel, who have conducted my case with the greatest ability and zeal, and of whom I cannot speak in terms of sufficient praise, demanded for me a jury half alien. I was refased it. I was born in this country, and I was, while breath remained in my body, a British subject. In God's name--if I may mention His holy name |
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