It was truthfully said of him, what was beautifully said of another:
"Incorrupta fides—nudaque veritas,
Quando ullum inveniet parem?
Multis ille quidem flebilis occidit."
Rëelection of Mr. Jefferson.—In 1805, Mr. Jefferson was elected a second time to the office of president. The electoral votes were one hundred and seventy-six, of which he received one hundred and sixty-two. George Clinton was chosen vice-president. The following is the official canvass of the votes:
| Key: A. | Thos. Jefferson, of Virginia. |
| B. | C. C. Pinckney, of S. Carolina. |
| C. | George Clinton, of New York. |
| D. | Rufus King, of New York. |
| Number of Electors from each State. | STATES. | PRESIDENT. | VICE-PRESIDENT. | ||
| A. | B. | C. | D. | ||
| 7 | New Hampshire, | 7 | 7 | ||
| 19 | Massachusetts, | 19 | 19 | ||
| 4 | Rhode Island, | 4 | 4 | ||
| 9 | Connecticut, | 9 | 9 | ||
| 6 | Vermont, | 6 | 6 | ||
| 19 | New York, | 19 | 19 | ||
| 8 | New Jersey, | 8 | 8 | ||
| 20 | Pennsylvania, | 20 | 20 | ||
| 3 | Delaware, | 3 | 3 | ||
| 11 | Maryland, | 9 | 2 | 9 | 2 |
| 24 | Virginia, | 24 | 24 | ||
| 14 | North Carolina, | 14 | 14 | ||
| 10 | South Carolina, | 10 | 10 | ||
| 6 | Georgia, | 6 | 6 | ||
| 5 | Tennessee, | 5 | 5 | ||
| 8 | Kentucky, | 8 | 8 | ||
| 3 | Ohio, | 3 | 3 | ||
| 176 | Whole No. of Electors, Majority, 89 | 162 | 14 | 162 | 14 |
Conspiracy and Trial of Burr.—In the spring of 1807, Colonel Aaron Burr was arrested on the Tombigbee river, Mississippi territory, on a charge of treason against the United States; and was conveyed to Richmond, Virginia, for trial. Other arrests were made of persons supposed to be concerned with him in his treasonable scheme—among them were Generals Adair and Dayton, Blannerhasset, Swartwout, Alexander, Smith, Bollman, Ogden, &c. Burr and Blannerhasset alone were brought to trial. The trial of the former took place in May, 1807, before the circuit court of the United States, Judge Marshall presiding. No indictment was found by the grand jury until the 25th of June, when two bills were presented against Burr—one for treason, the other for a misdemeanor. On the 30th of June, he was committed to the penitentiary for safe keeping until the 3d day of August. From the 5th until the 17th of August, the court was engaged in obtaining a jury and discussing points of law. On that day, the treason case was opened, and an examination of witnesses on the part of the government commenced. On the 1st of September, the case was given to the jury, and as no overt act was proved against Colonel Burr to sustain the charge of treason committed within the state of Virginia, the jury rendered a verdict of "Not guilty."
On the 9th of September, a jury was empaneled to try Colonel Burr on the indictment for misdemeanor, which consisted of seven counts; the substance of which was, that Aaron Burr did set on foot a military enterprise, to be carried on against the territory of a foreign prince, viz: the province of Mexico, which was within the territory of the king of Spain, with whom the United States were at peace. After proceeding in the trial at some length, the district attorney himself moved that the jury should be discharged—the evidence of the guilt of the accused not appearing, sufficient. To a discharge of the jury without the rendition of a verdict, Burr objected; whereupon the jury retired, and soon returned with a verdict of "Not guilty."
The distinguished talents of Colonel Burr, his well-known cunning and intrigue, and the eminent station he had occupied in the United States, together with the grave charges against him of a contemplated dismemberment of the Union, with other projects—all combined to attach interest and importance to his trial. In his message to congress, developing the designs of Burr, as the government understood them, President Jefferson accused him of designing to revolutionize the territory west of the Alleganies, and of establishing an independent government, of which New Orleans was to be the capital, and himself the chief. In addition to this project, Colonel Burr, it was alleged, had formed another, which, in case of the failure of the first, might be carried on independent of it, viz: an attack on Mexico, and an establishment of an empire there. To serve as a pretext for all his preparations, and an allurement for such followers as really wished to acquire settlements in that country, it was stated that a third object was provided—the settlement of the pretended purchase of a tract of land on the Washita, claimed by a Baron Bastrop.