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child of the said Samuel Ray. And this examinant confesseth, that, as soon as she had received the said four imps from her said mother, the said imps spake to this examinant, and told her she must deny God and Christ, which this examinant did then assent to (a)."

The confession of Rebecca West, taken before the said justices, 21st March, 1645:-" This examinant saith, that, about a month since, Anne Leach, Elizabeth Gooding, Hellen Clark, Anne West, and this examinant, met altogether at the house of Elizabeth Clark, in Mannyntree, where they together spent some time in praying unto their familiars, and every one of them went to prayers: afterwards some of them read in a book, the book being Elizabeth Clark's and this examinant saith, that forthwith their familiars appeared, and every one of them made their several propositions to those familiars, what every one of them desired to have effected: that, first of all, the said Elizabeth Clark desired of her spirit that Mr. Edwards might be met withal, about the middle bridge, as he should be come riding from Eastberry hoult, in Surrey; that his horse might be scared, and he thrown down, and never rise again: that the said Elizabeth Gooding desired of her spirit, that she might be avenged on Robert Tayler's horse, for that the said Robert suspected said Elizabeth Gooding for the killing of a horse of the said Robert formerly: that the said Hellen Clark desired of her spirit, that she might be revenged on two hogs in Misleystreet (being the place where the said Hellen lived), one of the hogs to die presently, and the other to be taken lame: that Anne Leach desired of her spirit that a cow might be taken lame of a man's living in Mannyntree, but the name of the man this examinant cannot remember: that the said Anne West, this examinant's mother, desired of her spirit that she might be freed from all her enemies, and have no trouble. And this examinant saith, that she desired of her spirit that she might be revenged on Prudence, the wife of Thomas Hart, and that the said Prudence might be taken lame on her right side. And, lastly, this examinant saith, that, having thus done, this examinant and the other five did appoint the next meeting to be at the said Elizabeth Gooding's house, and so departed all to their own houses (b).”

(a) 4 Howell's State Trials, p. 856.

(b) Ib. p. 840.

INDEX.

ABDUCTION,

The female a competent witness, though married to the accused, 227.
ABSENCE,

Presumption of death from, 477.

ABUSES,

Of judicial evidence, 76.

Of artificial presumptions, 44, 398.

Of the principle of incompetency, 69-72, 171.

ACCIDENT,

An infirmative hypothesis affecting real evidence, 258.
ACCOMPLICES,

Evidence of, 182, 220-223, 605.

ACCUSED PERSONS,

Presumed innocent, 413.

May make statements in their defence, 600, 711.

ACTING in public capacity, presumption from, 407, 422, 568.
ADJECTIVE LAW,

Judicial evidence a branch of, 91.

Comes to perfection later than substantive law, 153.

ADMISSIBILITY OF EVIDENCE,

Distinction between, and weight of, 94.

Matter of law, 94.

To be decided by the Court, 94, 96.

General rule respecting,―the best evidence must be adduced, 94.

See BEST EVIDENCE.

ADMISSIONS,

By parties to a suit-See SELF-REGARDING EVIDence.

Of documents for the purposes of cause, 726-729.

ADULTERY,

Proof of, 505.

An actual marriage must be proved, 417.

Parties not competent witnesses in, 225.

In the canon law not proveable by confession alone, 505.
Continuance of, when presumed, 406, 473.

AFFIRMATIVE,

Facts, 10.

The only real ones, 10.
Of facts or propositions, 331.

AFFIRMATIVE (continued.)

Onus of proving lies on the party who asserts, 331, 335.

See BURDEN OF PROOF.

Evidence better than negative, 336.

AGENT,

Admissions by, 611.

Cannot delegate his authority, 611.

Communications to, when privileged from disclosure, 689.

ALIBI,

When true, the most complete of all defences, 414.

A favourite defence with guilty persons, 741.

ALLEGANS SUAM TURPITUDINEM (OR SUUM CRIMEN) NON EST AUDIENDUS,

A maxim of the civil law, 622.

But not of the common law, 622 - 626.

ALMANACK, 321.

AMBIGUITY,

Latent and patent ambiguities, 284–288.

Avoids judgments, verdicts, and awards, 700.

Distinguished from unintelligibility and inaccuracy, 287.

AMBIGUOUS instruments and acts construed to have a lawful meaning, 414.
AMENDMENT. See VARIANCE.

ANCIENT,

Documents, admissible to prove handwriting, 303.

