"1 rise to address you on behalf of the unfortunate prisoner at the bar, who stands charged with the awful crime of murder, under a feeling of anxiety so intense, of responsibility so overwhelming, that I feel almost borne down by the weight of my solemn and difficult task. Can I dare to hope that, even among you who are to pass in judgment on the accused, there can be one who has not brought to the judgment seat a mind imbued with preconceived notions on the case which is the subject of this important inquiry? In all classes of this great community, in every, corner of this vast metropolis, from end to end, even to the remotest corner of this extensive empire, has this case been already canvassed, discussed, determined, and that with refer ence only to the worth of the victim and the nature of the crime; not with reference to the state or condition of him by whom that crime has been committed; and hence there has arisen in men's minds an insatiate desire of vengeance; there has gone forth a wild and merciless cry for blood 1, to which you are called upon this day to minister? Yet do I not complain. I am not unmindful of the presence in which I am to plead for the life of my client. I have before me British judges to Vhom I pay no idle compliment when I say that they are possessed of all the qualities which can adorn their exalted station, or ensure to the accused a fair, a patient and an impartial hearing. I am addressing a British jury, a tribunal to which truth has seldom been a supplicant in vain. I stand in a British court, where Justice, with Mercy for her handmaid, sits enthroned on the noblest of her altars dispelling by the brightness of her presence the clouds which occasionally gather over human intelligence and awing into silence by the holiness of 1 Serjeant Shee borrowed a hint frum this passage for the exordium of his defense of I'almer in 1856 — "You knowthat a conviction of the guilt of the prisoner has impressed itself upon the whole population, and that by the whole popu lation lias been raised, in a delirium of horror and indigna tion, the cry of blood for blood."
her eternal majesty the angry passions which at times intrude beyond the threshold of her sanctuary and force their way even to the very steps of her throne. In the name of that eternal justice, in the name of that God, whose great attribute we are taught that justice is, I call upon you to enter upon the consideration of this case with minds divested of every prejudice, of every passion, of every feeling of excitement. In the name of all that is sacred and holy, I call upon you calmly to weigh the evidence which will be brought before you and to give your judgment accordingto that evidence. And, if this appeal be not, as I know it will not be, made to you in vain, then, gentlemen, I know the result, and I shall look to the issue without fear or apprehension." Having thus aroused the interest and sympathy of the jury Cockburn proceeded to deepen the impression he had made. By the law of England, insanity was undoubtedly and with eminent reason an exculpatory plea. His contention would be that McNaghten was, and had been at the critical period, insane. This contention would be supported by the j evidence of the prisoner's relatives and friends, and by testimony still more unim peachable — from medical experts and from the authorities of his native place. The existence of insanity was a question not only of fact but of science, and those that were brought into daily and hourly contact with the insane were alone " competent to judge of the nice and shadowy distinctions which mark the boundary line between men tal soundness and mental disease." Here any interference with the functions of the jury was disclaimed by the subtle advocate: "I do not ask you to place your judgment at the mercy, or to surrender your minds and understandings to the opinions of any set of men — for, after all, it must be left to your consciences to decide. I only point out to you the value and importance of this testimony." Then followed a brilliant picture of the
