"Gentlemen, I think you will admit that the crime must have been
committed before dusk; before any lights were turned on. I do not ask you
to say that Hill is guilty. The responsibility of saying what man other
than the prisoner shot Sir Horace Fewbanks does not rest with you. But I
do urge you to ask yourselves whether, as between Hill and the prisoner,
the probability of guilt is not on the side of this witness who lied to
the coroner's court about his movements on the night of the murder, and
who lied to this court about the plan for the robbery of Riversbrook. I
have shown you that Hill was the master mind in planning the burglary,
and, that being so, would not Birchill have consented to the postponement
of the burglary if Hill had urged him to do so when he visited the flat
after the unexpected return of the master of Riversbrook? Is not the
evidence of the witness Fanning, that Hill urged Birchill to carry out
the burglary after Sir Horace had gone to sleep, more credible than
Hill's statement that he endeavoured to induce Birchill to abandon the
proposed crime? Knowing what you know of Hill's past as a man who will
rob his master, knowing that he attempted to deceive you with regard to
this plan of Riversbrook in order that you might play your part in his
cunning scheme, I urge you to ask yourselves whether it is not more
probable that Hill fired the shot which killed Sir Horace Fewbanks than
that the prisoner did so.
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