21 Vt. 515 | Vt. | 1849
The opinion of the court was delivered by
1. The first question in this case is as to the admissibility of the selectman of Peacham, offered as a witness. We see no reason, why he was not properly admitted. His interest as an inhabitant and tax payer of the town is removed by statute; and the mere fact, that he was an officer of the town, and, as such, assisted in the commencing and prosecuting of this suit, could not make him any more legally interested ; — it was an objection to his credibility merely, and not to his competency. The suit must be taken, of course, in the absence of any thing appearing to the contrary, to have been properly commenced, and duly authorized by the town, or its proper agents; and the court would not presume it to be otherwise.
2. The highway surveyor of the district, where the defendant claimed to have sustained the injury, was introduced as a witness
■3. The defendant, after verdict for the plaintiffs, moved to set ¡aside the verdict and for a new trial, upon the ground, that a letter, written by Mr. Mattocks, his attorney, to one of the selectmen of Peacham went to the jury, among other papers in the case, without having been read on the trial. On inspection of this letter it-seems to be a mere “ dunning letter,’’ written to the selectmen, .threatening a suit, if the defendant were not settled with. It is difficult to .see what influence this could have had upon the case, even if the letter had been new to the jury; but the exceptions state the fact of such a letter having been written by Mr. Mattocks and received by the selectmen, and the contents of the letter had been proved at the trial before the jury. It does not seem possible, that a mere inspection of the letter, after this full knowledge of its existence and of all it contained, could have had any influence upon the
Judgment of county court affirmed.