MR. WILLS ' S ESSAY ON CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE.
TA secret and often the fearful character of the crimes brought home to the criminal by circumstantial evidence—the singular, and sometimes the almost providential nature of the evidence itself—the high efforts of legal and scientific skill exhibited in connecting the links in the chain, or evolving all but demonst a- live proof from apparently tivial circumstances—and the occa- sional instaucas of the punishment of the not guilty—have come bitted to remove this subject from the technical nature of Pridence in general, and to render it one of the most interesting branches of either legal or moral proof. The popular, that is the superficial view of the subject, is to prefer direct testimony : " I should not feel comfortable in finding a man guilty upon circumstantial evidence," is a common remark ; and this feeling has been partaken by many lawyers. Some of the greatest jurists, however, and most persons who of late years have given attention to the subject, prefer the evidence of circum- stances; because it is much more likely for a single witness to lie Or mistake, than for a number of independent facts, occurring at different times and places, to be linked together fortuitously or by artful contrivance. Lr. WILLS does not altogether agree with this conclusion ; teal that fur a reason which seems to us fallacious. "It has been sail," he observes, "that 'circumstances are inflexille proofs ;
that witnesses may he mistaken or corrupted, but things can be neither.'
Circumstances,' says Paley, cannot lie.' It is astonishing that sophisms like these should have passed enrrent without aaimarlversion. The • circum- stances' are assumed to be in evetv care established beyond the possibility of unmake; and it is implied that a en cumstance established, to be true, peasesses some. mysterious free 1eeuli3r to facts of a certain class. Now a circumstance is outlier more nor less than a minor fact ; and it may be admitted of all facts that they cannot lie, fur a fact cannot at the same time exist and not exist : so that in truth the doeti hie is mei ely the expression of It uism, that a fact is a fact. It way also be admitted that eiteumst owes are inflexible proofs,' but assuredly of nothiug more than uf:their own existence ; so that this assertion leanly a repetitiun of the same truism in different tennis. It seems also to have been overlooked, that circumstances and facts of every kind mina be proved by human testimony ; that although eiteunistances cannot lie,' the narrators of them may ; and that, like witnesses of all other, facts, they may be biassed or mistaken."
But this is arguing wide of the question. In what is called direct testimony, the fact is frequently a matter of doubt ; in cir- cumstantial evidence, never,* but only the inference to be drawn from it ; and herein lies the difference, which Mr. WILLS does riot see. Single witnesses, speaking to a conclusive fact of which they alone have congnizance, may be, as BURNETT remarks,"cor- rupted or mistaken," whilst frorn their testimony there is no appeal to reason; and often they have some connexion with the party, either for love or hate. Numerous witnesses, on the contrary, can hardly have a motive for false swearing; the facts are often of a nature about which there is little likelihood of a mistake—often such that a mistake as to their existence is impossible, because they are deposed to by witnesses who have examined them for that especial purpose—sometimes they are produced before the eyes of the court itself. Of this last kind are clothes, or property found in the criminal's possession ; as well as such evidence as this, adduced by Mr. WiLas in other places.
" The cases ate innumerable in which identification has taken place by means of impressions of nails, patches, abrasions, and tither peculiarities made in the clay or roil fluting or before or after the commission of crime. At Warwick Spting 1,06, Isaac Brindlev visa convicted of the murder of Ann Smith. The deceased had struggled much, but was overpowered and drowned. Impres4 MS were found in the clay, of the knee of a man who had worn Ineeches made of striped einduroy, and patched with the same material ; but the patch was not set on straight, the ribs of the patch meeting the hollows ot the cords of the garment into which it had been inserted. These circumstances coiresponderl exactly with the prisoner's titre% and materially influenced the jelly in convicting hint. In the ease of Ty ler and Sewell, convicted at the Ay leshury Spring Assizea, I s30, of the murder of 13e4nnin Tyler, there was &mid the print of corded breeches, the deceased having WOrtl smooth plush breeches ; unit one of the prisoners, who wore ribbed breeches, was afterwards seen removing marks of road.dirt from his breeches' knees."
This is not so strong, but is still remarkable.
" On the trial of .lames Nisbett, at Maidstone Summer Assizes, 18'20, for the muteler of Thomas Parker and his housekeeper, it appeared that some persons after robbing the house of the deceased had set tire to it, so that the body of Mr. l'arker was almost entirely consumed ;1- but the left leg temained perfect, and the foot had on a shoe which, having been originally too small, had been burst in tying on; which circumstance was proved by the person who wade the it may be observed too, in favour of circumstantial evidence, that when most of the cases are carefully examined in which per- sons have been wrongfully condemned, the circumstances will not be found to have been the sole cause. III the celebrated case of COLEMAN, the man was hanged through the woman robbed swearing to his identity ; the circumstances alone would never have convicted him. In other cases, the accused has either by his im- prudent conduct given suspicion of guilt, or he has gone about a similar crime, or at least a felony. Except in scientific opinions as to the causes of death, (which, however, are not questions of . riccumslanccs from which the jury are to infer, but inferences drawn by witnesses as to natural causes,) and some of the old trials, ss here men have been executed without any other proof of the death than the mere disaprearatice of the party, there is per- haps scaicely any rave iim WiIiell circumstantial evidence alone has cotivieted a prisoner, or where a juryman could say, were the matter to do over again I should do other than I have done : and this is the nearest approach to right that humanity can attain. To leave the subject for the volume, Mr. W ILLS has divided his work into two leading parts,—one dealing with the general nature of evidence, both direct and circumstantial; the other inves- tigating the various divisions into which circumstantial evidence many be resolved ; laying down the principles applicable to each, and illustrating them by numerous cases, some selected, some manu- script, bet all curious. In treating of the general subject, the critical reader may perhaps think that Mr. WILLS retains rather too much of Lis profession, which induces him, as if he were drawing a deed, to omit no point which may have a relation to the subject ; whereas the beauty of a scientific treatise is to contain nothing but what is necessary. On the other hand, in dealing with the rationale of circumstantial evidence, he is deficient ID grasp and depth. In the mean time, the lawyer will find in Mr. W 'IAA's book much that may be useful in shaping his theory and guiding his practice ; whilst the nature of many of the cases quoted will furnish interesting matter to readers who have no pro- lessioual purpose in view.
• Of course we are not sreald Tr; of a single circumstance, or even of one or two cir-
cumstances; for suet, eases raiel) come benne our I rinene is ays Inure itistuusuel 00..10 than let narrow the eirthers of nneape 6.r the aerosed. In such examples. the
OW it tire of circuit's' ant it evidence is Witted mu the &Moon uature of direct tehliunnly.
It is necessary, in eases cf murder, to adduce proof of the death.
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