Mr. WIGHT, for the pannel, William Brodie--My Lords, before this witness, who is also a _socius criminis_, is called in, I have to object to his being received as a witness upon grounds which, I imagine, are insuperable. This man, my Lords, was convicted at the General Quarter Sessions for the county of Middlesex, by the verdict of a jury, of stealing twenty-one guineas and fourteen doubloons, in consequence of which he was adjudged to be transported beyond the seas for the term of seven years, in April, 1784, and this is instantly instructed by a copy of the said conviction, under the hand of the proper officer, now produced; and further, the witness, under the name of John Brown, was banished by the Justices of Peace for Stirlingshire from that county in September, 1787, upon his confessing a theft committed at Falkirk, as appears from a certified copy of the said sentence under the hand of the Clerk of the Peace of the said shire. I shall not take up your Lordships’ time in proving that a man thus infamous is altogether inadmissible as a witness in any cause, especially where life is concerned, and I have no doubt that your Lordships will sustain the objection. The SOLICITOR-GENERAL--My Lords, in answer to this objection, I here produce His Majesty’s most gracious pardon in behalf of this witness, under the Great Seal of England, dated 28th July last, which, by the law of England, renders the witness habile and testable. Mr. WIGHT--The production of this pardon, my Lords, will by no means answer the objection which I have stated. The infamy attending the commission of the crimes of which Brown has been convicted is not, cannot be, done away by the King’s pardon. He still remains a man unworthy of credit, in whom the gentlemen of the jury can place no confidence. His situation, in short, is just the same as it was before the granting of the pardon, unless that the pardon saves him from the punishment awarded against his crimes. This doctrine is delivered by Sir George Mackenzie in very strong terms, and it is the doctrine of common sense. [During this time some desultory conversation took place about what was the felony for which Brown was sentenced, the Lord Advocate saying it was only swindling.[11]]