Examined by the SOLICITOR-GENERAL--Were you lately in London? Do you
know the prisoner? Tell the jury what you know about him?
WITNESS--I was in London in the month of March last, and my wife and I
took our passage in the “Endeavour,” of Carron, Captain Dent, bound for
Leith. We went on board on a Saturday, and the next day, Sunday, the
vessel fell two or three miles down the river, and then we cast anchor
at Blackwall. In the evening the master went on shore to get hands to
man her, leaving me and my wife on board. About twelve at night a
passenger, who appeared sickly, came on board, in company with Mr.
Hamilton and Mr. Pinkerton, two of the owners of the vessel, and another
gentleman I did not know. These gentlemen remained about half an hour,
and then all went ashore, except the passenger, who remained on board.
He was dressed in a blue great-coat, with a red collar, round wig, black
vest, breeches, and boots. He was allotted a bed in the state-room, near
the fire, as he was sick. The next morning the vessel set sail, but
afterwards ran aground opposite to Tilbury Point, where she remained
about eight or ten days, and we did not get clear of the Thames for a
fortnight. During all that time the passenger remained on board, except
one day that he, along with the master of the vessel and my wife and I,
went on shore, and dined at a neighbouring village, and another day that
he went ashore by himself to get a bottle of milk. For the first two or
three days after the passenger came on board we called him “the
gentleman,” as we did not know his name, but, upon my inquiring of him
what his name was, he told me it was John Dixon.
The SOLICITOR-GENERAL--Would you know that person again?
WITNESS--I would.
The SOLICITOR-GENERAL--Look at the prisoners at the bar and say if you
know either of them?
[Here the witness pointed out Mr. Brodie to be the same person that had
called himself John Dixon.]--On getting out to sea Mr. Dixon delivered
to the captain a letter from Mr. Hamilton or Mr. Pinkerton, but,
although I desired him to let me read it, I did not see it. In
consequence of this, the captain altered his course and steered for
Holland, and the vessel, although bound for Leith, sailed to Flushing. I
do not think she was driven there by contrary winds, as the wind was
south-west, and fairer for Newcastle or Leith than for Holland. During
the voyage, Mr. Dixon complained much of a sore throat. When we arrived
at Flushing we cleaned ourselves and went ashore, and Mr. Dixon set off
for Ostend in a skiff which he hired for that purpose. On shore, before
he left, Mr. Dixon gave me a packet containing two letters, one of which
had another within it, to carry to Scotland to be delivered in
Edinburgh. One of the letters was directed to Mr. Michael Henderson,
stabler in the Grassmarket, in which there was one inclosed to Mrs. Anne
Grant, Cant’s Close, and the other to Mr. Matthew Sheriff, upholsterer
in Edinburgh, signed and dated as mentioned in the indictment. We did no
business at Flushing, and I am of opinion that the ship did not come
there with that intention. After landing Mr. Dixon we sailed for Leith.
When I arrived in Leith, from the accounts I heard about Brodie, I was
convinced that Dixon and Brodie were the same person. Next day I went to
Mid-Calder, and about three weeks afterwards was at Dalkeith, where I
had occasion to see the newspapers, and the description of Brodie
therein given confirmed me in the above suspicion. I then delivered the
letters to Sheriff Cockburn. I had previously opened the packet and read
them. [The witness was here shown the letters libelled on.] I know that
these are the letters I received from the prisoner and delivered to the
Sheriff.
The SOLICITOR-GENERAL--Did Brodie say that he had any business at
Flushing?
WITNESS--He mentioned that he had business at Ostend, and Captain Dent
said he was to wait till he returned, and that he supposed he belonged
to the Carron Company; but when the wind came fair, Captain Dent said
he would not wait for him, and the devil a bit of business he supposed
he had.
Cross-examined by the DEAN OF FACULTY--You have told us that you went
ashore when you arrived at Flushing. Pray, sir, did you make any
purchases there?
WITNESS--None, except a piece or two of nankeen for breeches to myself.
The DEAN OF FACULTY--Did you purchase nothing else?
WITNESS--Nothing, except two or three handkerchiefs for my own use.
The DEAN OF FACULTY--You will remember, sir, that you are upon your
great oath, and that it is your duty to tell the whole truth.
Lord HAILES--My Lords, the witness should be informed that if he
purchased any contraband goods he has nothing to fear from acknowledging
that he did so.
