o see such a body of precedents and arguments
for the rejection of evidence during trial, in some court or other,
before they were in this matter stopped and concluded.

Your Committee has not been able to examine every criminal trial in the
voluminous collection of the State Trials, or elsewhere; but having
referred to the most laborious compiler of law and equity, Mr. Viner,
who has allotted a whole volume to the title of Evidence, we find but
one ruled case in a trial at Common Law, before or since, where new
evidence for the discovery of truth has been rejected, as not being in
due time. "A privy verdict had been given in B. R. 14 Eliz. for the
defendant; but afterwards, before the inquest gave their verdict openly,
the plaintiff prayed that he might give more evidence to the jury, he
having (as it seemed) discovered that the jury had found against him:
but the Justices would not admit him to do so; but after that Southcote
J. had been in C.B. to ask the opinion of the Justices there, they took
the verdict."[80] In this case the offer of new evidence was not during
the trial. The trial was over; the verdict was actually delivered to the
Judge; there was also an appearance that the discovery of the actual
finding had suggested to the plaintiff the production of new evidence.
Yet it appeared to the Judges so strong a measure to refuse evidence,
whilst any, even formal, appearance remained that the trial was not
closed, that they sent a Judge from the bench into the Common Pleas to
obtain the opinion of their brethren there, before they could venture to
take upon them to consider the time for production of evidence as
elapsed. The case of refusal, taken with its circumstances, is full as
strong an example in favor of the report of the Judges in Lord
Strafford's case as any precedent of admittance can be.

The researches of your Committee not having furnished them with any
cases in which evidence has been rejected during the trial, as being out
of time, we have found some instances in which it has been actually
received,--and received not to repel any new matter in the prisoner's
defence, but when the prisoner had called all his witnesses, and thereby
closed his defence. A remarkable instance occurred on the trial of
Harrison for the murder of Dr. Clenche. The Justices who tried the
cause, viz., Lord Chief-Justice Holt, and the Justices Atkins and Nevil,
admitted the prosecutor to call new evidence, for no other reason