Concessions by a party of the existence of certain facts. The term admission is usually applied to civil transactions, and to matters of fact in criminal cases, where there is no criminal intent the term confession, is generally considered as an admission of guilt. An admission is the testimony which the party admitting bears to the truth of a fact against himself. It is a voluntary act, which he acknowledges as true the fact in dispute. An admission and consent are, in fact, one and the same thing, unless indeed for more exactness we say, that consent is given to a present fact or agreement, and admission has reference to an agreement or a fact anterior for properly speaking, it is not the admission which forms a contract, obligation or engagement, against the party admitting. The admission is, by its nature, only the proof of a pre-existing obligation, resulting from the agreement or the fact, the truth of which is acknowledged.
There is still another remarkable difference between admission and consent: the first is always free in its origin, the latter, always morally forced. I may refuse to consent to a proposition made to me, abstain from a ...