Stephen Johnson Field

“ But a person subject to a considerable amount of insane delusion may yet be under the sanction of an oath, and capable of giving very material evidence upon the subject-matter under consideration.' And the chief justice added: 'The proper test must always be, does the lunatic understand what he is saying; and does he understand the obligations of an oath? The lunatic may be examined himself, that his state of mind may be discovered, and witnesses may be adduced to show in what state of sanity or insanity he actually is ”

“ In an action against the city of Chicago, to recover damages resulting from the death of a person who in the night stepped off an approach to a bridge while it was swinging around to enable a vessel to pass, and was drowned,-it being alleged that the accident happened by reason of the neglect of the city to supply sufficient lights to enable persons to avoid such dangers,-the supreme court of Illinois held that it was competent for the plaintiff to prove that another person had, under the same circumstances, met with a similar accident. ”

“ Baron ALDERSON, Justice COLERIDGE, Baron PLATT, and Justice TALFOURD agreed with the chief justice, the latter observing that 'if the proposition that a person suffering under an insane delusion cannot be a witness were maintained to the fullest extent, every man subject to the most innocent, unreal fancy would be excluded. ”

“ Were such the case the objection would be tenable, but no dispute was made as to these accidents, no question was raised as to the extent of the injuries received, no point was made upon them, no recovery was sought by reason of them, nor any increase of damages. They were proved simply as circumstances which, with other evidence, tended to show the dangerous character of the sidewalk in its unguarded condition. The frequency of accidents at a particular place would seem to be good evidence of its dangerous character-at least, it is some evidence to that effect. ”

“ Persons are not wont to seek such places, and do not willingly fall into them. Here the character of the place was one of the subjects of inquiry to which attention was called by the nature of the action and the pleadings, and the defendant should have been prepared to show its real character in the face of any proof bearing on that subject. ”