From the above, it appeared that the road was indeed a very old one, dating well back into French times. Therefore, since land grants made by the English Crown did not confer jurisdiction over any roads thereon, it was still a public way which Mr. Stewart had no right to ob¬ struct. Messrs. Binns and Theophilus Stewart , counsel for the defence, thought otherwise. Mr. Binns declared that if one followed this line of reasoning "all the cow paths or bridle paths ever used in this land shall. . . be evidence of right of way against the proprietors of land, large and small." "If," he continued, "it" (the road) "is to be declared a public road because no one interfered to prevent it, there is not an Indian path in the Island but may be declared a public road." Among the witnesses for the defence were the following: Mr. Walter Burke had lived at Mount Stewart about twenty-two years ago. The public had at that time passed through the farm to the ferry. There was "at all times a gate across the road." Mr. John Stowe had been a resident of Mount Stewart from 1803 to 1805. He testified that "he did not consider what was called the ferry road to be a public road, because after it left the Pisquid road, where there was a gate, it kept a straight line until it approached Mr. Stewart 's cultivated land, to avoid which it took a considerable bend to the east¬ ward." He inferred from this that it was only a private road. Mr. Fade Goff had lived at Mount Stewart between 1810 and 1812 and had had charge of the property until 1820. He remembered that Mr. Stewart complained of "the annoyance of people passing through the pro¬ perty" and directed him "to resist anything in the shape of a claim to a right of way." He had not, however, prevented neighbours from carting their produce through the farm "as there was no other road to the river then." The trial lasted from twelve o'clock noon until seven in the even¬ ing, at which time the Jury retired. A number of persons remained about the Court House in expectation of learning the result, until near midnight, when, judging from certain sounds which proceeded from the Jury Room that the Jury had gone to sleep, they all dispersed. About half past three in the morning, the officials in attendance were informed that the Jury had agreed. The Chief Justice was sent for, and the Jury came into the Court, delivering a verdict for the Defendant. On May 13, 1834 the Royal Gazette reported that on the third of the same month an Inquisition de Lunatico Inquirendo was held at Mount Stewart to inquire into the mental state of John Stewart. The Jury's ver¬ dict was that " John Stewart now is, and hath been for the last eight months past, of unsound mind, and incapable of transacting business, and that during that time he did not enjoy lucid intervals." This was the last of a series of notices, carried in the same newspaper, representing a strug¬ gle on the part of William Douse to wrest the honour of being Stewart's attorney from H. D. Morpeth . In the face of stout denials from Morpeth, Douse claimed that, in the presence of reputable witnesses, he had been legally constituted Stewart's attorney. Then, when a notice signed by John Stewart seemed to corroborate Douse's allegations, Morpeth claimed that this and another like it which he himself had inserted merely con¬ stituted proof that " Mr. Stewart is in that state of mental imbecility that he will sign any paper, or execute any document that may be placed before him." Unseemly as the entire issue was, it indicated that Stewart was —23—