Macers—Silence in Court.
The Lord Justice-Clerk—Mr. Clerk, please restrict your reflections. The Court have admitted the witness.
Mr. Clerk—Yes, my Lords, I know that very well, but your Lordships should not have admitted him, and of that the jury will now judge.
The Lord Justice-Clerk—This is most indecent behaviour. You cannot be allowed to speak to the admissibility; to the credibility you may.
Lord Stonefield—This young man is again attacking the Court.
Mr. Clerk—No, my Lords, I am not attacking the Court; I am attacking that villain of a witness, who, I tell your Lordships, is not worth his value in hemp.
The Lord Justice-Clerk—The Court, sir, have already solemnly decided, as you know, on the objections raised by the Dean of Faculty, that in law the objections to these witnesses should be repelled, and they were repelled accordingly; therefore you should have nothing more to say to us on that point.
The Dean of Faculty—If it will satisfy Mr. Clerk, I can assure him that I will plead on this point to the jury, waiving all objections to the admissibility, which it may be rather irregular to plead after the decision of the Court.
The Lord Justice-Clerk—Dean of Faculty, I know you will attempt nothing that is improper.
Mr. Clerk—But, my Lords, the jury are to judge of the law as well as the facts.[23]