27 Oct 1806

Evidence

Evidence [...?]

.1. [...?] [...?]

That which is seen and understood by every man, is seen and understood even by the men of law, [...?] all his learning?

What is seen and understood by every man is - that a mass of testimony which stands bereft of any one of the above securities, for trustworthiness does not present so great a probability of being trustworthy - of being at once correct and compleat - as if it were in possession of them all.

This therefore is seen and understood - even by the man of law. Observe the consequence.

The form which gives to a mass of testimony the benefit of all these securities is a form in which, except in an /a narrow/ instance or two scarce worth mentioning, the regular Courts of both /all/ classes, Common Law Courts, Equity Courts, Admiralty Courts, Ecclesiastical Courts, have concurred, so far as depended upon themselves, in putting an absolute exclusion upon it.

The form /shape/ in the adoption of which they have all concurred and which in respect of the extent to which it is employed forms the general rule ([...?] evidence, of which presently) is a form in which it stands divested of all those securities: To the use of this form the only considerable exceptions are those constituted by the use made of two other forms, each of which stands divested of them in a very considerable degree. I speak of evidence as collected in the [...?] made principally from extraneous addresses[?], occasionally from parties and evidence collected in the English Equity made from the defendant only, by a sort of epistolary examination. Of each of these less trustworthy forms a more particular description will be seen presently.