He commenced by reading over a part of the will and certain notes--which he appeared to have made in some miraculous fashion with his eyes shut--and then proceeded to review the evidence and the counsels' arguments for the instruction of the jury.
"Before considering the evidence which you have heard, gentlemen," he said, "it will be well for me to say a few words to you on the general legal aspects of the case which is occupying our attention." "If a person goes abroad or disappears from his home and his ordinary places of resort and is absent for a long period of time, the presumption of death arises at the expiration of seven years from the date on which he was last heard of.

That is to say, that the total disappearance of an individual for seven years constitutes presumptive evidence that the said individual is dead; and the presumption can be set aside only by the production of evidence that he was alive at some time within that period of seven years.

But if, on the other hand, it is sought to presume the death of a person who has been absent for a shorter period than seven years, it is necessary to produce such evidence as shall make it highly probable that the said person is dead.
Of course, presumption implies supposition as opposed to actual demonstration; but, nevertheless, the evidence in such a case must be of a kind that tends to create a very strong belief that death has occurred; and I need hardly say that the shorter the period of absence, the more convincing must be the evidence.
"In the present case, the testator, John Bellingham, has been absent somewhat under two years.

This is a relatively short period, and in itself gives rise to no presumption of death.

Nevertheless, death has been presumed in a case where the period of absence was even shorter and the insurance recovered; but here the evidence supporting the belief in the occurrence of death was exceedingly weighty.
"The testator in this case was a shipmaster, and his disappearance was accompanied by the disappearance of the ship and the entire ship's company in the course of a voyage from London to Marseilles.