The Surratt Cause Celcbre. is Booth, by whose hand Jefferson Uavis inflicted the mortal wound upon Abraham Lincoln!" In this connection it may seem appropri ate to say that it is doubtful whether there lives, or has lived, an impartial lawyer who, reading the evidence as matter of history, would agree with that statement. Horace Greeley, a very St. Paul in patriotic opposi tion to the warlike attempt upon the Union, did not think so when he braved the scorn of associates by signing a bail bond for the release of him " who through Booth's hand assassinated." And certainly not any one connected with the government of the restored Union thought so, because it allowed Jefferson Davis to live for years unarraigned and to die unmolested. This historical solecism exists for some future Bancroft, Hilliard, or Macaulay to dissect, that the government which found the alleged sub-conspirators guilty gave immunity to the principal alleged conspirator. In the offi cial record not even a suggestion of evidence is apparent that Jefferson Davis directly or indirectly had personal or hearsay knowl edge of any of the sub-conspirators, or of a conspiracy to capture as a hostage, and much less to murder, President Lincoln. Special Advocate Bingham, referring to the case of Mrs. Surratt, said, " Nothing but the conscious coward guilt of the son could possibly induce him to absent himself from his mother as he does upon her trial." This ebullition of rhetoric now certainly sounds odd when contrasted with the subse quent history of his case herein before re ferred to. When the addresses ended the court room was cleared, and the military members, permitting the lawyers for the prosecution to remain and assist the deliberations, went into executive session. This continued dur ing two days, and the official record of what then and there occurred is substantial ly barren. But it shows a general verdict of guilty upon all.
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Then came up the problem of punish ment. A majority could impose imprison ment, but death could be pronounced only by the vote of two-thirds. Spanglcr received the lowest imprisonment. Four were sen tenced to life imprisonment; and Mrs. Sur ratt, Payne, Herold and Atzerodt to be hanged — General Lew Wallace not con senting to the death penalty upon the wom an, nor upon Payne because his attempt to kill Secretary Seward had failed, and the law therefore did not exact the " eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth." It was gen erally understood that some members of the Court thought that the execution of Mrs. Surratt would exercise a wholesome influ ence upon Southern women, who, during the speech of Mr. Bingham, had been asso ciated in Illustration with Lady Macbeth and her exclamation to the powers of evil to unsex her. And there is evidence that the two-thirds vote of death for Mrs. Surratt was only brought about by one of those com promises that often invade the consciences of petit jurors. The compromise, in the handwriting of Mr. Bingham, was as follows : "The undersigned (reciting official status) respectfully pray the President, in considera tion of the sex and age of Mary E. Surratt, if he can upon all the facts of her case find it consistent with his sense of duty to the country, to commute the sentence of death to imprisonment for life." A most remark able document for shifting responsibility, when it is recalled that the .Court possessed precisely the power so asked when it came to sentence, and had exercised commutation upon several of the convicts. Then the question was whispered over the telegraphic wires, and in every newspaper, and in ten thousand homes, " Will Presi dent Andrew Johnson sign Mrs. Surratt's death warrant?" He answered in a few days by signing it, and designating the second ensuing day as one for her execution, and directed to Major-General Hancock. Here it may be remarked came in ill luck
