The minor law books: The minor law books (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1889)

1,174- witnesses; CIRCUMSTANTIAL, evidence. 85
if a man can write, he should write (his name) him-
self ; if he cannot (write himself), he should cause it
to be written by another man.
* 168. (The deposition of) a witness who has been
reminded (of the transaction) remains valid in this
world up to the eighth year, that of a casual witness
remains valid up to the fifth year.
* 169. (The deposition of) a secret witness remains
valid up to the third year; (the deposition of) an
indirect witness is declared to remain valid for one
year only.
*170. Or no definite period is fixed for judging
a witness ; for those acquainted with law have
declared that testimony depends upon memory.
*171. A witness whose understanding, memory,
and hearing have never been deranged, may give evi-
dence even after a very considerable lapse of time.
13. Six Cases where Witnesses are
un necessary.
*172. However, six different kinds of proceed-
ings have been indicated in which witnesses are not
required. (Other) indications of the crime com-
mitted are substituted for the evidence of witnesses
in these cases by the learned.
* 173. It should be known that one carrying a fire-
brand in his hand is an incendiary ; that one taken
with a weapon in his hand is a murderer; and that,
where a man and the wife of another man seize one
another by the hair, the man must be an adulterer.
* 1 74. One who goes about with a hatchet in his
170, 171. Under this rule, the validity of any testimony is
declared independent of length of time, and to depend on the
competence of the witness alone. A.