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forr, lhou~h lhe rl&"ler lboulJ .~knowbl;:e n;lOo 0111.
¡lis h,wiog reeei" eJ lh, g,,~ds, F l, ,C IIc . d,I" l II e
p,liJ lhe priee. ,his I.n ptrI, beiog • ucoial lh.l Ihe U:¡'l
fitJr. lls, IS io"iolio, r.nee it is truly ,he poinl rebred lO
o'lh, \Vhere ,he qu dity doel nOl imp.lrt an ex,ioél,on
oClh: debl, hu, b.lrclY ,t eoun,er-claim, or 1111111111 P,lilio,
ag.ioll lhe purliler, It is hcld as extrioli , aod mull be
proveJ aliuok Neither eao a deren.ler who io his
oJt h aJmi,s lh~ eootlitlnioo of a debl, gel off by adjea–
iog lhe qualily 01" p'ty,o,O!, w~el'e lhc paym!Ol oughl
by ilS nalure to be voue'let! by w,imo evid,oee.
6 OJ<I" oC veri'rare {omeli'oesdeCcrreJ hythe judge lO
eilher party, (X .ffi-i. ; whieh ueedufe lhey are OOl Cound·
eJ on any ,mplicd eontraél belwcco tlle litigaols, are OOl
fi nJlly Je.:ilive, bllt mIy he traverfed on prop" evideoee
aCterw",ds produetd, T hcfe oalhs are comm ,oly pUl
by lhe judge for fupplyi ng a lam! Or imperCeél proof,
and are lllcreCor: ealled OAths in fupplcment. See § 2.
7. To prevenl groundlefsallegalions, Oalhs oC ealumny
have been introdu.:ed, bywhieh eilher pany may demand
his adverfary'soalh, lhOl he bdievcs lhe faél con..ined in
his libel or defenees lO be jufl and true. As lhis is an
oalh, not of verilY, but ooly of opioion, lhe party who
pUlS it to his adverfary, do:s .not renounee other proba·
tion; and therefore no party is bound to give ao oalh of
ealumoy, on reeent faéls of his own, for fueh oalh is
really an oOlh of verity. T hefe oaths have oot been
fo f, equenl r.nee lhe aél of federuot, Feb. J. 17 IS,
whereby any party, agaiofl whom a faéllhall be alledged,
is obliged. withoul making oa,11, to eoofefs or peoy it ;
aod io cafe of calumoious ueoial, is fubjeéled to the ex·
penee that tne olher pan y has thereby ineurred.
8~ lo all oaths, wllelher·of verity or e;!u;:¡ny, the ei·
tation earries, or at leaa imp!ie~, a eertir.catioll, ,hat if
th.e partydoes not appear at the day afligned for depofiog,
he Ihall be hcld pro coofiJo; from a prefumptioo of his
eoofeioufoefs, thal the faél upon IVhieh he declines lO
fIVear makes againll hihl; bu, nOpa"y can be hdd pro
confeJ>, if he be in the kiogdom, withoul a previous pero
fonal eim ion ufed ;g.infl him. Thou~h ao uath \'Ih:oh
refolves into a non II/w:ioi, eaonot be raid tO prove any
poiot ; yet where ooe fo depofes upon a reeent faél, lO
whieh he himfelf was pri,y, his oalh is eoor.dmd as a
diffembling of lhe tru,h, and he is heldproCOlJftJo, as if
l,e had refufed lOfwear.
9, An oath io lil''', is thal ",hieh ,he judge defers
to a purfuer, for afeenaining either the qUlctily or ,he
value of goods whieh have been laken froOl hiOl by the
defender wi,hoUI order of Jaw, 01 lhe extenl of his da–
Olages. AIl oaJh in lil'II/, as il is the aflirmation of a
p"'y in his own bchalf, is only al!oIVed where ,here is
proof ,ha, ,he other part)" has beeo eogaged'in fome ille·
g,1aél. or IVher~ lhe public poliey has made it oeecfl'ary,
f~e TIl. xx. tI. T his oath, as to lhe quantilies, is not
admitted, IVhere lhere is a eoneu'riog teaimony of Wil'
oe{fés brough, in proof of it. Whco it is put as to the
\'llue of goods, il is onlyan oal}, of creduli,y: anu there·
f{¡rc it has al\Vays been fubj eél to the mod;fi~alion cf
the eourt.
ro. The law of Seotl.lnd reje':¡s the lenimony of wit·
.t:,{fes, J, In paymeal of any fum abol'eL. 100 S" II, all
,"l .
