The report of his trial will be found melancholy reading by those who still retain some belief in the impartiality of the judges and the honesty of the counsel of that age. Three of the latter, the Solicitor General, the advocate of the Admiralty, and their junior Mr. Coniers, with their trained wits and long experience in criminal cases, were long odds for poor Kidd and his companions to contend against, although the only evidence produced by the prosecution consisted of the uncorroborated testimony of two of the mutineers who had deserted their colours at Madagascar and joined Culliford in open piracy. These men had evidently been carefully taken by the attorneys through every incident in the voyage of the _Adventure Galley_, which lent itself to ingenious misrepresentation, tending to the discredit of Kidd and his companions. In some instances they obviously tried to mislead the jury, and were only prevented from doing so by Kidd’s simple questioning of them. Ignorant of the rules of the court he tried more than once to break in and give his own version whilst they were giving theirs. “Hear me,” he cried, springing up in court on one occasion; but was promptly reduced to silence by the reminder that when the time came, he could question the witnesses. He did ask them some very pertinent questions, from the answers to which it was clear that they had wilfully endeavoured to deceive the Court. But he was, of course, no adept in the art of systematic and persistent cross-examination. As time went on, and it became evident that whenever he asked any question with the object of testing the credibility of the two deserters, he was stopped by the judge, and whenever their evidence was in conflict with his statements or those of any of his men, it was readily believed, he not unnaturally became impatient, and after a while gave up the hopeless job in despair. It must not be forgotten that he and his men were placed at a great disadvantage by being all included in the same indictment for piracy, and that consequently not one of them could be called and examined as a witness for the defence. Kidd seems to have felt this keenly. On being told by the Junior Counsel for the prosecution, “Now, if you will ask this witness any question, you may,” he replied, “What signifies it to ask him any question? We have no witnesses, and what we say signifies nothing.” At last in reply to the Solicitor General whether he had any further questions to ask, he replied, “No, no. So long as he swears it, our words or oaths cannot be taken;” and again, “It signifies nothing to ask any questions. A couple of rogues will swear to anything.” The SOLICITOR GENERAL. “Will you ask any further questions?” KIDD. “No, no, I will not trouble the Court any more: for it is a folly.”