The LORD JUSTICE-CLERK--It is certainly very proper. [To witness]--John
Geddes, if you made any purchases of contraband goods when you was at
Flushing, it is your duty to inform the Court and the gentlemen of the
jury that you did so, and you have nothing to fear from such an
acknowledgment, because whatever you say here will be no evidence
against you afterwards in the Court of Exchequer or elsewhere.
The DEAN OF FACULTY--Did you purchase no lace, sir, when you was at
Flushing?
WITNESS--A few yards.
The DEAN OF FACULTY--Why, then, did you say that you purchased nothing
except the nankeen and the handkerchiefs?
WITNESS--It was my wife and not me that purchased it.
The DEAN OF FACULTY--Did you offer the lace for sale?
WITNESS--No; there is part of it about a cloak which my wife has here
with her, and I believe part of it about her sister’s.
The DEAN OF FACULTY--And what became of the rest of it? Remember, sir,
you are upon your great oath.
WITNESS--That was it all, except a few yards I sold at Bathgate for
twenty-two shillings.
The DEAN OF FACULTY--Did you not say even now that you had offered none
of it for sale?
WITNESS--I said that I offered none of it for sale in this place.
The DEAN OF FACULTY--Did you purchase no tobacco in Flushing?
WITNESS--I did not, except a little for chewing.
The DEAN OF FACULTY--Did you purchase any gin?
WITNESS--None, except a little for sea store.
The DEAN OF FACULTY--Pray, sir, when did you open these letters you have
told us of? Was it before or after you came to Leith?
WITNESS--It was after.
The DEAN OF FACULTY--You told us, sir, that upon reading the newspapers
you discovered that Dixon and Brodie were one and the same person. Pray,
sir, when or where did you first read the newspapers?
WITNESS--At Dalkeith.
The DEAN OF FACULTY--How long was that after your arrival?
WITNESS--Three weeks.
The DEAN OF FACULTY--And pray, sir, what was the reason that in all that
time you did not deliver these letters to the persons to whom they were
directed?
WITNESS--I did not remember that I had such letters when I was in
Edinburgh myself, and I afterwards wished my brother-in-law to deliver
them.
The DEAN OF FACULTY--Did you open the letters?
WITNESS--I did.
The DEAN OF FACULTY--And what was your reason for doing so?
WITNESS--I opened them and delivered them to the Sheriff for the good of
my country.
The DEAN OF FACULTY--And would it not have been as much for the good of
the country to have delivered them without opening them?
WITNESS--I just opened them, and that’s all; I can give no other reason.
The DEAN OF FACULTY--Did you inform any person that you had such
letters?
WITNESS--I did; I informed John Tweddle, my brother-in-law, who advised
me to deliver them to the persons for whom they were intended. I
afterwards showed them to a gentleman named Mr. Learmonth in Linlithgow,
who wrote a letter by me to a gentleman of this place.[2] By him I was
carried to Mr. Erskine, but he would give me no advice, and therefore I
returned home to Mid-Calder. That same evening, or early next morning,
Mr. Scott, Procurator-Fiscal, and Mr. Williamson, messenger, called upon
me, and I accompanied them to Edinburgh and delivered the letters to the
Sheriff.
The DEAN OF FACULTY--My Lords, as the witness has mentioned his having
called upon me, I beg leave to state to the Court what passed upon the
occasion. He was brought to my house by a gentleman, and he showed me
the letters. I informed him that I was counsel for Mr. Brodie; that he
himself knew best the directions that he had received from the person
who committed these letters to his charge; and that I could give him no
other advice than this, that he ought to do in the matter that which his
own conscience should point out to him as most proper.
The LORD JUSTICE-CLERK--That was a very proper advice, and was just what
I would have expected from the Dean of Faculty.
The LORD ADVOCATE--My Lords, you will have observed that there were
three letters from the prisoner delivered up. It was only judged
necessary to libel on two of them; but if the prisoner thinks that the
other letter, or any of his other papers in my possession, will be of
the least service to him in supporting his defence, I have no objection
to produce them.
[Sidenote: Margaret Tweddle]
5. MARGARET TWEDDLE, spouse of the said John Geddes, called in and
sworn.
WITNESS--I was in London with my husband in the month of March last, and
went with him on board of a vessel bound for Leith. One night, when it
was dark, a person, whom I now see a prisoner at the bar, and some
others with him, came on board. The prisoner remained on board, but the
others went ashore in about half-an-hour afterwards. I think the person
had a wig on when he came on board, and he appeared to be in bad health.
