Strafford Bank v. Cornell
Superior Court of New Hampshire
THIS was an action'of assumpsit, brought to recover the amount of a promissory note made by the defendants for 200 dollars, dated March 2, ISOS, payable to the plaintiffs in sixty days, with interest after. , The cause was tried here at this term upon the general issue, when the. plaintiffs called W. C., the former cashier of the bank, as a witness, to prove that the note mentioned in the declaration had been in the bank, and had been lost while the said W. C. was cashier.
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THIS was an action'of assumpsit, brought to recover the amount of a promissory note made by the defendants for 200 dollars, dated March 2, ISOS, payable to the plaintiffs in sixty days, with interest after. , The cause was tried here at this term upon the general issue, when the. plaintiffs called W. C., the former cashier of the bank, as a witness, to prove that the note mentioned in the declaration had been in the bank, and had been lost while the said W. C. was cashier. The counsel for the defendant objected that C. was an incompetent witness without a release, because his testimony would…
1Opinion of the Court
The opinion of the court was delivered by
Ric-hardson, C. J.
It is a general rule, that all witnesses interested in the event of a cause are to be excluded from giving evidence in favor of the party to which their interest inclines them. But this general rule has exceptions : and it is the constant practice to admit agents to be witnesses for their principals, and servants for their masters, without a release, although their evidence may tend to discharge themselves. This exception is allowed from necessity, and for the sake of trade and the common usage of business.
The witness in the present…
2Cases cited1 opinion
- Phillips v. BridgeMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1814
3Cited by3 opinions
- Bailey v. ShawSuperior Court of New Hampshire · 1851
- Phelps v. SinclairSuperior Court of New Hampshire · 1823
- Moses v. Boston & Maine RailroadSuperior Court of New Hampshire · 1851