from his seat, took out his "bowie knife," and stabbed to the heart a member who was then on the floor addressing the chair, and, unguardedly, reflecting upon the system of banking to which this Speaker belonged; and, incredible as it will appear to you, the jury found a verdict of justifiable homicide.

The constitution of the United States says, that nothing but silver and gold shall be a lawful tender, and, moreover, when we lend our money on mortgage, the deed expresses that it shall be returned in Spanish milled dollars. But when these bankers think proper to "suspend," our lives are in danger if we demand any other than their assignats in payment. I know a gentleman in Philadelphia, who, in foreclosing a mortgage, demanded his money according to law, and the under sheriff told him, that the man that desired specie, in such a state of things, ought to be Lynched; "the word made me shudder," said he, "and I dropped the subject immediately."

Now, I hope that what I am about to say will not be considered as boasting of my personal courage; but as having a desire to make clear to you the manner in which justice, or rather injustice, is administered in this famed republic. At the time of the bank suspension, I had, like others, payments to make, and I was determined, if possible, to make them in money, and not in worthless trash. But how was this to be done? There were two ways; either buying the silver at an enormous premium, or suing the bankers at the risk of your life for payment of their notes. But the law runs so, that, if you sued for more than five dollars at a time, the bankers could appeal from the decision of a magistrate, and carry the suit from court to court; several of such suits having been commenced in May, 1837, and have not yet, or ever will be determined. Well, then, the only way left was to sue for five dollars, about a pound sterling, and to continually harass them, until they compromised; that is, until they agreed, occasionally, to pay a note in silver, &c. But there was but one magistrate in the city or county that dare give judgment against them. It was before him, Alderman Thompson, that I undertook to contend against the band of defrauders. My best friends begged of me not to do it. I, however, was determined not to be thus openly robbed, without a struggle, and demanded payment of the fivedollar notes that I possessed. They refused to pay them. I then stated the case to the said Alderman Thompson (then a stranger to me, but I had heard that he was considered an honest magistrate, and therefore a very singular character), when I demanded summonses of him against them. "If you persist in it," said he, “I will do my duty; but I am exceedingly sorry that you have applied to me; I have a family, and I am afraid that giving judgment against the banks will be the ruin of me."

I met five of the bankers the first day. I intended to have them one after

the other, and gave them notice accordingly; but they all sent their lawyers at the same time, thinking to frighten me by such an array of "masters of tongue-fence." I could not afford, you know, to employ a lawyer; I sued but for five dollars, and he would have taken, as a fee, the exact amount, and sold me to the bankers after all. So, knowing my case to be as just as I thought it was simple, I undertook, in spite of the old adage, (he who is his own lawyer having a fool for his client,) to plead for myself against half a dozen " Philadelphia lawyers," renowned as they are for their extraordinary cunning. Of course I had but one suit before his honour at a time, but still the lawyers, engaged in the different suits, would all lend their assistance, to interrupt and annoy me; and one of them, who was not engaged in the cause before the court, told me that no man who had not a foreign (English) accent on his tongue, would have dared to sue the banks, and, being an Englishman, he thought I ought not to recover. There was not a subterfuge but what these "Philadelphia lawyers" availed themselves of. I subpoenaed the Teller of the Pennsylvania Bank to prove the note, and being about to swear him, "Stop," says the lawyer, "you have not paid that witness." "Well," said I, "he is my witness; when he complains it will be time enough to pay him." Now, they knew that there was scarcely such thing as lawful money in the whole community, and that I could not pay this witness for want of such money; and he, having had the hint, demanded it. I had plenty of notes, and offered them a five-dollar note of their own bank. "Sir," said the lawyer, "that is not a lawful tender." He then triumphantly demanded a nonsuit; but the magistrate said No, he would adjourn the court for three days. He did so, and I furnished myself with silver enough to get over this difficulty. But, on offering the witness the Bible again, "Stop," says the lawyer, "this Teller is a stock-holder; he, therefore, cannot give evidence against himself." To which the magistrate agreed, but said, that I might examine him as to when, and for what motive, he became a stock-holder. He was then sworn, and I asked him when he became a stock-holder. Answer: "I don't know exactly when."-Question: "Was it as long ago as a month ?" A. "I don't know."-Q. "Was it a week?" A. "I cannot say."-Q. Were you not made a stock-holder since you were here before, and were you not made one on purpose that you might not give evidence in this case? remember that you have sworn to tell the truth." Here the fellow showed himself unfit for the service of his employers, and tremblingly acknowledged that such was the case. He then testified as to the validity of the note; upon which the lawyer raised another bar, and called upon me to prove the charter, which, he said, could not be done but by a written copy of the same, signed by the secretary of state with the seal of the commonwealth.

