Page:Sketches of the life and character of Patrick Henry.djvu/344

 S20 SKETCHES OF THE

the United States, which recognized that treaty as the supreme law of the land; and,

Fifthly, That the alleged infractions of the treaty on the part of Great Britain, did not produce the effect of abolishing the treaty; that this was a national concern, with which the individual plaintiff and defendant had nothing to do; that the question of infraction was one to be decided by the supreme power of the nation only, and one of which the court could not, with any pro- priety, take cognizance.

Mr. Baker closed his opening speech on Thursday evening the 24th of November, and it was publicly understood that Mr. Henry was to commence his reply on the next day. The legislature was then in session; but when 1 1 o^clock, the hour for the meeting of the court, arrived, the speaker found himself without a house to do business. All his authority and that of his sergeant at arms were unavailing to keep the members in their seats; every consideration of public duty yielded to the anxiety which they felt, in common with the rest of their fellow-citizens, to hear this great man on this truly great and extensively interesting question. Accordingly, when the court was ready to proceed to business, the court room of the capitol, large as it is, was insufficient to contain the vast concourse that was pressing to enter it. The portico, and the area in which the statue of Washington stands, were filled with a disappointed crowd, who nevertheless maintained their stand without. In the court room itself, the judges, through condescension to the public anxiety, relaxed the rigour of respect which they were in the habit of exacting, and permitted the vacant seats of the bench, and even the windows behind it, to be occupied by the

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