Stirling peerage

4 TRIAL OF ALEXANDER HUMPHRYS, OR ALEXANDER,
Mr Patrick Robertson. — My Lords, I have now to move
the Court to delay the trial. There is no objection to the
relevancy on the part of the prisoner : and before the interlo-
cutor on the relevancy is pronounced, I move the Court not to
proceed at present with the trial, on grounds which appear to
us essential for the ends of justice. In the indictment, the
forgery is said to have been committed between the 21st of
December, 1836, and the 27th of July, 1837, a considerable
period of time; then in all, there are thirty-eight witnesses for
the prosecution, and fifty-three productions. Of tiie witnesses
two of them are described as resident in London ; five of them
are French witnesses, three of whom are stated to have come
to Edinburgh lately, and other two have arrived only within
the last two or three days. As soon as the indictment was
served, the Counsel for the Earl of Stirling directed their
attention to the proceedings. We looked at such productions
as were made, as soon as they came into our hands, (and some
of them were not made till yesterday,) and after full considera-
tion, it appeared to us essential that one of our junior Counsel
and agent, should proceed to London and Paris, to make
inquiries necessary for the defence. They have been in
London some time, exclusively employed in the investigation,
and left London for Paris on Monday last. We are of
opinion that we cannot proceed to trial before the first week
in May. Your Lordships will see from the extent of the
inquiry, and the distance between this and Paris, that we ask
for no unjustifiable delay on the part of the prisoner.
Lord Meadmobank. — The Sacrament is dispensed in Edin-
burgh on the first week in May. If it were to be taken in the
first week in May we would be interrupted by the fast day.
We can therefore neither take the Thursday nor the Friday.
If we were to take the Monday after, from the number of
witnesses to be examined, the trial may be continued till
Friday or Saturday ; and Monday the 6th May, is the middle
of the Glasgow Circuit.
The Solicitor General. — My Lords, I have no objections
to offer to the motion for delay generally ; but I beg to state,
in reference to one of the grounds stated, namely, that we were
late in making the productions, that my learned friend is aware
that the greater part of the productions were made at an un-
usually early period. One of them, of great consequence in
the case, was not lodged so soon, because it was not in our
hands till yesterday, or the day before yesterday, and it
was put into the liands of the prisoner's Counsel, as soon