The Van Buren press., 1894-01-20
oATHs AND AFFiRMATIoNs.
Various Forms Used In Getting the Test
mony Of Persons of Different Faith.

Various Forms Used In Getting the Testi-
mony Of Persons of Different Faith.
Ever since there have been courts
martial particular stress has been
placed upon the matter Of administer
ing the oath to the witnesses. In order
that 1t may be binding. and the loop
hole of informality may be, as far as
possible, reduced, it has been the Gus
tom to swear witnesses in the manner
considered most binding in their native
lands. The march of civilization has.
in this instance, tended toward accept
ing the methods for Professionals and
Roman Catholics employed in this
country as those best suited to impress
upon witness the solemnity and sig
nificance of the oath, though there are
occasions when it became necessary to
resort to other methods.
All court-martial witnesses who are
Protestants are sworn by laying their
right hand, ungloved, on the Bible,
closed or open, while the oath is re-
cited. Kissing the book is frequently
required in addition to the laying on
of the hand. Raising the right hand
and keeping it raised during the re-
cital Of the oath is also form adopted
by number. There are many who
prefer to affirm rather than to swear,
and those are accommodated by say
ing, "You do solemnly affirm" instead
of ''solemnly swear" the right hand
being raised or placed on the Bible as
before. Formerly it was required to
place the right hand on the open
Evangelist's.
In swearing Roman Catholics the
Bible is closed and has marked on the
outer cover cross, generally cut out
of white paper and pasted on, Some
times crucifix is placed upon it, which
the witness, after the oath is recited,
kisses when there is any suspicion In
the mind OF the president of the court
martial or in that of any of its men,
bers. The witness, If Roman Catho-
lie, after kissing the cross, is frequent
ly directed do cross himself
For convenience, the oaths to be i'd
ministered by the president of the
court to the judge advocate OF the
court, and to the witnesses that are
called before it to give testimony, are
often written out on paper and pasted
on one of the covers of the Bible, SO as
to be at hand to refresh the memory of
him whose duty it is to administer the
oaths.
The Jews are customarily sworn by
the five books of Moses and the great
God of Israel, that the evidence they
give shall be the truth, the whole
truth, and nothing but the truth. FIRE.
quently, however, there is no depart
ure in the methods used with this race
from that which ordinarily obtains.
The statutes in the time of George
w., king Of England, contain several
sections in relation to the administra-
ton Of the oath in various cases, and
among them are one or two referring
to the Quakers as we'll as to the Mo-
ravians. These statutes have been en-
braced in our own methods of proceed
ure, and they allow people Of the sects
named solemnly, sincerely and truly
to declare and affirm that the evidence
which they give shall be the truth, the
whole truth and so forth.
The Scotch Covenanters have always
held that holding up the right hand
is sufficiently binding, consequently
they do not think it at all necessary
either to place the hand upon the
Bible or to kiss the holy book.
Mohammedans think the oath only
positively binding when they are
sworn upon the Koran, while the
Hindoo prefers to swear by touching
with his hand the foot Of Brahmin.
In this country the Chinese do not
insist upon the same methods that
were once in force. Very likely the
chinaware dealers wish they did, as
they are so much more numerous than
when the following was their custom:
In England, at the old Bailey prison,
a Chinaman was presented as witness
in an important case, and for some
time the nature OF an oath and all that
it implied could not be impressed upon
him. Neither could the authorities
quite make out just what the Mon
golian did consider binding. Finally,
through the aid of an interpreter, it
was decided to break saucer over the
head Of the proposed witness. When
this was done the Chinaman appealed
to the supreme being whom he wor-
shipped, praying that his own body
might be broken into as many pieces
as the saucer if the testimony he was
about to give should not be the entire
truth.
As general thing, in courts-mar-
tial held in foreign waters, where ma
tive witnesses are required to give
evidence, and particularly where such
persons are not of the Christian faith,
care is taken to ascertain and adopt
the ceremony of the religions of the
witnesses respectively. 1t is also con-
sidered a wise plan, especially In inn
portant cases, that q priest Of the creed
of the with esses be present when the
oath is administered in order to give it
greater force and sanctity.-Washing-
ton Star,
Soap on Troubled Seas.
Soapsuds may supersede oil as the
Id -, -