Donelly

This is an action for the recovery of a certain roan horse, which was stolen from the plaintiffs.

The defendant claimed to have purchased the horse here in controversy from one Charles Jones, and denied that the horse so purchased by him was the plaintiffs’ horse. At the trial, the defendant gave some testimony, without objection on the part of the plaintiffs, to the effect that Chas. Jones was a man of good character. The jdaintiffs, in rebuttal, offered “ the record with a plea of ‘ guilty ’ to an indictment of Charles Jones, alias George Jones, in the Municipal Criminal Court of San Francisco, for stealing a horse from one Wm. McMaster on the 9th of June, 1876, and which record also shows that he had been previously convicted of petit and grand larceny. ‘ I offer it,’ (said plaintiffs’ counsel) ‘ for the purpose of contradicting Mr. Curran’s statement that this was a man of good character. ’ ” The offer was objected to by counsel for defendant, on the ground, among others, that the character of Charles Jones was not in issue in the case, and that the offered evidence was irrelevant. The Court ruled as follows: “ The record is admitted in evidence for the purpose of rebutting…