[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Sia,—The mistake into which
you fell illustrates what with us at least is a well-established principle of the law of evidence, that the best evidence of what took place at a trial is the official record of the trial. Had you been in a position to consult that record, you would not have done a conscientious public official the grave injustice that your article imports. May I say that, not having the record, it was a matter of questionable wisdom and propriety, at a distance Of three thousand miles and six years' time, to undertake to act as a court of review with a secondhand and incomplete knowledge of the facts ? It is to be hoped that the Spectator will find a way to make the amende honorable to the judiciary of Massachusetts in general and to the trial judge in particular.
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