ad the letter in
bed; I did not mark it; I enclosed it in a letter to Mr. Croker, the
Secretary to the Admiralty; that is the letter; I sent it enclosed in
this letter to Mr. Croker; I arose immediately, and sent for the boy
into my dressing-room; I questioned the boy a good deal; I did not
telegraph the Admiralty, because the weather was too thick; when I sent
for the boy up, I had the letter in my hand; it was then three o'clock,
and dark; the telegraph would not work; I had a candle, of course; I am
not certain I should have telegraphed the Admiralty," and if he had seen
reason to doubt, he would have acted very properly in abstaining from so
doing; he could not communicate all that would excite the doubts he
might himself entertain; he could only send a few words, indicating the
most important particulars of the story which the letter contained, and
therefore he might very properly hesitate about communicating any part,
if he thought the whole contained doubtful, still more if untrue
intelligence.

The evidence of Mr. Lavie is only that he believed this to be De
Berenger's hand-writing; that he had seen him several times in the
custody of the messenger in the month of April, and in the course of
those interviews, he saw him write a considerable deal; he saw a whole
letter which he handed across to him when he had written it, and it was
given back and copied again, and for about an hour he was writing
different things, and handing them backwards and forwards. He says, "I
also saw his papers in his writing-desk, and I verily believe that to be
his hand-writing, from what I saw him write." This is the evidence, and
much less than this evidence, is what we receive every day in proof of
bonds, notes, and bills of exchange; a person says, I have seen such an
one write, and I belief that to be his hand-writing; and that is
sufficient to launch it in evidence as prima facie proof, leaving it to
the other side to resist such proof, if they can.

Gentlemen, now we put this person in motion from Dover. Thomas Dennis
is next called, who says, "I am a driver of a post-chaise in the service
of Mr. Wright, at the Ship, at Dover. Early on the morning of the 21st
of February, I drove the chaise from thence to Canterbury to the
Fountain Inn; I drove only one person, it was a man; it was too dark to
see how he was dressed; I had the leaders; he gave me and the other lad
a Napoleon a-piece." He could not see the person; and there is i