What is the test for admitting the contents of a document?

The concept that a person may be deemed to have admitted the contents of a document which is submitted to him and makes charges or claims against him is a limited one. In Richards v. Gellatly (1872), L.R. 7 C.P. 127, at page 131, Willes, J., said: "It seems to have been at one time thought that a duty was cast upon the recipient of a letter to answer it, and that his omission to do so amounted to evidence of an admission of the truth of the statements contained in it. But that notion has been long since exploded and the absurdity of acting upon it demonstrated. It may be otherwise where the relation between the parties is such that a reply might be properly expected."