TOPICAL READING.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10074, 21 June 1910, Page 4

TOPICAL READING.

A MIfaSING "PERSON."

The difficulty of inducing witnesses to give the exact words of any conversation is known to all who have any business in law courts. A man will repeat—"l asked him if he was coming, and he said he couldn't"; but it takes aWSorts o f ingenuity <o get hinhto paraphrase this into, "I said, 'Are you coming?' and he said 'I can't.' " 'As a matter of fact, of course, it is a psraphase that is giver. A mjre than ordinarily difficult task was encountered by inspector and magistrate at a Metropolitan court recently. A witness was describing his meeting with the man before the court, and went on, "He asked me——" The inspector asked for the exact words™ used. "Why, I'm giving you the very words!" "No you are not," said the magistrate, "the inspector wants it in the first person." "I never said a word about aoy other person," said the surprised witness, "there was only him there." Witness indignantly declared that he had been to school, but denied that he had been taught anything about He was then again urged to give the man's exact words, and with a puzzled and injured look said, "Why, that's exactly what I am doing. He says to me, ' Wbat'll you take for the horse?' " "Ah, that's right, said the inspector and magistrate together, and the deposition cSerk began again, while the witness looked more puzzled than ever.