He passed by the name of John Dixon. The vessel sailed for the coast of
Holland, and when she arrived there the prisoner went on shore. I saw my
husband receive a packet of letters from Mr. Dixon; but I know nothing
more of them. I never saw these letters afterwards.
Cross-examined by the DEAN OF FACULTY--Did you or your husband make any
purchases while in Flushing?
The LORD JUSTICE-CLERK--Margaret, if you or your husband purchased any
contraband goods when you were at Flushing you will inform the Court and
the gentlemen of the jury that you did so, and you have nothing to fear
from such an acknowledgment, because whatever you say here will be no
evidence against you afterwards in the Court of Exchequer or elsewhere.
WITNESS--We purchased some pieces of nankeen, some handkerchiefs, and
some yards of lace.
[Sidenote: Robert Smith]
6. ROBERT SMITH, wright in Edinburgh, called in and sworn.
WITNESS--I was some time ago foreman to the pannel, Mr. Brodie, and I
remember to have been sent for by him upon the Sunday morning, the 9th
of March, at eight o’clock, after it was reported that the Excise Office
had been broke into. The message was not particular, but such a one as I
usually received from him when he wanted to give me orders about some
work, as he frequently sent for me for that purpose, especially if he
was going to the country. When I came to him he asked me if there were
any news about the people who had broke into the Excise. I answered that
I had been informed that George Smith was committed to prison, and that
Brown had been sent into England in search of Inglis & Horner’s goods. I
added that I hoped he, Mr. Brodie, had no concern in these
depredations; but he returned to me no answer. The reason I asked this
question was that I had often seen my master in their company, and knew
him to be intimate with them. Mr. Brodie told me he was going out of
town for a few days, and sent me a message for a waistcoat and pair of
breeches; but before my return he was gone, and I did not see him again
till after he was brought back to this country. On the Monday evening
following, the 10th of March, a search was made for him, and several
doors of his house were broken open, in virtue of a warrant from the
Sheriff, as I was informed. [Here the witness was shown the two letters
founded on in the indictment, and desired to say whether or not they
were in the handwriting of Mr. Brodie.] I have seen the handwriting of
Mr. Brodie, and I think the writing of these letters very like his, but
I never saw Mr. Brodie subscribe with initials; and as I am no judge of
writing, I cannot say whether I believe these letters to be written by
Mr. Brodie or not. [Here the witness was shown the unsigned scrolls, and
desired to say whether or not he believed they were in the handwriting
of Mr. Brodie.] I never saw Mr. Brodie write so bad a hand as these
letters are written in, nor after the manner in which they are written,
and I do not think that they have been wrote by Mr. Brodie. [Here the
state of affairs referred to in the indictment was shown to the
witness.] I think this is very like the handwriting of Mr. Brodie, much
more so than any of the others.
[Sidenote: James Laing]
7. JAMES LAING, writer in Edinburgh, called in and sworn.
WITNESS--I am assistant clerk in the Council Chamber. I know Mr. Brodie,
the prisoner at the bar. I have seen him write, and I am a little
acquainted with his handwriting. [Here the two letters were shown to the
witness.] The writing of these letters is very like Mr. Brodie’s
handwriting. I think they have been wrote by him. [Here the unsigned
scrolls were shown to the witness.] I think these are of Mr. Brodie’s
handwriting too, though worse written. [State of affairs shown to the
witness.] I think this also is written by Mr. Brodie.
[Sidenote: John Macleish]
8. JOHN MACLEISH, clerk to Hugh Buchan, City Chamberlain of Edinburgh,
called in and sworn.
WITNESS--I know Mr. Brodie, the prisoner at the bar, and have had some
opportunity of knowing his handwriting. I have got receipts from him in
the Chamberlain’s office, and have received cards from him. I have
likewise seen him write in his own shop. [Here the witness was shown the
two letters.] I think these letters are of his handwriting. [Shown the
scrolls.] I never saw Mr. Brodie write in so crowded a way, or interline
so much, but, notwithstanding, I think that these are of his
handwriting. [State of affairs shown the witness.] I think that this
also is of Mr. Brodie’s handwriting.
Cross-examined by the DEAN OF FACULTY--How do you come to know Mr.
Brodie’s writing so exactly?
