n and laws of the Government under which she lives. If
I maintain that proposition, as a matter of course she has
committed no offense, and is entitled to be discharged at your
hands.

But, beyond that, whether she was a legal voter or not, whether
she was entitled to a vote or not, if she sincerely believed that
she had a right to vote, and offered her ballot in good faith,
under that belief, whether right or wrong, by the laws of this
country she is guilty of no crime. I apprehend that that
proposition, when it is discussed, will be maintained with a
clearness and force that shall leave no doubt upon the mind of
the Court or upon your minds as the gentlemen of the jury. If I
maintain that proposition here, then the further question and the
only question which, in my judgment, can come before you to be
passed upon by you as a question of fact is whether or not she
did vote in good faith, believing that she had a right to vote.
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
offense--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
XIV. 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 myse