Lewis Cooper, who was a son-in-law of Elijah Lewis, had, with Joseph Scarlet’s assistance, taken Dickinson Gorsuch to the Pownall house; he had heard Dr. Pearce tell of his uncle’s rashness and that one of his own slaves, “a bright yellow negro,” shot him; and also that he had been saved by holding on to Hanway’s saddle skirt.
Many witnesses were called to prove Hanway’s character “as a peaceable, good, loyal and orderly citizen.” It was brought out that Hanway, contrary to the general popular impression, was not a member of the Society of Friends. Having been born in Delaware and lived in Chester as well as Lancaster County, and having been at one time absent from the State, the witnesses in his behalf represented different sections of the country.
The rebuttal on the part of the prosecution consisted largely of an attempt to rehabilitate Kline’s reputation; a great number of respectable citizens of Philadelphia, who had known him from his youth up, were called to testify that his character was good and that he was entitled to belief. The opening in rebuttal also covered proposed proof of alleged outrages and reprisals by the sympathizers with fugitive slaves, in that armed and organized bands of negroes paraded the streets of Lancaster “on the hunt for slave hunters and avowing the determination, if they caught them, they would kill them”; that in April, 1851, Samuel Worthington, of Maryland, went into the neighborhood of Christiana to reclaim his fugitive slave and was resisted by armed force; that bells were rung and horns blown to arouse the neighborhood and the master was obliged to flee for his life. It was also promised that Harvey Scott would corroborate his former statement and disprove the alibi that had been made out for him. In the number of witnesses who were called to prove the general character of Kline for truth and veracity, the Government far exceeded his assailants. The proposed testimony as to previous occurrences in the neighborhood, showing popular feeling against the resistance to the reclaiming of fugitive slaves, was ruled out by the Court; the trial judges concurred that if it was any part of the Government’s case it should have been offered originally, and Judge Grier jocularly observed, “We may draw a figure from the game of whist—it would be renigging and keeping your trump back to the last trick.”
When the recanting witness, Harvey Scott, was called by the Government to prove that the alibi made for him was not correct, and Mr. Ashmead confidently offered him to prove that he was at the riot, Scott startled the prosecution and satisfied the defense by testifying as follows: “I gave my evidence that I was there once. I was frightened at the time I was taken up, and I said I was there, but I was not; I was proved to be there, but I was not there; they took me to Christiana, and I was frightened, and I didn’t know what to say, and I said what they told me.” He repeated this, whereupon Mr. Ashmead declared that he had been entrapped and asked that Scott might be committed to take his trial for perjury, when the following colloquy occurred:
“Judge Grier. Poor devil, it is not worth while for the United States to do it. Let him go, and if you owe him any thing, pay him, that he may not be tempted to steal.
”Mr. Stevens. The truth is, that he is not right in his mind.
“Mr. J. W. Ashmead. With that explanation I am perfectly willing he should depart.”
At the resumption of the trial on the next day there was a good deal of discussion as to what should be done about the variation in the testimony of the witness Scott. The Government had manifestly suffered from his wobbling, and intimated that he had been tampered with; all of which was resented by the defense, who declared that he was only a “poor miserable negro,” shallow-minded and uncertain, and that the United States having fed and clothed him for the purpose of the trial, no one representing the defense had had any access to him and the whole effect of his testimony was a matter for the jury. After again calling Dickinson Gorsuch to prove that two of his father’s slaves—Noah Buley and Joshua Hammond—were present at the shooting, the testimony closed, and it was agreed there should be not more than three speeches on either side.
The summing up began on Friday, December 5, Mr. Ludlow opening for the prosecution and discussing at length and elaborately the law of the case, and then proceeding to consider the strength of the Government’s testimony and the improbabilities of what had been proved on the part of the defense. Being himself a member of the Philadelphia bar, he undertook the defense of Kline, and declared that no man of bad character could have produced in his behalf the array of witnesses whom the Government had called to sustain its deputy marshal. On Saturday morning, December 6, Mr. Lewis, of West Chester, commenced to sum up for the defense. He made an exceptionally able argument both on the facts and the law of the case and reviewed the history of the two leading cases of treason which had occurred in Pennsylvania arising out of the so-called Whiskey Insurrection and the Fries rebellion. He was followed by Attorney General Brent, for the prosecution, and his speech was not concluded when Court adjourned on Saturday afternoon to meet the following Monday. It was at this session of the Court the colored prisoners were brought in clad in the uniform dress which had been furnished them by sympathizing friends, and the scene that was presented is thus described by a contemporary newspaper reporter:
“On Saturday morning, December 6, when Mr. Lewis was to speak first for the prisoners and was to be followed by the Attorney General of Maryland there was a great throng present at the trial. The room was overcrowded with women, and Marshal Roberts was greatly embarrassed at his inability to find or to make a place for them. The special attention of the spectators was attracted to a row of colored men, seated on the north side of the room. They were cleanly in their appearance, and their heads and faces presented strong presumptive evidence that they had just escaped from the hands of the barber. These were the colored prisoners alleged to have been engaged in the treason at Christiana, and numbered twenty-four. They were all similarly attired wearing around their necks ‘red, white and blue scarfs.’ Lucretia Mott was at their head. This, we believe, is her first appearance in court since the trials have commenced. Her dignified and benevolent countenance ever attracts attention. Under that calm exterior there glows a fire, kindled by charity, which is as universal as it is ardent and enduring. She sat knitting during the entire session of the court, apparently unconscious of what was going on around her, except when some point in the testimony seemed to bear strongly against the prisoner. Then her eyes were lifted from her work, and sparkled for a moment with admiration; but speedily relapsed into their intelligent, yet quiet and peaceful aspect. One of the colored persons, whose name is Collister Wilson, was too unwell to be brought from prison on Saturday morning. It is but just to say, that these colored men, taken together, will compare in personal appearance with an equal number of the same race taken indiscriminately from any part of the world. The two white men, Lewis and Scarlet, were also brought from prison, but occupied the rear or east end of the court room. These two appeared to be between thirty and forty years of age, and judging from their garb, do not belong to the Society of Friends, as has been generally supposed. On inquiring how it happened that the colored prisoners were all dressed alike, we were informed that they had been clothed by a committee of ladies belonging to the Abolition Society, who have been very attentive to them since they have been in prison.”