“The prisoner is indicted,” said he, “for murder. Now to make the killing of a man to be murder, there must be malice prepense either express or implied. The law implies malice, when one man without any reasonable cause or provocation kills another. You have had this cause opened to you. What mutiny or discourse might be a fortnight or month before will not be any reason for so long continuance of passion.” (Had the Lord Chief Baron ever been in command himself of a mutinous crew, he might have thought otherwise.) “But what did arise at the time, the witnesses tell you.” (As a matter of fact, they were far from agreeing as to the conversation.) “The first witness” (King’s evidence) “tells you, the first words that were spoken were by Mr. Kidd, and upon his answer, Mr. Kidd calls him, ‘lousie dog.’ The reply was, ‘If I am so, you have made me so.’ Now, gentlemen, I leave it to you to consider, whether that could be a reasonable occasion or provocation to take a bucket and knock the deceased on the head and kill him. Now for the prisoner on such a saying, and without any other provocation to take a bucket and knock a man on the head and kill him must be deemed an unjustifiable act. For, as I have said, if one man kill another without provocation or reasonable cause, the law presumes and implies malice; and then such killing will be murder in the sense of the law, as being done of malice prepense. If there be a sudden falling out and fighting and one is killed in heat of blood, then the law calls it manslaughter, but in such a case as this, that happens on slight words, the prisoner calls the deceased a ‘lousie dog,’ and the deceased says, ‘If I be so, you have made me so,’ can this be a reasonable cause to kill him? and if you believe them not to be a reasonable cause of provocation I cannot see what distinction can be made, but that the prisoner is guilty of murder. Indeed, if there had been a mutiny at that time, then there might have been a reasonable cause for him to plead in his defence, and it ought to have been taken into consideration. But it appears that what mutiny there was, was a fortnight at least before.” (There can be little doubt that the crew were on the brink of mutiny for months before and months after this occurrence.) “Therefore, gentlemen, I must leave it to you, if you believe the King’s witness, and one of the prisoner’s own” (Query, and disregard the evidence of Kidd and the others), “that this blow was given by the prisoner in the manner aforesaid, and are satisfied that it was done without reasonable cause or provocation, then he will be guilty of murder, and if you do believe him guilty of murder on this evidence, you must find him so, if not you must acquit him.” The jury then withdrew, and in about an hour returned and gave in their verdict “Guilty.” CLERK OF ARRAIGNS. “Look to him, keeper.” CHAPTER SIX CHAPTER VI THE SUBSEQUENT TRIALS FOR PIRACY