Can a witness be impeached by former testimony where on the stand he said a certain thing?

In People v. Mitchell, 94 Cal. 550, 29 P. 1106, it was held error to impeach a witness by former testimony where on the stand he said he had not said a certain thing. The court said, 94 Cal. at [39 Cal.2d 151] page 556, 29 P. at page 1108: 'A witness, whichever party calls him, cannot be impeached unless he has given testimony against the impeaching party. This witness had not testified against the prosecution. He simply failed to testify to a fact which the district attorney thought he could prove by him. * * * The impeaching statements were evidently desired as evidence. If such testimony were admissible, it would be easy to manufacture evidence of that kind. If a

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