their opinion as they could, if not from their own knowledge, then from any materials that might be laid before them. This naturally did away with any rules of evidence as we understand them, and consequently Cobham's confession became as good evidence as the jury could expect to have. In fact, as Sir James Stephen says, 'The only rules of evidence as to matters of fact recognised in the sixteenth century seem to have been the clumsy rules of the mediæval civil law, which were supposed to be based on the Bible. If they were set aside, the jury were absolute, practically absolute, and might decide upon anything which they thought fit to consider evidence.' See further Gardiner's _History_, vol. i. pp. 108-140; and Stephen's _History of the Criminal Law_, vol. i. pp. 333-337. Sir Walter Raleigh was tried at Winchester on the 17th of November 1603 before a commission consisting of Thomas Howard,[3] Earl of Suffolk, Lord Chamberlain; Charles Blunt,[4] Earl of Devon; Lord Henry Howard,[5] afterwards Earl of Northampton; Robert Cecil,[6] Earl of Salisbury; Edward, Lord Wotton of Morley; Sir John Stanhope, Vice-Chamberlain; Lord Chief-Justice of England Popham;[7] Lord Chief-Justice of the Common Pleas Anderson;[8] Justices Gawdie and Warburton; and Sir W. Wade. The indictment charged Raleigh with high treason by conspiring to deprive the King of his government; to alter religion; to bring in the Roman Superstition; and to procure foreign enemies to invade the kingdom. The facts alleged to support these charges were that Lord Cobham,[9] on the 9th of June 1603, met Raleigh at Durham House in London, and conferred with him as to advancing Lady Arabella Stuart[10] to the throne; that it was there agreed that Cobham should, with Aremberg, the ambassador of the Archduke of Austria, bargain for a bribe of 600,000 crowns; that Cobham should go to the Archduke Albert, to procure his support for Lady Arabella, and from him to the King of Spain; that Lady Arabella should write three letters to the Archduke, to the King of Spain, and to the Duke of Savoy, promising to establish peace between England and Spain, to tolerate the Popish and Roman superstition, and to be ruled by them as to her marriage. Cobham was then to return to Jersey, where he would find Raleigh and take counsel with him as to how to distribute Aremberg's bribe. On the same day Cobham told his brother Brook of all these treasons, and persuaded him to assent to them; afterwards Cobham and Brook spoke these words, 'That there would never be a good world in England till the King (meaning our sovereign lord) and his cubs (meaning his royal issue) were taken away.' Further Raleigh published a book to Cobham, written against the title of the King, and Cobham published the same book to Brook. Further, Cobham, on the 14th of June, at Raleigh's instigation, moved Brook to incite Lady Arabella to write the letters as aforesaid. Also on the 17th of