Page:United States Reports, Volume 2.djvu/335

 Cmcorr Comer, Pm;/jh·auia Di{h·i&. gag the enemies of France; and, of courfe, againll: a nation at gpg; peace with the United Stem, lince the United Slam are at •.¢»·~. peace with all the world. Nor can it be reafonably contended, that the articles thus put on hoard the ve{l`el were articles of mer· chandize; for, if that had been the cafe, they would have been mentioned in her manifelt, on clearing out of the port, whereas it is exprefsly {lated, that {hc {itiled in ballall. If they were not to be u{`ed for merchandise, the inference is inevitable, that they were to be ufed for war. No man would proclaim on the houfe top, that he intended to {it out a priva tear: the intention mult be colleélcd from all the cireumliances of the tranfadiiott, which the ]ury will inveiiigate, and on which they mult decide. But if they are of opinion, that it was intended to convert this vc{`·· {`el from a merchant {hip into a cruiler, every man who was _ knowingly concerned in doing fo, is guilty in the contemplation ‘ - of thelaw. It will only, then, be nece{Eary to afcertain, how far the de· fendant was knowingly concemed; for, though he were con- cerned, if he did not a& with a knowledge of the real objeét, he would be innocent. It has been alledged in his defence, that he was merely an interpreter; and if, in fac}, he had appeared in that charaéter alone, we {hould not have thought it a {'uiE· cient ground for conviélion. But the jury will collect from the other parts of the tranfaétion, whether this is not ufcd as a mall: to cover his eliicicnt agency in the equipmcntof the vellél. He carried orders from the owner to the {hip carpenter; he told the Pilot-boy at what time the guns {houicl be taken on board his boat, to be carried to the_{hip; the account found in his pof-· feliion {iates charges for {`upplies of cannon, ball, mulkets, and commillions for {`ervices; and the whole is conduéted in a {`e• crct and mylterious manncrQ under the {hade of night. Would he have aétcd this part as a mere interpreter? iii k had been fair mercantile bufinefs, involving nothing repugnant ro our laws, would it have been fo much a work of darkncfs P This alone calis a gloom over thc tran{`a£tion, that will imprefs eve- ry juli and ingenuous mind with an idea of fraud and delin· _ qucncy. ‘ lf the defendant has been cnnccmed in the offence, there is no doubt that it is eE`c&ed as far as it was in his power to com-· plcte it. The illegal uutlit of the vcllel was accomplilhed; and that an additional number of cannon was not fent to aug- ment het force, was not owing to his re{`pe& to the laws, but to the vigilance of the public police. . Upon the whole, the jury will coniider the indiélmcnt; and give {och a verdict as {hall cctnpcrt with evidence and law. V¢!di&--Gui1?y. Te Pnt.tssz1'