Possession, proveable by derivative evidence, 576.

ANTECEDENT Cconduct or position of accused,

Presumptions of guilt from, 517.

APPOINTMENT of public officers,

Presumption of due, 407, 422, 568.

APPROVERS, 220-223.

ARBITRATORS,

Bound by the legal rules of evidence, 118.

ARTIFICIAL,

Legal conviction, 77.

Presumptions, 44, 379, 397, 398.

ATHEISM,

A ground of incompetency to give evidence, 212.

ATTENDANCE OF WITNESSES,

Exceptions to rule requiring the, 124–132.

ATTORNEY,

A competent witness, 236.

Communications to, privileged from disclosure, 56, 689.
ATTORNEY-GENERAL,

May reply, though no evidence given by the other side, 706.
ATTRIBUTIVE justice, 29, 30, 36.

AUTOGRAPH, 295.

AWARDS,

Presumptions in favour of, 425.
Void, 701.

BANK BOOKS, 275.

BASTARDY,

Presumption against, 417.

Corroborative evidence in, 671, 686.

BEGINNING, ORDER OF; ORDO INCIPIENDI; OR RIGHT TO BEGIN,
Principles by which it is governed, 713-716.

Decided by the judge, 706, 716.

Erroneous ruling respecting, how rectified, 716.

Advantages and disadvantages of, 717.

BELIEF,

In human testimony, 11, 169.

Of juries, 463.

Religious,

Want of, a ground of incompetency, 207.

BENEFICIAL ENJOYMENT,

Presumptions made in support of, 457.

BENEFIT,

Presumption of willingness to accept, 468.
BENEFITING others,

False confessions from desire of, 647.

BEST EVIDENCE must be given, 69, 94, 106, 364.
BIGAMY, prosecutions for.

An actual marriage must be proved, 417.
Competency of second husband or wife, 228.
BILL OF EXCEPTIONS, 731, 733.

BILL OF EXCHANGE,

Consideration for, presumed, 387, 495.
BURDEN OF PROOF, OR ONUS PROBANDI,
Natural principles regulating, 39, 331.
Artificial rules of, 39, 332.

General test for determining, 334.

Rules of-

1. The burden of proof lies on the party who asserts the affirma-
tive, 335.

2. May be shifted by certain presumptions, and by primâ facie

evidence, 340, 392, 393, 395.

3. Lies on the party who has peculiar means of knowledge, 340.

Sometimes regulated by statute, 335, 501.

Technical rules of, not so strictly followed when they press against

accused persons, 113, 396.

Incumbency of proof decided by the judge, 96.

When shifted by the possession of stolen property, 265.

BUSINESS,

Presumptions from course of, 472.

Declarations by deceased persons in course of, 577.
Secrets of, not privileged from disclosure, 695.

CALCULUS OF PROBABILITIES,

Futile attempts to apply to judicial testimony, 85.
Illustrations from, 371.

CAMP FIGHT, 38.

CANON LAW,

Number of media of proof required in, 73, 658.

Adultery cannot be proved by confession alone, 505.

CANONICAL PURGATION, 38.

CAUSA, evidence in, 105.

CAUSAM, evidence extrà, 105.

Discussion of the question whether rule requiring primary evidence

extends to, 539–556.

CASUAL,

Evidence, 26, 68.

Tribunal, 94, 99.

CERTAINTY,

Original sense of, 5.

Secondary signification-Moral certainty, 6.

Moral certainty of guilt required in criminal cases, 114, 503.

CHAIN of evidentiary facts, 367, 370.

Probative force of, in presumptive proof, 370.

CHANGE OF LIFE OR CIRCUMSTANCES,

Presumption of guilt from, 393, 524.

CHARACTER, evidence of,

Generally speaking, not receivable, 110, 323.

Of parties, 323–329.

Of witnesses, 329.

CHEMICAL TESTS of poison, 514, 592.

CHILDREN,

Testimony of, 196-206.

Dying declarations of, 204, 579.

CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE,

Different kinds of, 22, 251, 254, 365.
Conclusive, 22, 365.

How differing from estoppel, 613.

Presumptive, 22, 365.

See PRESUMPTIVE EVIDENCE.

Admissible as well as direct, 365, 670, 672, 678.
Comparison between and direct evidence, 367-370.

Not affected by the rule requiring primary evidence, 569.

CIVIL LAW,

Number of media of proof required by, 74-79, 658.

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