judge's commissions, were stricken from the list of attorneys. At this point, no New York attorneys could take the case. The merchant Mary Spratt Alexander suggested to her husband James Alexander that he ask his colleague Andrew Hamilton whom he was in regular correspondence with - and who was outside of the reach of influence by the judge - to come to New York to defend Zenger. Mary Alexander then traveled to Philadelphia to interview Hamilton and provide him with the facts of the case. It is thought that she and her husband were early investors of the New York Weekly Gazette. Hamilton feared that the advocate, who had subsequently been appointed by the court, might be overawed by the bench, at the head of which was Chief Justice De Lancey, a member of the governor's council. He voluntarily went to New York and appeared in the case on Zenger's behalf. He admitted that Zenger had printed and published the article but advanced the doctrine, novel at the time, that the truth of the facts in the alleged libel could be set up as a defense. He said that in this proceeding, the jury were judges of both the law and the facts. The offer of evidence to prove the truth of Zenger's statements was rejected, but Hamilton appealed to the jury to find or acknowledge from the evidence of their daily lives that the contents of the defendant's article were true. He argued that the definition of criminal libel, which didn't require the accusations to be false, came from the hated Star Chamber. His eloquence secured a verdict of "not guilty". The people of New York and the other colonies hailed the verdict with delight, since it insured free discussion of the public conduct of public officials. Gouverneur Morris referred to Hamilton as "the day-star of the American Revolution." The common council of New York passed a resolution thanking him for his services, and presented him with the freedom of the city. In addition, a group of prominent residents contributed to the production of a 5½-ounce gold box that was presented to Hamilton as a lasting mark of their gratitude to him. His fame spread to England, an account of the trial passing through four editions there within three months. Later career On May 12, 1732, Thomas Penn, John Penn and Richard Penn, as the proprietors of Pennsylvania, signed