be shed." Moreover, "you shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer, who is guilty of death, but he shall surely be put to death; for the land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it."

CHARGE

FROM HIS HONOR THE PRESIDENT,

RICHARD HETHERINGTON, Isq.

Gentlemen,

TO THE PETIT JURY.

BY virtue of a special commission of oyer and terminer and general gaol delivery, from his Excellency the Governor in chief of the leeward Charribee Islands, you have been summoned to try offences, said to be committed in the Virgin-Islands, and you have been selected out of the pannel summoned, by the prisoner at the bar, Mr. Arthur Hodge; and you have been sworn, on the Holy Evangelists of Almighty God, to do justice impartially, and according to your oaths.

You have heard the evidence, adduced by persons, as I believe, entitled to full credence; you have heard the law, as laid down in the books, respecting murder, the law makes no distinction between master and servant : God created white and he created black creatures; and as God makes no distinction in administering justice, and to him each is alike, you will not, nor can you alter your verdict, if murder has been proved-whether on white persons or on black persons, the crime is equally the same with God and the law.

If you believe the murder has been committed, as I do, you must find the prisoner guilty; if not, you must acquit him of the crime alledged against him; the fact and the evidence rest on you to determine on, now-whether guilty or not guilty,

Tuesday Morning,

30th April, 1811. S

HIS HONOR CHIEF JUSTICE ROBERTSON's

Gentlemen,

CHARGE

TO THE PETIT JURY,

THE present is an awful and solemn inquiry, as it affects the life of the prisoner, a man of rank in the country, and the due administration of justice.-The law has been laid down to you, and the cause ably argued, both on the part of the prosecution, and on behalf of the prisoner; you are in possession of the whole of the evidence, and being, no doubt, greatly fatigued, I shall trespass on you but a short time.I am clear, the life and member of a slave, are not at the disposal of his master; and that, however, án owner may have a right to correct his slave at his dis cretion, yet such correction must be presumed to be given for some fault or offence, and ought to be lim ited to the bounds of moderation; and wherever that

is exceeded and death ensues, the master ordering or directing it is accountable.

In the present instance, if you believe what the witnesses for the crown have sworn to, the conduct of the prisoner in the mode and manner of inflicting the correction, charged against him, the repetition thereof, the subsequent imprisonment in irons, and the total inattention to the deceased afterwards, were such aggravations as, I am concerned to say, will constitute the heinous offence laid to the prisoner's charge.

I am persuaded that you will consider the case with a due regard to the condition of the unhappy prisoner, your oaths, and what you owe to your country and your God. A great deal of evidence has been taken, partly with a view to invalidate the testimony of the witnesses for the crown, which, however, chiefly went to the charging M'Keough with being sometimes addicted to inebriety-and Perreen with having, when a slave, purloined some of her mistress's cloaths; in other respects no material imputation was made against their veracity; and with respect to the lapse of time that had occurred since the commission of the offence, you have heard the excuse the witnesses gave.

The prisoner's sister, however excuseable her attachment to her brother may be, is reprehensible, as

is the old black woman, Penelope Hodge, who made the deposition.

The credit of the witnesses remains with you to decide on, and you will, when you retire, consider the subject as its importance merits, and discharge your duty free from prejudice or favor, as you, by your oaths are bound to do, and bring in your verdict accordingly.

THE PRISONER'S ADDRESS TO THE JURY

Gentlemen,

ON THEIR RETIRING.

AS bad as I have been represented, or as bad as you may think me, I assure you that I feel support

in

my afflictions from entertaining a proper sense of religion. As all men are subject to wrong, I cannot but say that that principle is likewise inherent in me.

I acknowledge myself guilty in regard of many of my slaves, but I call God to witness my innocence in respect of the murder of Prosper.-I am sensible the country thirsts for my blood, and I am ready to sacri fice it.