The public prosecutor assumes that, however honestly she may have
offered her vote, however sincerely she may have believed that she had a
right to vote, if she was mistaken in that judgment, her offering her
vote and its being received makes a criminal offence--a proposition to
me most abhorrent, as I believe it will be equally abhorrent to your
judgment.
Before the registration, and before this election, Miss Anthony called
upon me for advice upon the question whether, under the 14th Amendment
of the Constitution of the United States, she had a right to vote. I had
not examined the question. I told her I would examine it and give her my
opinion upon the question of her legal right. She went away and came
again after I had made the examination. I advised her that she was as
lawful a voter as I am, or as any other man is, and advised her to go
and offer her vote. I may have been mistaken in that, and if I was
mistaken, I believe she acted in good faith. I believe she acted
according to her right as the law and Constitution gave it to her. But
whether she did or not, she acted in the most perfect good faith, and if
she made a mistake, or if I made one, that is not a reason for
committing her to a felon's cell.
For the second time in my life, in my professional practice, I am under
the necessity of offering myself as a witness for my client.
Pages:
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30