WITNESS--From many accounts and receipts, of his writing, which I have
in my custody belonging to the office.
[Sidenote: John Duncan]
9. JOHN DUNCAN, door-keeper to the Excise Office, Edinburgh, called in
and sworn.
WITNESS--I have been in that office for thirty-seven years. The doors of
the Excise Office, when it was kept in the Canongate, were usually
locked by me about eight o’clock at night, and I carried the key
immediately thereafter to the housekeeper. A watch was set to guard it
about ten o’clock, and the night watchman went away about five in the
morning. I remember to have locked the door on Wednesday, the 5th of
March last, about a quarter after eight o’clock in the evening, and I
gave the key to one of Mr. Dundas, the housekeeper’s, maid-servants. The
cashier’s room lay within the outer door, which I had locked, as before
mentioned, and it had a double door.
Cross-examined by Mr. CLERK, for George Smith--Pray, sir, was the Excise
Office kept in one or in two houses?
WITNESS--The Excise Office was kept in a large house; but there was
likewise a small house fronting and adjoining the great one, in which
Mr. Broughton’s office and the Register of Seizures were kept. There was
no communication from the one to the other without going out to the open
air, and the whole were in one court, inclosed by a parapet wall and
iron rail.
[Sidenote: William Mackay]
10. WILLIAM MACKAY, porter in the Canongate of Edinburgh, called in and
sworn.
WITNESS--I was employed as a watch to guard the Excise Office when it
was kept in Chessels’s Buildings, and upon Wednesday, the 5th day of
March last, I went to the office at the usual hour, which was a little
before ten o’clock at night. I found one of the leaves of the outer door
open, and the passage door and the door of the cashier’s room also open;
and upon making this discovery I went to Mr. Dundas, the housekeeper’s,
and inquired of the maid who had been last at the office, as the doors
were open. The maid answered John Duncan, the last witness, had left it
about a quarter after eight o’clock. Mr. Dundas’s son, hearing me make
this inquiry, asked what was the matter. When I told him that the door
was broke open, he said, “Then, something worse is done.” Immediately
Mr. and Mrs. Dundas and the whole family went into the office with me
and examined the cashier’s room; we found all the desks and presses
broke open, and the coulter of a plough, and two iron wedges, lying in
the room; and we likewise found a spur in the hall, with part of the
leather of it torn. Mr. Dundas immediately sent me for Mr. Alexander
Thomson, the accountant. I found Mr. Thomson, and he returned with me to
the Excise Office. [Here the witness was shown the coulter of the
plough, the two iron wedges, and the spur.] These are the same articles
which I saw in the Excise Office. [The counsel for the pannels here
repeated the objection against adducing the coulter and two wedges, as
mentioned in the general objection and interlocutor before taken down.]
[Sidenote: Alexander Thomson]
11. ALEXANDER THOMSON, accountant of Excise, called in and sworn.
WITNESS--I remember that the Excise Office was broke into on Wednesday,
the 5th of March last. When I left the office at the usual hour that
night, about eight o’clock, I locked the door of the cashier’s room
before I left, and carried the key away with me. I saw John Duncan, the
door-keeper, in the hall as I came out. I left in two concealed drawers
below the desk about £600 sterling, and in the desk itself £15 16s.
3½d., being two-thirds of the proceeds of a seizure sent from Greenock,
to be divided amongst three people. About ten o’clock the same evening
the office porter, or watchman, came to me and informed me that the
Excise Office had been broken into. I immediately repaired to the
office, and found Mr. Dundas, the housekeeper, and Mr. Pearson, the
secretary, there; and, along with them, I examined the premises. The
outer door and the passage door appeared to have been opened without
violence, but the door of the cashier’s room seemed to have been forced
with a lever or other instrument; the door of a small press in the room
appeared likewise to have been forced open, and a few shillings, and
some stamps for receipts that were in it, carried off. The key of my
desk, which I usually kept in this place, had likewise been taken out,
and the desk opened with it. The £15 odds, which I had left in the desk,
were gone, and also a receipt for £7 18s. 2d., but the concealed
drawers, in which the £600 was contained, were untouched. These drawers
cannot be opened without first opening the desk, and the keyhole is
concealed by a slip of wood, which might escape a slight observer.
Accordingly it had remained untouched, although the key of it lay in the
desk. Behind the door there was left the coulter of a plough and two
iron wedges--[Here these articles were shown to the witness]--the same
as these now on the table.
