The Downfall of Evil-Doers

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXIV, Issue 12, 22 March 1906, Page 30

The Downfall of Evil- Doers

Handwriting experts have so frequently been proved to be incorrect in their* deductions that juries seldom ctnvict prisoners on their evidence (says ' Answers '). Curiously enough, however, although the "handwriting test has been proved to be unreliable, the evidence of faulty spelling has never failed to bring retribution to evil-doers. It appears that forgery is comparatively easy, and that even an expert can be readily deceived by a forged document ; but it seems almost certain that if an adult, even of good education, misspells certain words, it is almost impossible for him to spell them correctly from dictation, unless 1 aided by a dictionary. This strange fact was vividly manifested through the acumen of Justice Darling during the hearing of a breach of promise case recently at Birmingham. The plaintiff relied upon certain letters, which she stated were written to her by defendant, to establish her case. The man, however, denied the authorship, and there were considerable doubts expressed, which the judge shared, as to the incriminating documents being in his hand-writing. ' Gross perjury is being committed in this case,' said Justice' Darling. And then his Lordship thcught of a new test. ' How do you spell the word " awful ?' r ' he inquired cf the defendant. ' A-w-f-u-1-I. ' was the response ' That's how the word is spelt by the person who wrote this letter,' observed the judge. And it was this. fact that procured the plaintiff £100 damages. The political history of the last 15 years has been determined by a mistake in spoiling. The fact that an 'c ' was used instead of an ' a ' rendered the claims of the Irish party to Home. Rule and other reforms possible as i constitutional questions to the Imperial Parliament. It was at the period when the gravest charges were being made, against > the late Charles Stewart Parnell and other members of the Irish Parliamentary Party that ' The Times ' electrified the we rid by pub-

lishhig a letter purporting to be from the Irish leader, approving of assassination. The majority of the British people at the time believed it to be authentic. At the famous , ' commission' of three judges that was held to investigate these terrible charges, handwriting experts swore that this letter was in Parnell's handwriting. Despite the searching cross-examination the late Lord Chief Justice, Lord Russell of Killowen (then Sir Charles Russell) subjected them to, it was impossible to shake their evidence, and most people were convinced that Parnell had penned this terrible .'document. 'inun a journalist named Richard Pigott entered the box. ' Write on a piece of paper 'the word' " (hesitancy," ' said Sir Charles suddenly. The witness did so, and handed the paper to the counsel. The word was spelled ' hesitency,' which corresponded to the spelling of the .same word in the incriminating letter. Triumphantly Sir Charles pressed his point, and in a few mements the wretched Pigott admitted that he had forgpd tttie 'letter ,a>nd sold it to the ' Times ' for a large sum.