The Dean of Faculty has referred your Lordships to the Books of
Adjournal, from which he says that it appears to have been the practice
to describe such articles more minutely; but I have no doubt that a
perusal of these books would furnish many instances where articles have
been described as loosely as they are said to be in the present libel;
and, my Lords, as the pannel’s counsel have neither produced, nor
offered to produce, any decision of this Court finding libels irrelevant
from the articles referred to in them being thus described, I am bound
to hold the objection to be of no force.
My Lords, I can see no injury that will be sustained by the prisoners by
the repelling of the present objection; all the articles were lodged in
the hands of the Clerk of Court, and their agent and counsel had an
opportunity of examining them. The trunk is no doubt vaguely described,
but that appears to me not to be material, because it will not be
sufficient for a witness to say that he found papers or other articles
in a trunk; he must say that he found them in the trunk shown to him in
Court, otherwise his evidence in that particular will be of no
consequence. If the pannels should say that this is a different trunk,
and that they never saw it before, I would listen to the objection; but
as they cannot, and as I can figure no injury to the prisoners in
repelling this objection, I am for over-ruling it.
Lord STONEFIELD--My Lords, I think the description in this case is
sufficiently full; therefore I am for repelling the objection.
Lord SWINTON--My Lords, the present objection is made in the wrong
place; and I cannot so well judge of it in this general shape as I
could have done had it been stated when the particular articles came to
be used in evidence; but I must judge of it in the form in which it has
been brought before the Court.
I think, my Lords, that it ought to be repelled for the reasons your
Lordships have already heard, and because no injury can be done to the
pannels from these articles not having been more particularly described,
as they will have an opportunity of traversing the evidence that may be
brought relating to them. There are many of the articles, such as two
iron wedges, an iron crow, &c., that would not admit of a more
particular description than has been given. Upon the whole, my Lords, I
am for repelling the objection.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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