I was not in possession of

C

such copy; and the court was again adjourned for a few days, to give me an opportunity to overcome the objection. When we again met, I still was without the written copy. I had been fortunate enough to obtain the laws, as printed by authority; but to such evidence the lawyers stoutly objected. The magistrate, however, finally gave it as his opinion that the printed laws were sufficient, but reserved his judgment till next day, and proceeded to another case-myself against the Mechanics' Bank. Lawyer Bradford, the standing attorney, in showing cause why I should not be paid, addressed the court in the following words :—

"Your Honour, the plaintiff seeks to recover five dollars in payment for a bank note, purporting to have been issued by the Mechanics' Bank. Now, your Honour, I hold it to be impossible for any man to prove any bank note to be a genu-ine note. For suppose he goes to the Teller, and the Teller says that it is good; why, Sir, the Teller did not sign the note, and therefore can tell nothing about it. Well, suppose the Cashier says that his signature is to the note, and so it is a genu-ine note. Sir, it is ridiculous to talk in this way; for in this very bank, not long since, there were some forged notes paid as deposits, and it was not until a long time after that this fact was discovered, and then only by accident. If, therefore, the President and the Cashier cannot tell their own writing, how is it possible for anybody else to tell? But, Sir, suppose they can tell, and it is proved to your satisfaction that the Cashier signed the note, what then? That does not prove it a genuine note, because it may have been signed unknown to the President, and the President's signa ture forged. Well, he may go further and prove, as well, the President's signature; and then, Sir, he has done nothing; because both of them might have signed it without the knowledge and consent of the Directors. Well, he may prove that they had this authority, and then, Sir, he has to prove that the stockholders did duly and fairly elect and give authority to the Directors to do all these matters and things. Well, next he has to prove that there is a company called the Mechanics' Banking Company,' and that this company, whose attorney I am, is that company, and how will he do that? He brings forward books of laws, which he says are printed by authority of the legislature, and the reason that he assigns for such statement is, that it is written or printed so in the said book. Why, Sir, anything may be printed in a book; there is no way of proving this fact but by producing a written copy, signed by the Secretary of State, and bearing the seal of the Commonwealth, and then his handwriting and the seal could be disputed; but, suppose all this proved, let us see what these printed charters say? Why, Sir, they say that at a certain time a certain number of men applied to the legislature for a charter, and they promised to do certain things previous to its being granted: well, then, he has got to prove that these things were done. In fact, your Honour, there is no end to it, and it is

totally impossible for him to prove the genuineness of the note, and therefore your Honour will agree with me that he cannot recover."

And, Sir, I should not have recovered, before any other magistrate than Alderman Thompson, who, being a sincerely religious man, though frightened half to death at the banks, durst not decide contrary to his conscience. So I succeeded in every suit I brought.

