The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1879-08-14
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THEI TN ENT or WITNESS
Though n Satire, There In Much More Trutl
Thnn Poetry III 1t.

! Though Il Satire, There In Much NroreTrutl
/ Than Poetry In 1t.
The manner in which attorneys uucs
ton witnesses, says the Cairo BuUctin
is exaspcrating to the intelligent listen
or, beyond expression. The great pur
pose of the average criminal lawyer
for instance, is to draw from the wit
ness all the facts III his possession, OK
ccptiny tho facts touching the case III
der consideration.
n countryman, chopping down q
tree, stops his work, and buries his axe
up to the eye in the brain of his
brothcr-in-law. The witness who saw
the whole bloody transaction il
brought into court, and his examine
ton runs about thus:
"You say the prisoner was choppina
a tree down. Now will you please
tell the court and jury where he
bought the axc~
"You don't know? Very well, sir
we'll sec about that"
"Now, sir, look at the jury-don',
stare in that helpless manner ut me
| now, sir, do you say, upon your oath
that you don't know that the defendant
stole that axe before he left PaducahY
"You say SO, ah! We'll, now mari,
me, sir. How many feet was it from
the tree the defendant was chopping tC
the nearest gristmill? You can't say
"Was it ten fcct?"
"Certainly--a good deal more"
"Wcll, then was it thousand
milcs?"
go, certainly not"
"Thc court and jury will please OBJ.
serve the stubbornness of this witness.
1t is manifcstly his purpose to keep
from the jury the facts they ought to
know"
"Now, sir, who owned that mill?"
The witness innOccntly inquiries,
"What millr but soon rcpcnts it.
"The jury will please observe the OK
aspcrating contumaciousncss Of this
witncss,his evasion, and his manifest
purpose to confuse your minds as to
the facts involved in this terrible muir
der"
"Now, sir, look me in the face. You
have solcmnly sworn that the man was
chopping near mill. Win you dare
say-look at the jury, sir-tiat there
was no mill within one thousand miles
of the tree the defendant was tcllinr?''
81 don't say anything of the kind."
"Thc jury will please note that an
swcr."
"Now, sec here, my fricnd-wc've
had about enough of this. You first
declared that there was no mill, and
now YOU avow that there was mill
near the wood chopper"
81 said there was no mill within ten
fec
"Ncver do you mind what you said
II know what you said, and the Jury
knows; and now, sir, listen to me-"
"Who made your boots?"
"Iou don't know! Is there any
thing under Gods heaven that YOU do
know? There, thcrel Look ut the
jury-not at me. And now, perhaps.
you can tell the jury what your maine
The witness tells his name.
"Now, sir-look at the jury! How
long did you live thcrc?"
The witness timidly asks, "Livcd
where 7" when the attorney springs to
his feet.
"May it please the court and Jury, l
find this witness utterly incorrigible-
stubborn, mulish, and bent upon keep
ing back the very facts the jury must
have. He has clearly been tampcrcd
with, and comes here with tho manifest
intention Of browbcating and worry
ing both the jury and the bar. ] have
tcmporiZcd with him, | have led him
gently from point to point, in the hope
OF bcguiling him into the true recital
OF tho facts connected with this dread
iul murder; and what is my reward for
this considerate kindness and forbcnr-
nnce? Speaking under the sancity of
OF an oath he tells this court and Jury
that he doesn't know where hc lives,
and has asked me to tell him! Can
such things be, and not overcome us
like a--likc-and not overcome us? |
ask your honor that this witness be
sent to jail for contumacy, to remain
there until he expresses a WILLINGNESS
to tell what he knows about this dread
ful murder"
The court then admonishcs the wit
ness that further tritling will not be
permitted; that he ,must answer the
gcntlcman's questions, or hell certainly
be compelled TO commit him to prison
The witness by this time is bewildcr-
cd, scared, dazcd, and INDUCES in con-
tradictions and absurditics as fast and
as often as the attorney requires him
to;.and finally, leaving the stand, it is
quarter ofan hour, at least, before he
can recall his own name or fix his own
identity. The attorney then gets upon
his feet, tears the wrctched Witness
contradictory and foolish rigmarolc all
to tatters, and asks the courL that it be
excluded from the jury as false and
nonscnsical.
And that is one Of the ways many of
our average criminal lawyers adopt
70 "draw out the facts" in great mur-
der cases.
,--Thc diversity Of uses to which
glyccrinc is applicable is shown in the
fact that, as lubricant Of machinery.
it is found to be invaluable, and In
many instances preferable to oil prcasc.