BRAGADAYJAH 139

Sunday, April 27, 2014

BRAGADAYJAH 225

Reading English Legal History without knowledge of the Bible, one may be led to think that, at least to Western minds, the custom of trial by witnesses began with the English system of trial by “compurgation,” trial by attestation of twelve men touching one’s innocence, when accused of crime; but in fact it is written right there in God’s Ordinance to His people way back then on Mount Sinai.
            For it was written, “If a man delivers to his neighbor an ass, an ox, or a sheep, or any beast for safe keeping, and it should be reported by the keeper that the animal or animals have died, burnt, or driven off, and no sees it, that is to say no one can attest to the truth of the keeper’s claim, then an oath shall be taken of the Lord that he the keeper hath not touched his neighbor’s goods, and if the keeper so swears, the owner of the goods shall take his oath as being consistent with his innocence.
            But if the goods were stolen, the keeper shall make restitution to the owner. If the animals were destroyed by say a wild beast, then he had to take the remains in proof to the owner, and he shall be exonerated.      
            I cannot resist the temptation to recount here a very similar experience I had once appearing for an owner who was suing a person to whom she had given cattle under what was called a contract of agistment, which is in fact a contract of bailment such as being discussed here.
            Under the contract the bailee was under an obligation to take reasonable care of the animals, and in return he retained a half of the increase.
            At some stage there was a flood in the area and the bailee informed the owner that all her animals had perished in the flood.
            The owner did not believe the bailee’s account, and sued him for the loss of her property.
            The bailee gave evidence that he was not in the country when the flood occurred, but that his 16 year old son had called him and told him what had happened.
            Counsel for the bailee asked the lad, “What did you do when you discovered that the cattle had died?” 
            “I called my father and told him what happened.”
            “And what did you use to call him?” Counsel persisted.
            “I used to call him Daddy,” replied the boy.  Morewww.chaberbooks.com

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