It is true they harassed me much, and the magistrate required me to produce evidence, as I thought entirely unnecessary; and when I had produced it, and he had recorded all that he asked for, he would, in another suit against the same bank require all these proofs over again. It was necessary to prove the original charters, the revivals and re-charters from time to time; to have a wheelbarrow full of law-books, and it was with the greatest difficulty that I got them; but I spared neither time nor trouble, having, at first, made up my mind to follow them up until I could bring them to my terms; and, finally, they paid me as much as I wanted, while, in almost every instance, they nonsuited others. The 'Public Ledger,' a newspaper of Philadelphia, of August, 1837, gives an account of a suit brought by a poor man who was required, to sustain his claim, to bring forward all the proofs that I have spoken of, and not being able to do it, he was nonsuited and mulcted in the expenses to the amount of two or three dollars.

It is a fact, Sir, and I wish you particularly to bear it in mind, that these men, who thus sport with the law, are all of them "democrats" of the very first water; all leaders of the dear people; the whole gang belonging to this "Girard Bank" are democrats. Hay, you see, is a democrat ; and the learned counsel himself would turn his back to no lover of the people that ever watched over their dearest interest. If a suit be brought by a poor man who, for want of knowledge on the subject, could not plead for himself, and the magistrate before whom it was brought was of the "Pure Democratic Party," there would not be a shadow of a chance for the plaintiff. I had long before been convinced that every vile thing was encouraged by the democrats; but the scenes of the days I am speaking of caused me to make up my mind never again to profess democracy. To be sure I always openly disavowed belonging to either of their parties, but still, as you know, I was a democrat, and I was sincere, in my belief, that, under such a form of government, a nation might thrive and be happy; but now I have no such belief; and to prove that I have not changed for light and transitory causes, this and the following letters will, I think, show. Let no man condemn me until he has heard me, and then, as to whether I am right or wrong, by the general verdict I am willing to abide.

I am, my dear Sir,

Yours sincerely,

THOMAS BROTHERS.

ON THE CRUELTY OF THE DISCIPLINE OF THE STATE PRISONS OF
PENNSYLVANIA-EASTERN PENITENTIARY.

To the Right Honourable Lord John Russell.

MY LORD, Philadelphia, March 12, 1838. As the Principal Secretary of State for the Home Department of Her Majesty's Government of Great Britain, I take the liberty of addressing this letter, on the system of discipline adopted in the Eastern Penitentiary of Pennsylvania, to your Lordship.-As a native of England, I am exceedingly anxious for the welfare of my beloved country, and, from a long residence in the United States of North America, having become well acquainted with the miseries which have arisen from the most fallacious form of polity established in that really unhappy country, I feel it my duty to caution my fellow-countrymen, and you as one of their first statesmen, against falling into the most pernicious error of copying the proceedings of the so-called republicans, to whom I have alluded. I am exceedingly sorry to see, my Lord, that my countrymen, and their representatives in Parliament, are very prone to commit this mistake, a mistake which, if persisted in for any length of time, will inevitably bring ruin upon your country. The Government of the United States of North America has been denominated by one of the new era men a Model Government." I think, my Lord, if you will do me the honour to read my work, you will agree with me in thinking, that if it be a model, it is a model to be avoided, not imitated.

But to return to the more immediate subject of this letter, namely, the prison discipline of the Eastern Penitentiary of the State of Pennsylvania. I have learnt, my lord, with great grief, that Commissioners have been sent out to the United States, to inspect the much-boasted prisons of that country, and that they have made a highly favourable report of the discipline of the Penitentiary I have just mentioned. When I tell your Lordship that the following details of the crimes and cruelties committed in this new Bastile, though taken from official documents, are almost entirely unknown to the self-called free and enlightened citizens of the United States," the sovereigns,' as they are sometimes denominated, I am sure, my Lord, you must be convinced that the aforesaid Commissioners could have little or no opportunity of forming a correct judgment of the system upon which they have so favourably reported.

Your Lordship will perceive that I have made large extracts from a work called " A Detailed Statement of the Proceedings of the Committee appointed by the Legislature, for the purpose of Examining