Mining and metallurgical section: Stated Meeting, Wednesday, April 12th, President, James Christie, in the chair

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1899
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 66 KB
• Volume: 147
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0016-0032
• DOI: 10.1016/s0016-0032(99)90083-2

✦ Synopsis

the thought of the speaker, when he took it, as a boy, by the old wet process, and long-forgotten, it was recognized in a magazine article, taken from a stray print.

"Photography in judicial procedure is another open field. Photography is in court, and it is there to stay. It is in under the rules of ' best evidence,' and the ' necessity of the ease.' But its position is not well-defined. Whilst . the evidence it affords is accurate, minute, complete and free from bias, the fact cannot but be recognized that it has limits of applicability aud reliability. It can even lie and be made to lie. Questions of highest importance, and often of great novelty, and in increasing numbers will continually arise in regard to it. If this organization can contribute in any degree to its proper and creditable recognition by the courts, it may be of great service iu the cause of justice. It might even become to a degree authoritative upon the scientific and technical aspects of such cases. In this connection a collection of reports of cases in which photography is employed in evidence in any . way, suggests itself. With the arguments and decisions it might prove in a short time of great value, and might even entice the legal fraternity to the hall and library of the Institute. ' Without taking time to enumerate others, these will suffice to indicate something of the general character of the field of activity, beyond the strictly scientific, that seems to open up before this branch. It is a matter of congratulation that it has opened so auspiciously, and the effort of all should be to keep it at least fully abreast of all the advances of s rapidly expanding branch of science.