406 THE JUDGE-ADVOCATE'S REPLY. 1789 Turner for trial ; neither have I at any time since then heard it 26 ApriL was the opinion or wish of any member of that Court to bring her to trial until this morning, when I was informed by the Provost-Martial that Captain Campbell, one of the members of Campbell the late Court, had enquired of him if she was in his custody, aiKmUL Ai^d expressed some surprise and anger on being told that she was not. As to this latter circumstance, I must observe to your excellency that, having no place of confinement or custody for female offenders, they have always been suffered to go at large until wanted for trial. In consequence of the above message, I wrote to Captain Camp- bell a letter, wherein I informed him " that I did not tliink myself there was proof sufficient to bring her to trial, either for perjury, or as an accessory ; but, nevertheless, if he was of a different Prosecution Opinion, and would let me know what charge should be exhibited revived, against her, and what witnesses could be brought to support it, it should be done"; for as I did not myself know of any proof sufficient to establish a charge against her, I was not certain but Captain Campbell might be informed of some that I was unac- quainted with. I beg leave to trouble your excellency with a copy of my letter, and of Captain Campbell's reply, which I re- ceived this afternoon ; and have now only to add that, though I think the conviction of her being guilty of perjury may be clear in the breast and opinion of every individual of the late Courts yet still there is not sufficient proof of it to convict her in the eye of the law ; nevertheless, as Captain Campbell considers her Otm^eii. *^s a prisoner by order of the late Court, and thinks she ought to be delivered by a due course of law, I propose to bring her before the Court that is to assemble in the next week, and try her on a charge of wilful and corrupt perjury at the late trial. How lightly the sense of judicial responsibiKty weighed upon Collins is apparent from the concluding sentence of his letter. He repeats his opinion that there was not sufficient evidence to justify a prosecution; but, neverthe- less, because Captain Campbell thought she ought to be vocuiation. prosccutcd, he proposed to bring her before the Court in the following week on a charge of wilful and corrupt per- jury. Such an intimation appears to imply that, as he was prepared to waive his opinion so far, he would nat object Digitized by Google
