bench or you from the bar, therefore we exclude you." So "for contempt
of court" their names were struck from the list of attorneys. The case
came on for trial. The clerk of the Court sought to pack his jury, and
instead of producing the "Freeholders' book" to select the Jury from,
presented a list of forty-eight persons which he said he had taken
from that book. This Honorable Court knows how easy it is to violate
the law in summoning jurors; none knew it better a hundred and twenty
years ago. Of the 48 some were not freeholders at all; others held
commissions and offices at the Governor's pleasure; others were of the
late displaced magistrates who had a grudge against Mr. Zenger for
exposing their official conduct; besides, there were the governor's
baker, tailor, shoemaker, candle-maker, and joiner. But it does not
appear that this Judge had any Brother-in-law on the list; corruption
had not yet reached that height. But that wicked list was set aside
after much ado, and a Jury summoned in the legal manner. It may
astonish the Court but it was really done--and a Jury summoned
according to law. The trial went on. Andrew Hamilton of Philadelphia
defended Mr. Zenger with law, wit, learning, and eloquence. He
admitted the fact of printing and publishing the documents, and rested
the defence on the truth of their assertions. The Attorney-General,
Mr. Bradley, said, "supposing they were true, the law says that they
are not the less libellous for that: nay, indeed, the law says, _their
being true is an aggravation of the crime_." He "did not know what
could be said in defence of a man that had so notoriously scandalized
the governor and principal magistrates ... by _charging them with
depriving the people of their rights and liberties, and taking away
trials by juries, and in short putting an end to the law itself_. If
this was not a libel, he did not know what was one. Such persons as
did take these liberties ... ought to suffer for stirring up sedition
and discontent among the people."

The Chief Justice declared, "It is far from being a justification of a
libel that the contents thereof are true ... since the _greater
appearance there is of truth, so much the more provoking is it_!" "The
jury may find that Mr. Zenger printed and published these papers, and
_leave it to the court to judge whether they are libellous_!"

That would be to put the dove's neck in the mouth of the fox, and
allow him to decide whether he would