1  PHILL.  ECC.  82.  IN    RE    NAPIER  921

Judgment — Sir  John  Nicholl.  I  do  not  understand  that  any  objection  has  been
taken  to  the  first  part  of  this  article  ;  but  only  to  that  part  of  it  which  pleads  that,
on  a  comparison  of  the  subscription  to  this  will  with  the  deceased's  subscription  to
other  wills  and  to  a  power  of  attorney,  it  appears  to  judges  of  hand-writing  not  to  be
[82]  the  subscription  of  the  same  person  :  and  this  is  introduced  for  the  purpose  of
laying  before  the  Court  the  opinion  of  persons  skilled  in  comparison  of  hand-writing.*/

The  question  is  not  what  the  effect  of  this  evidence  may  be,  but  whether  it  is
admissible?  It  is  not  denied  that  such  evidence  has  been  admitted ;  indeed  no  case
has  been  suggested  on  which  it  has  ever  been  rejected ;  the  Court  is  not  at  liberty  to
refuse  it  from  any  present  opinion  it  may  entertain  of  the  little  effect  it  may  ultimately
produce ;  one  sees  no  ground  for  rejecting  absolutely  evidence  of  this  sort.  It  has
been  truly  said  that  all  evidence  of  hand-writing  is  evidence  of  opinion  ;  if  a  person
has  seen  another  write  twenty  years  ago,  he  can  only  form  his  belief  as  to  his  writing
by  a  comparison  with  what  he  once  saw :  what  is  this  but  evidence  of  opinion?  it  is
not  suggested  that  the  comparison  should  not  be  made,  but  it  is  said  the  Court  may
make  it;  the  Court,  however,  may  not  feel  itself  competent  to  the  task ;  to  this  it  is
replied  that  then  it  may  refer  the  matter  to  registrars,  as  was  done  in  the  case  of
Heath  v.  Watts ;  (b)  but,  [83]  what  is  this  but  evidence  of  comparison  and  opinion  1

In  other  Courts  resort  is  often  had  to  the  evidence  of  persons  skilled  in  any
particular  art ;  I  see  no  ground  for  rejecting  this ;  in  general  there  is  better  evidence
than  that  of  hand-writing  on  which  the  Court  can  form  its  opinion ;  but  it  may  be
adminicular  to  that  evidence.
