“Dr. OLDISH. My lord, he moves that his trial for piracy may be put off for several reasons. It is very fit that it should be put off for some time, because he wants some papers very necessary for his defence. It is very true he is charged with piracy in several ships. But they had French passes, when the seizure was made. Now if there were French passes, it was a lawful seizure. “Justice POWEL. Have you those passes? “KIDD. They were taken from me by my Lord Bellamont, and those passes would be my defence. “Mr. LEMMON. My lord, I desire one word as to this circumstance. He was doing his King and country service instead of being a pirate. For in this very ship, there was a French pass, and it was shown to Mr. Davies and carried to my Lord Bellamont, and he made a seizure of it. And there was a letter[13] writ to testify it, which was produced before the Parliament” (apparently neither Kidd nor his counsel were aware that the passes themselves had been laid before Parliament and delivered over to the Admiralty for production at the trial), “and that letter has been transmitted from hand to hand, so that we cannot at present come by it. There are several other letters and papers that we cannot get, and therefore we desire the trial may be put off till we can procure them. “Lord CHIEF BARON WARD. Where are they? “Mr. LEMMON. We cannot yet tell whether they are in the Admiralty, or whether Mr. Jodrell hath them. “Justice POWEL. Let us see on what you go. What ship was it that had the French passes? “Mr. LEMMON. The same we were in. The same he is indicted for. “The SOLICITOR GENERAL. They have had a fortnight’s notice to prepare for the trial. “Dr. OLDISH. We petitioned for money, and the Court ordered fifty pounds, but the person that received it went away, and we had none till last night. “Lord CHIEF BARON WARD. You ought to make it out that there is a reasonable cause to put off the trial, otherwise it cannot be allowed. What notice have they had? “The SOLICITOR GENERAL. A fortnight’s notice--this day fortnight. “Dr. OLDISH. My lord, he should have had his money delivered to him. “KIDD. I had no money nor friends to prepare for my trial till last night. “Mr. LEMMON. My lord, we will be ready to-morrow morning. “The SOLICITOR GENERAL. My lord, this we will do. In the meantime let him be tried for the murder, wherein there is no pretence of want of witnesses and passes.” This preposterous proposal, which in effect was that Kidd should be tried at once on an indictment for murder sprung upon him a few moments before, arising out of an incident that had occurred some three and a half years previously, and be forced on the spur of the moment without conferring with any legal adviser, to conduct his own defence with the Solicitor General and other eminent counsel against him, seems to have excited no comment, but to have been assented to as a matter of course.