610 ORAL ARGUMENT OF CHRISTOPHER ROBINSON, Q. C. 



not be, as he himself most clearly and explicitly said, what was his 

 own nature and ieeling, and the feeling of nearly all the nations of the 

 civilized world — it was not what they wonld dictate; but the question 

 would be, what had all the nations of the world consented to; and 

 neither Chief Justice Marshall nor any other Judge could make inter- 

 national law difl'ereut, because the feelings of those nations that had 

 put down slavery if there were other nations which did not consent to 

 make it had grown stronger against it, part of the law by which they 

 would all be bound. 



Now as to this question of cruelty, 1 shall not read passages again, 

 in the United States argument, which have been read already, and which 

 are plainly sensational and exaggerated, or any passages on our own 

 side. There is one passage which Mr. Carter read, in which he describes 

 the gravid females being opened, the milk and blood tiowiug in streams 

 upon the deck; but let me ask, what special cruelty is there there 

 more than any other killing. I do not defend this or say that it is right; 

 but cruelty I understand to be the intliction of sufl'ering; and what more 

 cruelty is there in shooting a gravid female than a young male, as a mat- 

 ter of cruelty. I think it is right to make this correction with regard 

 to cruelty, as my learned friend the Attorney General reminds me, 

 namely, that it is the gratuitous infliction of suffering — sufltering which 

 is gratuitous, useless and unnecessary; but in that sense there is no 

 more cruelty, and no more gratuitous infliction of suffering in shooting 

 an animal in one condition than in any other. I will venture to say this 

 with regard to cruelty: Of all the witnesses we have cited, Mr. Palmer 

 at all events has stood so far unquestioned, and Mr. Palmer is a gentle- 

 man of science sent by an institution which stands, if not at the head, 

 almost at the head of science on the continent of America. He was 

 sent by the Smithsonian Institute to examine the state of affairs in 

 those islands. 



General Foster. — We most seriously question that. 



Mr. Robinson. — I do not speak of your seriously questioning. The 

 accuracy, of course, they question — they question the accuracy of every 

 charge made; but I speak of their questioning the veracity and high 

 character of Mr. Palmer: nothing else. I do not think there is much 

 object in their questioning a thing unless they can disprove or impeach 

 the veracity of the witness. 



Now Mr. Palmer's letter, at all events, is to be found in the report 

 of the British Commissioners at page 189, and you will see what is 

 said by him. This is a paper read before the Biological Society of 

 "Washington. 



General Foster. — A part of a paper. 



Mr. EoBiNSON. — Yes, said to be an extract of a paper. The other 

 portion of it, I may say, is given by the United States in their Counter 

 Case. 



General Foster. — The whole article in full is given. 



Mr. EoBiNSON. — No, I think not. I think what you have given is what 

 we did not give, but I may be wrong about that. However, that is my 

 recollection. I think they gave what we did not give, but we have the 

 whole paper between the two, so that it is of no importance whether 

 I am right or General Foster is right. I am quite content to assume 

 that I am wrong in a matter of this kind. 



Now I will not weary or pain the Tribunal by reading that letter 

 again, which has been partially read already. I repeat, whatever may 

 be said about Mr. Elliot, or whatever may be said about others, 1 am 

 not aware that there is a shadow of ground for doubting Mr. Palmer's 



