The daily intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Territory [i.e. Wash.]) 1876-1881, 1879-07-25
THE POOR WITNESS.

tion witnesses i eIaspers.ing 20 the iu-
telligen. listener beyond expression
The great purpose Of the average Grim.
inal lawyer. for Instance, il 10 dc.w
from the witness all the facts in hi3
possession, excepting the facts toaCbi0g
the case under Confederation.
A countryman, chopping down 3 tc,c
stops his work and buries the axe Gp
10 the eye in the brain OF his brother
in-law. The witness who saw the VII l.
bloody transaction Is brought iG.o
Court. and his examination runs aboa.
thus:
You say ,ha, he prisoner was chop
piEg tree down. Now. will yoa
please tell the Court AMI jury wher~ h
bought that axe?
You don't know; very we'll, SIR, We
will see abOu. that.
Now. ,ir. ioak at the juiy-i3u't
stare in that helpless mau-er at Inc r
now. sir. d. you say upon ycur oath
that you don know that he d.iendart
stole that axe b, fore h. left PaiGcah >
You do say 20, eh, Well, nov mark
me, sir. How many fee. was it from
the tree the defendant WAS chipping TO
tn. nearest gristmill' You can't say
Was il ten feet ?
Certainly. a good deal mcrc.
Well. then, was II thousand miles
Certainly not
The Court and jury will please OBJ
serve the stubbOruness OF this witness
1t is mauifest!y his purpose TO keep
from the jury the facts they ought TO
know.
Now. sir. who owned that nill:'
Tho witness innocen'ly inquiries
What mill but soon repents II
The jury will please observe the eX
asperating ccntumaciousness of this
witness, his evasion. and his mamie st
purpose TO confuse your minds as 10 the
facts involved in this terrible murder :.
Now, sir, lock me in the face You
have solennly sworn that the mar was
chopping near a mill Will yol now
dare say-look at the jury, sir-tha,
there was no mill within one thousand
miles Of the tree the detend,n wa fell
ings
Il don't say anything of tn kind :
The jury will please note tbst aa-
swer.'
Now. see here, my frieni-weve had
about enough of this. You first de-
clarcd that there was no mill. and now
you brazenly avow that there was a
mill near the woodchopper-'
i said there was 10 mill within ten
fee
Never do you mind what you said
l know what you said. and the jury
knows and now, sir, listen 10 me.
Who made your boots :
You don't know Is there anything
under Cod heavens that you do know?
There, there. Look at the jury y-not
at me- And now, perhaps, yOu can tell
the jury what your name is ::
The witness tells his name.
Now. sir-look at the jury how
long did you live there
The witness timidiy asks, Lived
where = when the attorney springs to
his feet.
May it please the Court and jury,
find this witness utterly iscorrigible-
stubborn. mulish, aud bent upon keep
ing back the very facts the jury must
have. He has clearly been tampered
with and comes here with the manifest
intention of brow beating aud worrying
both the jury and the bar. have tem-
porized with him, have lei him gen
tly from point 10 point. IN the hope Of
beguiling him into true recital of the
facts connected with this dreadful muir
der. and what is my reward ter this
considerate kindness and forbearance
Speaking under the sanctity of an oath
he tells this Court aud jury that he
doesn't know where he lives, and has
asked me to tell him Great God can
such things be AMI not overcome us
like alike and not overcome US? |
ask. your Honor. that this witness be
sent to jail for coniumacy, to remain
there until he expresses willingness
to tell what he knows abou, this dread
ful murder
The Court then admonishes the wits
ness tina, further triaing will no; he
permitted that he must answer the
gentleman questions, or he'll certainly
feel called upon to commit him to pris
on.
The witness 10y this time is bevil-
dered, scared. dazed and in1ulges in
contradictions and absurditles. as fast
and as often as the attorney requires
him 10. and finally. leaving tho stand,
it is quarter an hour at least before
he can recall his own name or fix his
own identity. The attorney then gets
upon his feet. tears the wretched wit
ness's contradictory and foolish rigma-
role all to tatters. and sskes the Court
that it be excluded from TIE jury as
false and nousensical.
And that is one Of the ways many of
our average criminal lawyers adopt TO
draw out the facts IN great murder
cases.
KING GEORGE III. first found his way
10 Weymouth in 1880. travelling by car
a