33 Vt. 136 | Vt. | 1860
Upon the principal question, how far the court will take judicial notice of the law of Canada, it is enough
Under the charge, in the present case, the jury might have found that the charge implied a purpose of injuring the child to any extent, short of taking life. And as there was testimony tending to show this, if there was such a count in the declaration, the plaintiff had the right to a charge applicable to the whole case.
The new count alleges that the defendant accused the plaintiff of giving the child poison with intent to kill or injure the child. This seems to put a different construction upon the act from that assumed by the court, as the only charge in the declaration, except that of giving the poison with intent to kill. This count certainly does raise the question how far it is slanderous to charge one with giving poison, with intent to injure the person to whom it was given. This does not necessarily imply that it was given with intent to do serious and extreme injury. As the construction is to be most unfavorable to the pleader, we could not fairly assume perhaps, in the present case, that any thing more is alleged in this portion of the count, than that the poison was given for the purpose of injuring the child. It does not readily occur to us how we "could fairly gauge the extent of this injury, at such a degree of intensity, as to be able to say that it necessarily partook of the same character, as a charge of giving
As the laws of foreign countries, when relied upon in the trial of an action, are to be proved, like other -facts, there is perhaps no danger of doing injustice here, if we assume, that if the plaintiff could have shown the law of Canada to be su'ch as to be of advantage to him, he probably would have given evidence upon that point. We think it safe then to say that in the absence o£ such proof and with the fair presumption in such cases, it is proper to assume that such a charge is not slanderous in Canada, and if not so there, it gives no cause of action here.
The judgment is affirmed.