EVIDENCE. 
don, and the witness shall not be asked any 
question to accuse himself, but it must be 
proved by producing the conviction ; but 
upon conviction of perjury, under stat. 
5 Eliz. c. 9, nothing but a reversal of judg- 
ment can restore a man to competency. 
Wills of land must be attested and sub- 
scribed in the presence of the testator by 
three witnesses. In general, the courts are 
inclined to favour the receiving of evidence, 
and to consider objections as to interest, 
to go more to the credibility of file witness 
than to his competency. , 
A conviction of treason, of felony, and 
every species of infamous crime, aspeijury, 
conspiracy, barratry, &c. prevent a man, 
when convicted of them, from being exa- 
mined in a court of justice. When a man is 
convicted of any of the offences before 
mentioned, and judgment entered up, he is 
for ever after incompetent to give evidence, 
unless the stigma be removed, which, in 
case of a conviction of perjury, on the stat. 
of 5 Eliz. c. 9, can never be by any means 
short of a reversal of the judgment, for the 
statute has in this case made his incompe- 
tency part of his punishment ; but if a man 
be convicted of perjury, or any other of- 
fence at the common law, and the King 
pardons him in particular, or grants a gene- 
ral pardon to all such convicts, this restores 
him to his credit, and the judgment no 
longer forms an objection to his testimony ; 
but an actual pardon must be shewn under 
the great seal, the warrant for it under the 
King’s sign manual not being sufficient to 
found this objection to the testimony of a 
witness, the party who intends to make it, 
should be prepared with a copy of the judg- 
ment regularly entered upon the verdict of 
conviction, for until such judgment be en- 
tered, the witness is not deprived of his legal 
privileges. 
On the question, how far persons who 
have been defrauded of securities, or in- 
jured by a perjury or other crime, can be 
witnesses in prosecuting for those offences, 
the event of which might possibly exonerate 
them from the obligation they are charged 
to have entered into, or restore to them 
money which they have been obliged to 
pay ; the general principle now established 
is this, the question in a criminal prosecu- 
tion on personal act being the same with 
that in a civil cause, in which the witnesses 
are interested, goes generally to the cre- 
dit, unless the judgment in the prosecution 
where they are witnesses, can be given in 
evidence in this cause wherein they are in- 
terested. But though this is the general 
rule, an exception to it seems to be esta- 
blished in the case of forgery ; for many 
cases have been decided, that a person 
whose hand writing has been forged to an 
instrument, whereby if good he would be 
charged with a sum of money, or one who 
has paid money in consequence of such 
forgery, cannot be a witness on the indict- 
ment. 
When a witness is not liable to any legal 
objection, he is first examined by the coun- 
sel for the party on whose behalf he comes 
to give evidence, which is called his exa- 
mination in chief, who is not to put what 
are called leading questions, viz. to form 
them in such a way as would instruct the 
witnesses in the answers he is to give. He 
is then cross-examined by the other side, 
when leading questions are necessarily put ; 
and then he is re-examined as to what he has 
been asked in his cross-examination. 
The party examined must depose those 
facts only of which he has an immediate 
knowledge and recollection ; he may re- 
fresh his memory with notes taken by him- 
self at the time, and if he can then speak 
positively as to his recollection, it is suffi- 
cient ; but if he have no recollection further 
than finding the entry in his book, the book 
itself must be produced. Deeds, receipts, 
and writings requiring stamps, must be. 
stamped before they can be received in 
evidence. 
Parole evidence shall not be admitted to 
annul or substantially vary a written in- 
strument, nor to explain the meaning of a 
testator in a will, though where there are 
two persons of the same name ; and it is 
doubtful which is the devisee from an im- 
perfect description, it must be proved by 
witnesses which is the devisee. By the sta- 
tute of frauds several things must be evi- 
denced by writing, which previously might 
be proved by parole only. See Frauds. 
The general rules has been for the last 
century under the ablest judges, that no 
man shall be asked a question, the answer 
to which might subject him to criminal pu- 
nishment or pecuniary penalty. It has 
been lately attempted by some judges to 
extend it further, to prevent any question 
being asked which may degrade a man’s 
character, which it is feared will deprive 
the parties of all the substantial benefits of 
cross-examination. By stat. 47 Geo. III. 
made on the spur of a particular occasion, 
and to serve a party purpose on the trial of 
Lord Melville, a witness cannot object to 
