'I will soon show you. What are you doing with that man?' pointing to
the prisoner.

'Leave at once, or I will order you to be ejected.'

The man, who was quite composed, said to the prisoner, 'Mr Kerr, do you
authorize me to act as your attorney?'

'Yes,' he answered. 'Very well, then, I am here by right. Now, Mr
Sheriff, hand me over the papers in the case.'

The Sheriff, who was red in the face, 'I shall not, you have no right
here; you're not a lawyer.'

Addressing the magistrates the man said he was a merchant, a burgess of
the city of Glasgow, had been chosen by the accused as his attorney and
was acting within his rights in demanding to see the papers. The
magistrates consulted in a whisper and his lordship remarked there could
be no objection. The Sheriff, however, continued to clutch them. 'You
ask him,' was the order of the stranger to Kerr, 'he dare not refuse
you.' Reluctantly the Sheriff handed them to the stranger, who quickly
glanced over them. 'Is this all?' he demanded. 'Yes, that is all,'
snapped the Sheriff.

'Where is the warrant for Kerr's arrest?'

'None of your business where it is.'

Speaking to the bench, the stranger said there was neither information
nor warrant among the papers he held in his hand. The only authority