where, it is observed, that mercy never failed to flow; but I can
assure the House that an application for pardon, extorted from me, is
one of the things which even a partial judge and a packed jury have
not the power to accomplish. No, sir; I will seek for, and I look for,
pardon _nowhere_, for _I have committed no crime_. I have sought for,
I still seek for, and I confidently expect JUSTICE; not, however, at
the hands of those by whose machinations I have been brought to
what they regard as my ruin, but at the hands of my enlightened and
virtuous constituents, to whose exertions the nation owes that there
is still a voice to cry out against that haughty and inexorable
tyranny which commands silence to all but parasites and hypocrites."

Thus ended Lord Cochrane's written argument. It was followed by, a few
words spoken on the spur of the moment: "Having so long occupied
its time, I will not trouble the House longer than to implore it to
investigate the circumstances of my case. I think I have stated enough
to induce it to call for the minutes of the trial. All I wish is an
inquiry. Many important facts yet remain to be considered, and I
trust that the House will not come to a decision with its eyes shut.
I entreat, I implore investigation. It is true that a sentence of a
court of law has been pronounced against me; but that punishment is
nothing, and will to me seem nothing, in comparison with what it is in
the power of the House to inflict. I have already suffered much;
but if after a deliberate and a fair investigation the House shall
determine that I am guilty, then let me be deserted and abandoned by
the world. I shall submit without repining to any the most dreadful
penalty that the House can assign. I solemnly declare before Almighty
God that I am ignorant of the whole transaction. Into the hearts of
men we cannot penetrate; we cannot dive into their inmost thoughts;
but my heart I lay open, and my most secret thoughts I disclose to