\lhidl mlt'l be ?rJveu eilh~r feriplo v!1jrrramenlo, 2.
In ,11 gr.ltui:'lIIs pro'oifes, lhough for the fm.diell " in:.
3. Inl!J contraéts, whcre wrilln¿ is eithcr dfenual tI) tlH:ir
eonflitulion. (fce Tlt. xxi, 2 ) or IVhereil is ufu.lly .dn; ·
b:tcd, "' in,hc borrowIOg of mOlley. And it is a gcna aJ
rule, fu~jetl to lhe rdlrtélions menliooed in lhe neXl §,
lhat 00 deb, or righ" on::e confliluleJ by wriling, e"n
be I,ken aw"y by wilne{fes,
II. On the other parl , probation by witneffes is a.j·
mi..ed lO ,h~ exlenl 01 L. 100 Se.", in paymen", nun–
eupalive legaeies. and verb.,l agreements whieh (on'aill
mUlual obligalions. And il is receiveu 'o lhe h'ghell ex·
tenl, ,. In all bargains IVhieh have knowo engagemenls
na,urally Cromthcm, con:erning mnvcable goods ,
2 In falls performed in fa,isfa~lion, eveo of a ~' rittcn
obligation, IVhere fueh obligalion binds lhepan) precifdy
to the performance of them. 3, In faéls ",hich wi,h dif·
fieulty admil of a ploof by wriling, even though lhe ef·
feél of fueh proof Ihould be ,he eXlinélion of a wrim n
obligation, eCpeeially if lhe faéls import fraud or violence ;
thus. a bond is reduei!>le 'x dok, 00 a proofby wilne{fes.
Laflly, all intromiflion by amditor wilh the rents of his
debtor's dlate payable i"o grain, may be ~roved by ",it·
oe{fes; and even intromiflion IVi,h the fil ver-reot, where
the creditor has enlered into the tOlal pofleffioo of the
debtor's laods, _
12. No perfon, whofe dear relatioo to another bars him
from being a judge iD his caufe, can be admiued as awit.
oefs fo r him; but he may. againfl him, except a wife or
ehild, who caooot be eompelled to give temmony againll
the hufbJnd or parent, ob Nv,,,olíam p"jo04, ,1 m,·
Ium p"juríi. T hough lhe witnefs, whofe propinqu.ilY
to ooe of the parties is objeél.d to, be as nearly rtlmd
to the other, lhe objeélion f1ands good.
11. The leaimony of infamous perfons is rejeéled; i. '.
perfons who have beco guilty of crimes that law declarel
to infer infamy, or \Vho have been declared infamous by
the (entenee of a judge ; but infamia fafli does not dif.
qualify a wiloefs. Pupils are inhabile ll!Í,nc{fes; being,
in the judgmeol of law, ineapable of ,he impreflions of ao
oa,h, The teaimony of womcn is feldom admiued, whcre
olher witnc{fes can be hado And in g~neral witne{fes o·
rherwife excep,iooable may, where there is a peoury of
witneffes arifing from lhe oa ure'or eircumaanees of the
(aél, be reeeivcd eUII/ 1(010; lhal is, the;r .teflimony ,
though nOl qui,e free from fufpicion, is lO be coojoined
\Vilh lhe olher evidenee, and to have fueh weight gireo
it as the judge Ihall think il deferres.
14, Al! wilne{fes, before they are examioed ,in the
caufe, are purged of partial eounfel; thal is, they 'rhJfI
declare, lhal they have no inleren io ,he fui" oor'ha<c
given :Idriee how to eonduél il ; lhJl lhey have got n,i,bLr
bribe nor promife, oor have been infl'"l~ed how lO dé·
rofe ; and ,hat they bea¡ nO eOOlily tOeither of the pu–
ties, Thefe, becdufc thcy are ,he pninl; put lOa "';lOcfs
hefore his makiog oath, are ealicd illil/lli.1 14i "":.,,.
\Vhere a party can bri n~ prelent proof of a ",i:nLfs's r.r·
tiJI counfd, io any of ,he abnve rarticulars, he o,,~ht ,~
oAer il bLf~re the ",ilnefs he f\l'orn : but, h,edule (u,-h
objcélion, iri, tannOl be inl!.,n,ly vc, ",ti I be n,· 11"
lO lhe Cl(JllIio,llion, law allows the party in ,hat c" IL- ,?
f 'Old!