Noah Haynes Swayne

“ The instruction given, which was complained of, was in conformity with the practice of the courts of the United States, when a clear case is made out by the plaintiff and no defence, or only one clearly invalid, is shown by the defendant. ”

“ The cause was tried by a jury, and a verdict and judgment were rendered for the plaintiff. Upon the trial, Dwyer took exceptions to the ruling out of certain testimony which he offered, and to the refusal of the court to give instructions which he submitted.
A bill of exceptions was taken, setting forth these rulings, and they are relied upon in this court to reverse the judgment.
We will consider them in the order in which they are presented in the record.
1. The rejection of the letter of Smith. The letter, of itself, was clearly not evidence. ”

“ The ruling of the court was correct.
3. The instructions asked by the defendant below to be given to the jury were not called for by the facts of the case as disclosed in the evidence. Under the circumstances, they were abstractions. They had no practical application, and the court was not bound to give them. ”