APPENDIX. 183 



fidence or irrelevancy, as an excuse for not answering the 

 question, and he must pay the costs. From this judgment 

 it will be perceived that even the refusing to answer an 

 irrelevant question may lead to the infliction of a heavy 

 penalty on a medical practitioner. A man who refuses to 

 answer a question which the Court considers to be relevant 

 and proper, may render himself liable to imprisonment for 

 contempt of Court. 



Examination- in- Chief . 



The ordinary course of proceeding is as follows : — After 

 opening the case, the counsel for the prosecution calls the 

 witnesses, and examines them according to the rules of 

 evidence — that is, he brings out, by questions which do not 

 suggest their ansivej-s, the facts relevant to the issue to be 

 tried which are within his personal knowledge. Those 

 questions which do suggest the answers, are called "leading" 

 questions. With one exception it is not the practice to 

 allow these to be put in this part of the examination. The 

 exception, according to Mr. Stephen, is : ""When the judge 

 is satisfied, either by a witness's demeanour or by contra- 

 dictions between the evidence and the depositions, that he 

 is trying to keep back the truth and favour the prisoner, 

 he may, in his discretion, allow the counsel for the Crown 

 to ask leading questions and, as the phrase is, to treat the 

 witness as hostile." When the examination-in-chief is closed, 

 the next step is the cross-examination. 



Cross-examination, 



In this, the second stage, the counsel for the defence 

 extracts from the veterinary witness, by questions tuhich 

 viay suggest the answers in the strongest forfn, any facts 

 that may appear to be favourable to his client, and which 

 he believes to be within the witness's knowledge. Leading 



