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EDWARD D. WORRELL, 79

to be reasonable. Thus this inference of the witnesa is made
the starting point in the process of reasoning by the juror;
and if wrong, in fact, secures error throughout the process
of induction.

A Dutch ambassador told the King of Siam that in his
country the water was so hard in cold weather that it would
bear an elephant if he were there. The king replied, ‘‘Hith-
erto I have believed the strange things you have told me, be-
eause J looked upon you as a sober, fair man, but now I am
gare you lie.”? The king’s reply illustrated the nature of cir-
eumstantial evidence. He reached his eonclusion by an in-
duction founded upon the supposed dependency of one fact
apon another fact. He thought that whenever an elephant
eame in contact with weter he must sink or swim; and these
being dependent facts, the conclusion was irresistible that
the ambassador lied. We are unhappily more ignorant of the
infinite combinations of facts and circumstances than the King
of Siam was of the action of cold on water; and what is worse,
we hug onr false conclusions, reached in a similar way, with
the pride and pertinacity of his majesty. Perhaps the most
fatal quality of cireumstantial evidence is its fascination. It
panders to the pride of intellect, it persuades us that we are
in possession of a power to penetrate the unknown, to bring
light out of darkness, to reduce chaos te order. I have never
seen a human being who did not feel the intoxication of cireum-
stantial evidence; and therefore it is eafe to say, its praises
will be sung to the end of time. It is a thing of necessity,
and will continue to inform, delight and deceive, but it does
not exist without some restrictions and limitations, The law
ia not so in love with it as to let it do as it pleases. It may
delight and fascinate, but it shall not kill, nor be made the
instrument of death, unless it be of a particular quality, It
has shed too much blood to be permitted to go quite at large!

I call your attention, jurors, to some few of the necessary
requisites of cireumstantial evidence under our law, before
it is to condemn men upon it. Rule 3. ‘It is essential that
the cireumstances should be of conclusive nature and ten-
dency.” Rule. 4. “It is essential that the circumstances

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