PALMER. “I have heard of it, but I never saw it.” Unable to get any admissions from these two, Kidd called another witness, Mr. Davis. KIDD. “I desire Mr. Davis may be called--Mr. Davis, pray give an account, whether you did not see a French pass.” DAVIS. “I came a passenger from Madagascar, and from thence to Amboyna” (evidently a clerical error for Anguilla) “and there he sent his boat ashore, and there was one said Captain Kidd was published a pirate in England, and he gave him those passes to read--the Captain said they were French.” LORD CHIEF BARON WARD. “Who gave them?” DAVIS. “Captain Kidd gave them.” KIDD. “You heard Captain Elms say they were French passes.” DAVIS. “Yes. I heard Captain Elms say they were French passes. Says he, If you will, I will turn them into Latin.” Summing up this evidence, the Lord Chief Baron said: “Gentlemen, it is to be considered what evidence Captain Kidd hath given to prove that ship and goods to belong to the French King or his subjects, or that the ship was sailed under a French pass, or indeed that there ever was a French pass shown or seen. He appeals to the witnesses over and over again, Did you never see it? No, say they. Nor did not you, saith he, say you saw it. No, saith the witness. I said that Captain Kidd said he had a French pass, but I never saw it.” “Now, gentlemen, this must be observed, If this was a capture on the high sea, and these were the goods of persons in amity with the King and had no French pass, then it is a plain piracy.” “Now what does Captain Kidd say to all this? He has told you he acted pursuant to his commission: but that cannot be, unless he gives you satisfaction that the ship and goods belonged to the French King, or his subjects, or that the ship had a French pass. Otherwise neither of them (_sic_) will excuse him from being a pirate; for if he takes the goods of friends, he is a pirate: he had no authority for that; there is no colour from either of his commissions to take them. And as to the French passes there is nothing of that appears by any proof; and for aught I can see, none saw them but himself, if there ever were any.” Fortunately for Kidd’s memory, these passes, as has already been stated, had been made Parliamentary papers. Verbatim copies of them will be found in Appendix C. The Admiralty may well look back with pride to some of the performances of its officials, but the shameful suppression of these passes at Kidd’s trial is not one of them. Had they been produced, as they ought undoubtedly to have been in accordance with the order of the House of Commons, it would have puzzled even the Lord Chief Baron to discover an excuse for directing the jury to find Kidd and such of his crew as had remained faithful to him guilty of piracy.