Stirling peerage

278 TRIAL OF ALEXANDER IIUMPHRYS, OR ALEXANDER,
jetters of Eugene to liis fatlier, dated London, April 22 and
23.) Observe this young gentleman has no information as to
what is in the packet. He does not know, and has no reason
to know, that it had any thing to do with tlie claim of his
father to the titles or estates. All that he gets here is a letter
addressed to his father. For aught he knew, it might have
contained matters of strict confidential communication with
which he had no right to interfere. He sat down to con-
sider what he should do. What was the natural thing
for him to do ? Why, either to send his father the packet,
or ask him what he was to do with it. It struck him all at
once to go before some public functionary to have it opened
in his presence. Did you ever hear of such a thing being
done before ? In regard to the parchment bearing, " Some
of my wife's family papers," I am bound to state to you, that
Mr Corrie deponed, that he knew the handwriting of Mr
Humphrys perfectly, and recognized the writing on the
cover to be that of Mr Humphrys, the prisoner's father.
There is a book produced to shew the similarity of the writ-
ing to that of the writing of Mr Humphrys. The young
gentleman, on seeing this parchment packet, in an instant
exclaimed, " That is my grandfather's handwriting." The
notary says his duly is now at an end, — he will not venture
to witness the parchment packet. The son then goes to a
proctor to have his father's letter opened. I want to know
what was more sacred in the seal of the parchment than in
the seal of the packet. You heard that the map was accom-
panied by an anonymous letter, and the person sent to recover
the map, and to bring it over, was one of the prisoner's sons.
It is a singular coincidence, that this packet came, two or
three months before, of equal importance, pointing to the
same issue, and the person who gets it into his hands is
another son of the prisoner's, and he writes the letter which I
have read to you. What effect that may have on you on
another ground is what I shall notice after. But here is a
letter of an extraordinary nature exhibiting a piece of con-
duct which I believe to be altogether unexampled ; and in
turning it in every way in my mind, I am at a loss to account
for it in any one tangible or reasonable view I can take of the
matter. I do not think it of much importance that you
should deeply consider whether the writing on the parch-
ment is genuine or not. The writing on the parchment may
be genuine, and the documents which were under it may
be forged. There may have been papers of his wife's under
that cover, but it does not follow that if the other documents