Examination of the claim of John Lindsay Crawfurd

JOHN LINDSAY CRAWFURD. 23
letter from said natural daughter, addressed to the said Mr James
Crawfurd in Ireland : that Charles was the next youngest brother, and
he also died without lawful issue. That she heard that James's eldest
son was named Hugh, and that he was at Kilbirnie upon one occasion,
but she did not see him. That James had a daughter named Mar-
garet, whom she has seen at Kilbirnie-House, upon a visit from Ire-
land, who was received and recognised by the family as their niece ;
and she has seen her in the family seat in the church with the ladies
of the family, her aunts." In like manner Matthew Orr was again
examined in 1812, and for the first time mentions the report of the
duel. He depones, " that his bodily health is good, and his me- Mr Beus
mory sufficiently recollected of what happened in the earlier part
of his life. Depones, that his mother was servant in the family of
Patrick, Viscount Garnock, known by the appellation of Lord Pa-
trick ; and he has seen Mr James Crawfurd, whom he knew to be a
brother of the family, alongst with the gentlemen of the neighbour-
hood, fishing and hunting ; that he understood that he was from Ire-
land, as the deponent heard him say to his mother, that he believed
he would have to go back again to Ireland ; that the deponent saw his
brother John along with him, and he was recognised by the family
as their brother. That the deponent afterwards heard that it was
inconvenient for Mr James to be long in this part of the country at
one time, as he had killed some person in a duel."
It is here proper to notice, that though Kobert Crawfurd, shoe-
maker in Beith, was examined a second time before one of the Ma-
gistrates of Paisley, and though he was an older man than Matthew
Orr, he makes no mention of the duel.
Mr Bell narrates, that when he went to Ireland to investigate iwd. P . 10.
Mr Crawfurd's case, " as soon as it was known in the village of
Castle Dawson, that I had arrived for the purpose of collecting
evidence to support Mr Crawfurd's petition, numbers of very old
people presented themselves, and tendered their testimony, which
I refused to take, until I first made strict enquiry relative to their
character and veracity. Once assured they were highly worthy of
credit, I took their depositions in writing, to the truth of which
they were afterwards solemnly sworn by David Mackee, Esq., one