Cross-examined by Mr. JOHN CLERK for George Smith--Pray, Mr. Thomson,
was the Excise Office, when in the Canongate, kept in one house or in
two houses?
WITNESS--It was kept in three houses, or in one large house, consisting
of a front and two wings, and, besides this principal house, there was a
small one fronting, and nearly adjoining to it, in which Mr. Broughton’s
office, Mr. Dick’s office, and the Register of Seizures were kept.
[Sidenote: Laurence Dundas]
12. LAURENCE DUNDAS, housekeeper of the Excise Office, called in and
sworn.
WITNESS--There was a practice, previous to the time when the Excise
Office was broke into, of locking the door betwixt eight and nine
o’clock at night, and lodging the key in my house, and of putting a
watch upon it at ten o’clock. I remember that upon Wednesday, the 5th of
March last, the door was locked at the usual hour, and the key left by
John Duncan at my house. A little before ten o’clock that night, William
Mackay, the porter employed to watch the office, came to my house and
gave information that the office had been broke open. I immediately went
to the office, and found the outer door, the passage door, and the door
of the cashier’s room, all open. This last-mentioned door seemed to have
been forced with some instrument. Within the room I found the coulter of
a plough and two iron wedges, all of which I now observe upon the table.
Every drawer in the room, except the money drawers, seemed to have been
forced open. I immediately sent for Mr. Thomson, the accountant, and Mr.
Pearson, the secretary, and both of them immediately came to the office.
Mr. Thomson told me that he had about £17 in his desk, which he supposed
was all gone, but he hoped that the money drawers were safe. The key of
the money drawers was found amongst others lying in the desk.
Cross-examined by Mr. JOHN CLERK, for George Smith--Mr. Dundas, was the
Excise Office, when in Chessel’s Buildings, kept in one house or in two
houses?
WITNESS--Principally in one house, but there was likewise another small
house in which Mr. Broughton’s office, Mr. Dick’s office, and the
Register of Seizures were kept; both houses were inclosed with an iron
rail.
[Sidenote: Janet Baxter]
13. JANET BAXTER, servant to Adam Pearson, assistant secretary of the
Excise, called in and sworn.
WITNESS--I was out upon a message about eight o’clock at night on
Wednesday, the 5th of March last, and, returning homewards, I met with
an acquaintance, with whom I conversed for a little in the entry to
Chessels’s Buildings, in which my master lived. I then went down the
close, and on my way down I saw a man, dressed in a whitish great-coat
and slouch hat, leaning over the rails at the entry to the court, and,
judging him to be a light or suspicious person, I was afraid of him, and
ran into my master’s house.
[Sidenote: James Bonar]
14. JAMES BONAR, deputy-solicitor of Excise, Edinburgh, called in and
sworn.
WITNESS--I recollect having occasion to call at the Excise Office upon
Wednesday, the 5th of March last, about half-past eight in the evening,
and as I thought it was probable that there might be still some person
in the office, I went straight forward to the door without calling for
the key, and finding the door on the latch, I opened it and went in.
Just as I entered, a man, who appeared to be dressed in a black coat and
cocked hat, stepped out. He seemed to be in a hurry, and I stepped aside
to give way to him. He was a square-built man, and was rather taller
than me. I took no suspicion, thinking it was some of the people
belonging to the office, detained later than usual. I went upstairs to
the solicitor’s office, and into the room in which I usually write. I
remained there about ten minutes, came down again, and then went away. I
saw no person either in the entry or the court as I came out.
[Sidenote: Isobel Wilson]
15. ISOBEL WILSON, spouse of Adam Robertson, wright in Duddingston,
called in and sworn.
Examined by the SOLICITOR-GENERAL--Pray, madam, do you remember anything
of two persons coming to your house in the month of March last?
WITNESS--I did not remember, at first, anything of the matter, but
having afterwards seen John Brown [a succeeding witness] in the
Sheriff-Clerk’s Office, he mentioned some circumstances which passed
upon the occasion, which brought to my recollection that there were two
persons in my house at the time you mentioned, and I think that Brown
was one of them. They called for a bottle of porter, which they drank
and paid for, but I do not recollect anything else that passed upon the
occasion.
[Sidenote: John Kinnear]
16. JOHN KINNEAR, servant to the Earl of Abercorn at Duddingston, called
in and sworn.