1 82 APPENDIX. 



ridicule upon himself. A skilled expert, at an important 

 trial, was asked his age. Instead of answering so simple 

 a question at once, he angrily appealed to the judge to know 

 whether he was bound to give an answer on a matter which, 

 as he said, could have nothing to do with the case. The 

 judge informed him that unless he had some very strong 

 reasons for concealing it, he had better state it. At a trial 

 for murder by poison, when, in the course of a cross-exami- 

 nation, counsel for the prisoner asked the medical witness 

 what remedy or antidote he had employed when he was first 

 called to attend the deceased. He appealed to the judge to 

 know whether he was bound to answer such a question as 

 that. Judge : " Yes, unless you have reason to believe that 

 your antidote killed the deceased. In that case you are 

 not bound to answer it." The question was immediately 

 answered. 



As there is no special privilege granted to members of the 

 profession, a witness must remember that there are no jnedical 

 secrets. 



In Wright v. Wilkin (June 1865), a suit involving the 

 validity of the will of a lady, the only question before the 

 Vice-Chancellor (Kindersley) was as to the costs, occasioned 

 by the refusal of a medical witness to answer a question in 

 reference to the disease of which the testatrix had died. 

 The witness had attended the testatrix, and on being asked 

 of what disease she died, he refused to answer, on the ground 

 of professional privilege and also that the question was 

 irrelevant. The Vice-Chancellor said that he could not 

 possibly see the relevancy of the question, and further, of 

 what use it was to examine witnesses at all in the cause. 

 No reason was given for so doing. The question of costs 

 would, pri7nd facie, have been left till the hearing but that 

 it was a dangerous precedent to allow a witness to decline 

 answering on such grounds. His Honour was clearly of 

 opinion that the witness could not claim professional con- 



