he court insists on the trial
proceeding, he invariably recovers. Of course, there are many legitimate
reasons for adjourning cases which the prosecution is powerless to
combat.

The most effective method invoked to secure delay, and one which it
is practically useless for the district attorney to oppose, is an
application "to take testimony" upon commission in some distant place.
Here again it must be borne in mind that such applications are often
legitimate and proper and should be granted in simple justice to the
defendant. Although this right to take the testimony of absent witnesses
is confined in New York State to the defendant and does not extend to
the prosecution, and is undoubtedly often the subject of much abuse, it
not infrequently is the cause of saving an innocent man.

An example of this was the case of William H. Ellis, recently brought
into the public eye through his connection with the treaty between
the United States Government and King Menelik of Abyssinia. Ellis was
accused in 1901 by a young woman of apparently excellent antecedents
and character of a serious crime. Prior to his indictment a colored man
employed in his office (the alleged scene of the crime) disappeared.
When the case was moved for trial, Ellis, through his attorneys, moved
for a commission to take the testimony of this absent, but clearly
material, witness in one of the remote States of Mexico--a proceeding
which would require a journey of some two weeks on muleback, beyond
the railway terminus. The district attorney, in view of the peculiarly
opportune disappearance of this person from the jurisdiction,
strenuously opposed the application and hinted at collusion between
Ellis and the witness. The application, however, was granted, and a
delay of over a month ensued. During that time evidence was procured by
the counsel of the prisoner showing conclusively that the complaining
witness was mentally unsound and had made similar and groundless charges
against others. The indictment was at once dismissed.

But such delays are not always so righteously employed. There is a story
told of a case where a notorious character was charged with the unusual
crime of "mayhem"--biting off another man's finger. The defendant's
counsel secured adjournment after adjournment--no one knew why. At last
the case was moved for trial and the prosecution put in its evidence,
clearly showing the guilt of the prisoner. At the conclusion of the
People's t