note or letter to her husband; that he had determined to keep the tryst himself; that, having to meet Maunder, as was in evidence, he carried money with him-indeed, between the cashier of the Gritvale bank and Mr Maunder it was made clear that he intended to take down the money. It was further presumed that a scuffle had taken place, and that Roberts, being armed with a stick, while Mr Bateman had nothing to defend himself with, a fatal blow had been delivered by the prisoner. After that, the prisoner, who was by his letter shown to be in want of money, was thought to have examined the pockets of his victim, and to have found the notes, which were now telling so heavily against him. The defence did not attempt to controvert the evidence for the prosecution, but told other facts consistent therewith, by which the evidence was made to take an altogether different complexion. It was, in effect, the real story as far as Roberts knew it; but so little did it impress anybody, that murmurs of indignation and contempt had frequently to be suppressed in court while it was being told. Everything was done that could be done to raise doubts. It was not a long trial. The judge, in summing up

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the case for the jury, was, everybody said, as fair and liberal as he could be. He patiently explained to them the force and effect of circumstantial evidence generally, and then went most carefully into the facts before them. The prisoner's version of the affair was, he said, possible, but it was unsupported by any testimony whatever; and if it was true, it left the murder a mystery as much as if there had been no investigation. The defence did not suggest how the murder came about. If, however, it was their impression that the defence was credible, their duty was clear-they must acquit the prisoner. Again, they must carefully consider how far the murder and the subsequent possession of the notes were connected. The defence affirmed that the deceased, willingly and of his own motion, gave the prisoner the notes. Now, as to that, there was some light of evidence-some evidence, at least, as to the deceased's intention with regard to the money. When he insisted on having Bank of England notes, he informed the cashier that they were to be paid to a commercial gentleman who did not reside in Gravelshire, and who was to leave Gritvale by coach that night. The witness Maunder had stated that he waited, by appointment, for de

ceased that evening; had expected that deceased would hand him money; and that he had left by coach the same night, as he had previously informed deceased that he must. Now the accounts

of these two witnesses-viz., the cashier and Maunder-were entirely in accord. If the jury believed them, it would be difficult not to believe that deceased, at the time when he met his death, was on his way to meet Maunder, and carrying the money to give to that gentleman. There was, however, one way in which even this evidence could be reconciled with the statement for the defence: that was, that the deceased, after obtaining the notes for Maunder, suddenly altered his intention and determined to give them to the prisoner; that he did so, and afterwards met his death from the hand of some person unknown. If they could bring themselves to think that had happened, they must. find a verdict of Not guilty. In the course of his charge, his lordship also drew attention to the relations which were shown by evidence to have once existed between the prisoner and Mrs Bateman. This was an important point, because it furnished a reason why the prisoner may have cherished a jealous and hostile feeling towards deceased. The

letter which had been put in evidence showed that the prisoner entertained a contemptuous feeling towards deceased, and was ready, and attempted, to injure him flagitiously. The terms of this letter (which, having been found in the deceased's locked desk, there was reason to believe he had read) must also be borne in mind in judging of the possibility of deceased having suddenly altered his intention with regard to the money, and determined to give it to the prisoner. Where was the inducement to such a course? was not the inducement the other way? The defence stated that Mrs Bateman had come down to the bridge with her husband. Now the whole household, which had been examined, knew nothing of Mrs Bateman having left the house, and did not believe that she did so. Prisoner did not deny that he was on the spot near the time of the murder. He expected to meet the wife, but he met the husband. The accusation was that he slew and robbed the latter. There was another point to which it was necessary to draw attention. The jury had heard him, the judge, ask the medical witness how long deceased had been dead at the time of his first seeing the body; and the answer had been, "Two hours, or thereabouts." Now it might have occurred to

some persons as possible that the office-man, who gave the first alarm of Mr Bateman's death, might himself, in some way, have caused the death. But the conduct of this man was perfectly open and consistent throughout. The evidence of Mr Maunder, and of the porter at the coach-office, showed that the man had not been near the coppice until a very short time before he gave the alarm. He told the porter that he was uneasy about his master's nonappearance, and that he would go up to Hillside. He did not go to Hillside, because he found the body on his road. There was every reason to believe that deceased was dead an hour before the coach left, or he would have kept his appointment with Mr Maunder. And the medical evidence supported this view. Evidently no one suspected the officeman, because there had been no suggestion of his being the murderer, even in the defence; but as suspicions might occur hereafter to some minds, he thought it right to point out now how entirely unsuspicious the man's conduct, when carefully looked at, was found to be. The prisoner's character and history were, as they had heard, not favourable to him. He had been engaged in a not very reputable way of life, and associated with persons of indifferent reputation-some of them, as it turned out