"I am here at the instance of that lady (pointing to Mrs. Surratt) whom I never saw until yesterday, and never heard of, she being a Maryland lady; and thinking that I could be of service to her, and protesting as she has done her innocence to me--of the facts I know nothing--because I deemed it right, I deemed it due to the character of the profession to which I belong, and which is not inferior to the noble profession of which you are members, that she should not go undefended. I knew I was to do it voluntarily, without compensation; the law prohibits me from receiving compensation; but if it did not, understanding her condition, I should never have dreamed of refusing upon the ground of her inability to make compensation." General Harris, in reply, insisted that the remarks of Mr. Johnson, explanatory of the letter, corroborated his construction. "I understand him to say that the doctrine which he taught the people of his state was, that because the Convention had framed an oath, which was unconstitutional and illegal in his opinion, therefore it had no moral binding force, and that people might take it and then go and vote without any regard to the subject matter, of the oath." Mr. Johnson, interrupting, denied having said any such thing. General Hunter, thereupon, to help his colleague out, had the remarks read from the record. Mr. Johnson assenting to the correctness of the report, General Harris continued: "If that language does not justify my conclusion, I confess I am unable to understand the English language;" and then repeated his construction of the letter. After he had concluded, Mr. Johnson endeavored to show the author of "Calvinism Vindicated" that he did not understand the English language, by pointing out the distinction between stating "there was no harm in taking an oath, and telling the people of Maryland that there would be no harm in breaking it after it was taken." Again repelling the misconstruction attempted to be put upon his words, he proceeded to open a new line as follows: "But, as a legal question, it is something new to me that the objection, if it was well founded in fact is well founded in law. Who gives to the Court the jurisdiction to decide upon the moral character of the counsel who may appear before them? Who makes them the arbiters of the public morality and professional morality? What authority have they, under their commission, to rule me out, or to rule any other counsel out, upon the ground, above all, that he does not recognize the validity of an oath, even if they believed it?"