Australia -- Fiction; England -- Fiction; Gold mines and mining -- Fiction
made his own, of her husband, and afford the damning evidence of your
verdict towards robbing his son of his legitimacy.'
He said very much more about the envelope, clearly showing his own
appreciation of its importance and declaring again and again that if
he could show that a stain of perjury affected the evidence in any
one point all the evidence must fall to the ground, and that if there
were ground to suspect that the envelope had been tampered with,
then that stain of perjury would exist. After that he went on to the
four conspirators, as he called them, justifying the name by their
acknowledged object of getting money from his client. 'That they came
to this country as conspirators, with a fraudulent purpose, my learned
friend will not deny.'
'I acknowledge nothing of the kind,' said the learned friend.
'Then my learned friend must feel that his is a case in which he cannot
safely acknowledge anything. I do not doubt, gentlemen, but that you
have made up your mind on that point.' He went on to show that they
clearly were conspirators;--that they had confessed as much themselves.
'It is no doubt possible that my client may have married this female
conspirator, and she is not the less entitled to protection from the
law because she is a conspirator. Nor, because she is a conspirator,
should he be less amenable to the law for the terrible injury he would
then have done to that other lady. But if they be conspirators,--if it
be shown to you that they came to this country,--not that the woman
might claim her husband, not that the others might give honest
testimony against a great delinquent,--but in order that they might
frighten him out of money, then I am entitled to tell you that you
should not rest on their evidence unless it be supported, and that
the fact of their conspiracy gives you a right, nay, makes it your
imperative duty, to suspect perjury.'
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account