, and that they had succeeded. With their mode of doing
this,--whether criminal or innocent,--the jury had nothing to do, except
as it affected their credit. But they were bound to look to Caldigate's
motive in paying so large a sum. It had been shown that he did not owe
them a shilling, and that when the application for money reached him
from Australia he had refused to give them a shilling. Then, when they
had arrived here in England, accusation was made; and when they had
offered to desert the case if paid the money, then the money was paid.
The prisoner, when paying it, had no doubt intimated to those who
received it that he made no bargain with them as to their going away.
And he had taken a friend with him who had given his evidence in court,
and this friend had manifestly been taken to show that the money was not
secretly paid. The jury would give the prisoner the benefit of all
that,--if there was benefit to be derived from it. But they were bound
to remember, in coming to their verdict, that a very large sum of money
had been paid to the witnesses by the prisoner, which money certainly
was not due to them.

He dwelt, also, at great length on the stamp on the envelope, but
contrived at last to leave a feeling on the minds of those who heard
him, that Sir John had shown the weakness of his case by trusting so
much to such allegations as he had made. 'It has been represented,' said
Judge Bramber, 'that the impression which you have seen of the Sydney
post-office stamp has been fraudulently obtained. Some stronger evidence
should, I think, be shown of this before you believe it. Two clerks from
the London post-office have told you that they believed the impression
to be a false one; but I think they were hardly justified in their
opinion. They founded it on the clearness and cleanness of the
impression; but they both of them acknowledged afterwards that such
clearness and cleanness is simply unusual, and by no means
impossible,--not indeed improbable. But how would it have been if the
envelope had been brought to you without any post-office impression,
simply directed to Mrs. Caldigate, by the man who is alleged to have
made the woman his wife shortly before the envelope was written? Would
it not in that case have been strong evidence? If any fraud were
proved,--such a fraud as would be that of getting some post-office
official falsely to stamp the envelope,--then the stain of perjury would
be there. But it will be