JB/081/391/001

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1829. May 4.
Petitions.
Supplements.
§ 2. Elucidation.
History and Aetiology. 23
Sole case where to save
expense and delay, security
against misdecision is
lessened — epistolary evidence
uncounterinterrogated and
uncounterevidenced is admitted
instead of oral

Between security for truth on the one part, and
promptitude and cheapness on the other part, the only case, of
antagonization, and consequent option, to be made, is this.
At the moment of time in question, the person of the individual
in question is at a certain distance from the
seat of judicial operation: in this case, the greater this
distance, the greater the delay, and the greater the expense
if any, necessary to the doing what requires to be done.
24
Cases for such admission
may be worked out by
general
On the other hand the more simple in its nature, the matter
of fact requiring to be stated — that is to say the less
the danger of its being misrepresented either by design
or unconscious error, materially misrepresented; and thence
the less the danger of deception and consequent misdecision
on the part of the Judge in the event of its being taken
for conclusion — provisionally conclusive — without being
exposed to counterinterrogation or counterevidence.
25
Indispensable condition
eventual subjection to
oral examination
As to these two securities, in some instances the cases
in which they may be dispensed with, may with advantage
be settled by permanently and universally applying
regulations — "My name (for example) is so and so.
"I was born on such or such a day. I delivered into
"the hand of such or such a person such or such
"a paper at such or such an hour, in such or such
"a house." But, to a great extent, to the discretions
of the Judge must the determination be committed.
Why? for this plain reason: that, on both sides, the
quantities in question are commonly ever varying
quantities: — they are, on the one hand the degree of
complexity on the part of the subject matter of the
statement; on the other hand, the distance of the
individual evidence-holder from the Judicatory; the
distance — that is to say, in respect of the conjunct
circumstances of length of way and length of time
necessary for traversing it.

In

In no case however
should the evidence-holder
feel himself and his
evidence absolutely secure
against all future scrutiny:
little less then that of
a mendacity licence would
be the effect of any such
feeling: hence in the here-proposed
system the provision
for eventually
subsequent word-of-mouth
examination after response
or spontaneous asseveration
made in the epistolary
mode.

Identifier: | JB/081/391/001 "JB/" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 81.
Date_1	1829-05-04	Marginal Summary Numbering	23-25
Box	081	Main Headings	petition for justice
Folio number	391	Info in main headings field	petitions
Image	001	Titles
Category	copy/fair copy sheet	Number of Pages	1
Recto/Verso	recto	Page Numbering
Penner	john flowerdew colls	Watermarks	street & co
Marginals	george bentham	Paper Producer	antonio alcala galiano
Corrections		Paper Produced in Year
Notes public		ID Number	26178
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