Monday, February 24.—Mr. Commissioner Hallett resumed the examination at 10 o'clock.
Elizur Wright recalled. I was in the court room fifteen or twenty minutes. It was perfectly impossible that Mr. Davis could have gone out and come in again without my knowing it.
Cross Examined. Mr. Sewall stated to me the quo modo of the arrest. About half the time I was in there I was occupied in explanations with Mr. Riley, after the altercation which arose from my mistaking him for the counsel for the claimant. The explanations resulted in his giving me permission to speak to Shadrach. I then shook Shadrach by the hand, and spoke a few words to him. While Mr. Sewall was telling me that he thought a good defence could be made for Shadrach, that there would be a probability of his getting off upon the proof, there were two or three persons standing about, and some one of them said there might be an interference on the part of the colored people. Mr. Sewall said that would be perfectly ridiculous, and I said so too. It was in that connection, I think, that I said there were but few persons outside. I had come from a meeting of the persons interested in the Commonwealth.
Mr. Lunt—Are you one of the editors of the Commonwealth? [Witness did not answer, but smiled].
Mr. Dana—I object to the question, and ask the purpose of the district attorney in proposing to put in anything in relation to the connection of the witness with that newspaper.
The Commissioner remarked that the inquiry was irrelevant, unless the district attorney expected to show from it a bias on the part of the witness.
Mr. Wright now, without any further questioning, stated that he was one of the editors of the "Commonwealth." The conversation was about the possibility of the colored people taking it quietly. Mr. Sewall said, I hope there will be no violence.
Richard H. Dana, Jr. was called to the stand by Mr. Davis.
[Mr. Dana said that when he entered upon the case, he did not suppose he should be a witness, or he would have declined acting as counsel.