Page:Sketches of the life and character of Patrick Henry.djvu/316

 292 SKETCHES OF THE

ried to the senate; I will not say that it passed the sam^ day through the senate; but he was attainted very speedily and precipitately, without any proof better than vague reports! Without being confronted with his ac- cusers and witnesses; imtlwut the 'privilege of calling for evidence in his behalf he was sentenced to death, and loas afterwards actually executed. Was this arbitrary deprivation of life, the dearest gift of God to man, con- sistent with the genius of a republican government? Is this compatible with the spirit of freedom? This sir^ has made the deepest impression in my heart, and I cannot contemplate it without horror/^ Now the reader, by adverting to the statement which has been already given of Philip's case, and which is founded on record, will find that there is not one word of this eloquent in- vective that is consistent with the facts. What makes the case still more strange is, that Mr. Randolph, at the happening of the occurrence to which he alludes, held the double office of clerk of the house of delegates, and attorney general of the commonwealth; in the first character, he had only ten years before, been officially informed, that the bill of attainder had not been found- ed on report, but on a communicatimi of the governor enclosing the letter of the commanding officer of the militia in the quarter which was the theati'e of Philips'' ravages; ihdXthat letter had been in due f mm commit- ted to the whole house on the state of the commonwealthy whose resolutions led to the bill in question, and that the bill, instead of being read three times in one day, had been regularly, and according to the forms of tJie house, read on three several days; while in his character of attorney general, he had himself indicted and po- secuted Philips for highway robbery — confronted him with the witnesses, whose names are given at the foot

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