Note B — SALEM WITCHCRAFT.
Reading edition
In an English court, a witness was about to relate an account of a murder as he received it from the ghost of the murdered person. ‘Hold, sir,’ said the judge; ‘The ghost is an excellent witness, and his evidence the best possible, but he cannot be heard by proxy in this court; summon him hither, and I’ll hear him in person; but your communication is mere hearsay, which my office compels me to reject.’ If a court or magistrate will listen to ghost evidence to convict a reputed criminal, why not admit the same evidence on the contrary, in proof of innocence. And if a judge or magistrate countenance or abet such kind of juggling with diabolical influence, do they not come under the penalty of the statute of King James, which interdicts all acts of sorcery whatever, and all charms for employing spirits? Back