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transfer or assignment of a registered bill of sale need not be registered."

The 11th section of the Act of 1878 provides that registration shall be renewed once at least in every five years.

The 16th section of the Act of 1878 is as follows:-" Any person shall be entitled to have an office copy or extract of any registered bill of sale and affidavit of execution filed therewith, or copy thereof, and of any affidavit filed therewith, if any, or registered affidavit of renewal, upon paying for the same at the like rate as for office copies of judgments of the High Court of Justice, and any copy of a registered bill of sale, and affidavit purporting to be an office copy thereof, shall in all courts and before all arbitrators or other persons be admitted as primâ facie evidence thereof, and of the fact and date of registration as shown thereon. Any person shall be entitled at all reasonable times to search the register and every registered bill of sale upon payment of one shilling for every copy of a bill of sale inspected; such payment shall be made by a judicature stamp."

The 16th section of the Act of 1882 is as follows: “So much of the sixteenth section of the principal Act as enacts that any person shall be entitled at all reasonable times to search the register and every registered bill of sale upon payment of one shilling for every copy of a bill of sale inspected is hereby repealed, and from and after the commencement of this Act any person shall be entitled at all reasonable times. to search the register, on payment of a fee of one shilling, or such other fee as may be prescribed, and subject to such regulations as may be prescribed, and shall be entitled at all reasonable times to inspect, examine, and make extracts from any and every registered bill of sale without being required to make a written application, or to specify any particulars in reference thereto, upon payment of one shilling for each

bill of sale inspected, and such payment shall be made by a judicature stamp. Provided that the said extracts shall be limited to the dates of execution, registration, renewal of registration, and satisfaction, to the names, addresses, and occupations of the parties, to the amount of the consideration, and to any further prescribed particulars."

It would seem, however, that the production of a certificate of registration of a bill of sale, even though it states that the affidavit of execution has been duly filed, does not preclude the necessity of producing an office copy of the document (2).

FRIENDLY SOCIETIES, AND INDUSTRIAL AND PROVIDENT

SOCIETIES.

For the provisions of the Friendly Societies Act, 1875, and the Industrial and Provident Societies Act, 1878, on the subject of evidence, see the Appendix.

NATURALIZATION.

For the provisions of the Naturalization Act, 1870, on the subject of evidence, see the Appendix.

HISTORIES

Are admissible to prove a matter relating to the kingdom at large (), such as the death of a sovereign or the time of his accession. They are admissible to prove ancient facts of a public nature (s), although not to prove a particular or local custom. Maps are inadmissible except under the circum

(9) Emmott v. Marchant, 3 Q. B. D. 555.

(r) Bull. N. P. 248.

(8) Read v. Bishop of Lincoln, (1892) A. C. 653.

stances mentioned in Part I. ch. 9.

Thus in an Irish case (†)

the maps of the Ordnance Survey in Ireland were rejected. Still less are peerages, army and navy lists, directories, calendars, or other non-official publications, admissible.

Dictionaries are constantly referred to in Court for the meanings of words, especially in Trade-mark cases.

(t) Swift v. M'Tiernan, 11 Ir. R., Eq. 632.

CHAPTER IV.

SECONDARY EVIDENCE.-PROOF OF HANDWRITING.ATTESTING WITNESSES. WRITINGS WHICH REFRESH THE MEMORY.

WHEN a party has done everything in his power to bring before the Court primary evidence of his case, as by searching for documents in places where it was most reasonable to expect them to be deposited, or by giving the opposite party notice to produce them, he will then, and not till then, if he be unsuccessful in his exertions, be permitted by the Court to give secondary evidence of such documents.

The search must be bond fide and diligent (a). It is not necessary to call a person of whom inquiries have been made as to a deed, but his declarations may be given in evidence (b). If there are several places of probable deposit, all must be searched (c). Every possible search need not be made, but every reasonable search will be sufficient ().

There are no degrees in secondary evidence. Therefore, when the absence of primary evidence is explained satisfactorily, any species of admissible secondary evidence may be substituted for the original. Thus, a lost deed may be proved, either by an attested copy or an examined copy, or by oral evidence of any one who can swear positively to the contents. of the original; and, therefore, where it appeared that a party held a copy of an original, which was not produced, it was held that he was not obliged to produce the copy, but might

(a) R. v. Denio, 7 B. & C. 620.
(b) R. v. Kenilworth, 7 Q. B. 642.

(e) Doe v. Lewis, 11 C. B. 1035. (d) Hart v. Hart, 1 Hare, 1.

give oral evidence of the original (e). "As soon as a party has accounted for the absence of the original document, he is at liberty to give any kind of secondary evidence. The rule is, that no evidence is to be adduced which ex naturâ rei supposes still greater evidence behind in the party's own power and possession " (ƒ). In Doe v. Ross (ƒ), it was held that oral evidence of an original might be substituted for an attested copy, which was tendered but rejected for want of a stamp. It is not, however, to be supposed that oral evidence of a document, although equally admissible with an attested or examined copy, is therefore entitled to the same credibility; and it will be for a jury to place their own estimate on the value of the witness's memory.

Copies of documents. Although either a copy or an oral proof of an original will be equally admissible as secondary evidence, the copy of a copy, although compared with it, will be inadmissible, notwithstanding that the first copy is also proved to have been compared carefully with the original (g).

Stamping. It will be presumed, in the absence of contrary evidence, that the original was properly stamped, if it required to be stamped (h), and an unstamped copy will be good secondary evidence; but neither at law (i) nor in equity () can secondary evidence of the contents of an unstamped agreement be given, even though it was destroyed by the wrongful act of the party objecting to such evidence. When the destruction of a document is alleged to have been by the opposite party, notice to produce is necessary to let in secondary evidence (1).

When a copy is tendered as secondary evidence, it must

(e) Brown v. Woodman, 6 C. & P. 206.

(f) Per Parke, B., Doe v. Ross, 7 M. & W. 102.

(g) Liebman v. Pooley, 1 Stark. 167.

(h) Marine Investment Co. v. Hariside, L. R., 5 E. & I. 624.

(i) Rippiner v. Wright, 2 B. & Al.

478.

(k) Smith v. Henley, 1 Phil. 391. (1) Doe v. Morris, 3 A. & E. 46.

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