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have been cognizant of, if not accessory to the fact, he has now been convicted of receiving this very corn, as stolen by them.

And here the sentence of the jury is in itself most eloquent. They were not, it is true, given as evidence to be guided by, the verdict of acquittal of the Wife & Daughter; still, they had the advantage of hearing the question in dispute regarding its admission argued before them, and it must certainly have tended to exert some influence over their minds. Their sentence, judged in any other light, would have to be regarded as being simply ridiculous. Find a man guilty of an offense for which he might be sent to jail for twelve months, and then condemn him to only ten days imprisonment! This would seem the very height of absurdity. But even here again they could hardly have been strictly just; for their action would seem to indicate that a serious or well defined doubt as to the guilt of the accused must have existed in their minds; and if so, under those circumstances, they should by all means have acquitted the man.

Under all the circumstances of the case I am firmly impressed with the belief that the accused has by no means received full & impartial justice; and I therefore have the honor to request, that if any such authority exists, the whole proceedings in this anomalous case be declared null & void, and that the character of the accused shall not be regarded as having been in any way affected thereby. I should respectfully recommend that the sentence itself might be declared of no effect, and that the prisoner be ordered at once released; but, as, from the rivers being too high to be crossed, no mail has left

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---------- Reopened for Editing 2023-10-26 16:11:43