The Newhampshire gazetteer — Exeter, N.H., 1792-10-31 00:00:00, page 2

reject a determinate number of the dele,
gated body, even without disclosing any
cause of rejection.
Under all these precautions, ftri& and
generous, the person tried might with an
almost literal propriety be said to try
himfelf.
We can only conjecture his motives
indeed ; but we know his condufl. He
fixed the number of jurors at twelve.
To a conviction by that number, he
rendered an unanimous vote indifpen
fihlyneceffary.
To him the world is indebted for the
Duodecemviral judgment.
I eftablilh these interesting fads.—
One of the oldest books known in our
Jaw,is that called the Mirror ofJuflices^
My Lord Coke fays, that the greatest
part of it was written long before the
Conquest. In that book we find an ac
count of Alfred's efts and judgments,
conjectured to have been originally
composed by himfelf: For he was the
most accomplished fcbolar as well as
ftatefmart of his age. From that ac
count the following extract is taken.
" He hanged Cadwine because he
" judged Hackwy to death, without the
" assent of all the jurors, in a case
" where he had put himfelf upon a
" jury of twelve men ; and because
" three were for saving him againit
66 nine, Cadwine removed the three
“ for others, upon whom Hackwy did
« not put himfelf."
This passage is shore, but it is preg
nant with precious inftrudion.—
From its principles matured by near a
thousand revolving years, all jurors
may in a tranfaftion supremely solemn
and important, learn a salutary lesson
for their conduct in forming the col
lefled verdia of the <wbole, from the
separate judgment of each.
I speak of criminal^-! speak of cap
ital causes, for that before us, was one
If after all, a conviction Should by poC
fibility, take place improperly, a power
might be vetted in ano her body, to set
the improper conviction aside, and remit
the trial of the cause to a new abflrad of
the citizens.
. Surrounded and guarded by establish.
ments of this nature, innocence certainly
might reft.Secure.
3. I come now to the last question—
Can these principles,^ beautiful inTheo
ry be reduced to Practice ?
Reduced to Pradice ? It cannot, for
sometime have escaped you, that I have
been describing the principles of our
well known trial by jury.
The principle of unanimity in ver
diffs of convi&ion, deserves to be traced
historically as well as theoretically. The
common law is in its nature, an histori
cal feience, and its principal articles re
ceive a luftre from the successive Scenes
in which they have been tried.
Among the Saxons before the reign of
the great Alfred, the number of jury men,
seems to have been different at different
times ; and we discover not in their ver
di^sthe flighted traces of unanimity es
tablished as a rule. In a criminal pros
ecution, indeed the defendant was ac
quitted when the votes were equal. But
a single voice forming a majority pro-,
nounced the fat'll doom.
By Ethelred, Alfred's immediate pre
deceffor,the numberofjurors was prob
ably fixed at thirteen. This was an
improvement upon the former num
bers, which were large and inconveni
ent.
Bat to the penetrating Alfred, this
number and the regulations connected
with it, would, we have every reason
to believe,appear to require,and to ad
mit of an improvement still greater.
A jury of thirteen fit on the life of a
man, fix vote for acquitting, fix for
condemning him : Muff his life depend
upon a single vote, perhaps not to be
relied on more than the single throw of
a Die ? Is it not likely,that such would
be the soliloquy of the humane Alfred ?
Is it not likely,that from this precari
ous situation, the family of Alfred, —
his people were his children, would be
relieved by the resources of a mind not
left distinguished, by its vigorous ex
ertions, than by its nvife and benevolent
reflections.
No particular citizen can threaten
the exercise of this tremendous power:
with its exercise no particular citizen
can be threatened—even the unfortu
nate prifoner,the hour of whose trial is
come, the jury, for whose trial are fe-
j leded, impannelled and returned,even
Ithis unfortunate prisoner, cannot be
threatened with the exercise of this
power by any particular citizen. His
single supercilious look would be re
pelled by an instant and peremptory
rejection.
Laudably And tremblingly jealous is
the Conftitotion of the United States,
on a fubjeC t so interesting to the per
sonal independence of the citizens.—
The formidable power we have men
tioned is interdifted even to the legif,
ture itfelf. Congress can pass no aft
of attainder.—An a& of attainder is a
legislative verdict.
'ln juries such are the high trusts re
posed ; from juries the just and faithful
execution of those high trusts is rig,
Ouroufly exalted.
' Are their powers discretionary ?-—
those powers should be exercised in the
discretion of a found and candid mind-
Muff a verdict of conviction be com
posed of the concurring votes of all the
jurors? The vote of each juror should
result from the native, the calm, the
ffeady, and the clear operation of the
evidence.
in which a person was "judged to
death."
A majority for convidion, was three
to one. But thejudge was condemned
for pronouncing sentence of death, up
on the votes of the majority; even
though they were propped by an ad
ventitious acceflicn of three other
votes.
Every citizen may here find most
comfortable information concerning
the jealous attention, with which the
law watches over him, even when he is
accused of violating the law. No jury
can pass upon him, except that upon
which he puts himfelf. '' Hackwy,'
fays the case before us, “ did not put
himfelf upon those others.''
The great diferetionary powers,
which we have described, can never,
on the principles of the common law,
be exercised against a citizen, unless
by those, to whose exercise of them,he
gives his consent. For Handing mute,
he may fuffer the pain direful and hard.
By a legislative process his contumacy
may be transformed into a confeflion
of his guilt. But by his country he
can never fuffer unlefs# in the expres
sive language of the law " he put him
felf upon his country."
I have mentioned that the greatest
diferetionary powers of juries are veil
ed in them on particular occasions, or
in particular causes.
The trial by jury noy opens to us a
profpeCt, the beauty and sublimity of
which, I have often admired in silence,
and (hall now endeavour though with
unequal powers, to describe and ex
plain.
The awful jurifdiaion which is ey
ercifed in criminal, in capital cases,
may be considered as a burthen, as such
it is too heavy to be constantly born.
When emergencies offer, an abftra&
of the people is feleCted for bearing it :
So soon as each emergency is over, the
abdraCted feledion disappears ; and the
heavy burthen rests upon no-one.
This awful jurisdiction may be con
sidered as a power—as such it is too
tremendous to be constantly seen. A
man or a body of men, armed with a
permanent power over the lives of their
fellow-men ! these would be objects
appaling indeed. By an operation ex.
quifite & sublime, of our juridical fyf
tern,objeCts so formidable do not ap
pear, objeCts so formidable do not exist.
To promote an habitual courage, and
dignity, and independence of senti
ment, and of conduct in the citizens,
should be the aim of every wife and
good government. How much are
these principles of sentiment and con
duct promoted by the fine contrivance
which we now describe !
* This is, in one case altered by a late
Aa of Congress, Sept. 2. <9. / 30.
Owing to the time of the
year at which Capt. Quane
failed, he was obliged to
touch at the Mauritius, for
the purpose of taking a frefh
departure On approach
ing the island of Galega, he
difeovered the remains of
the wreck ; but as he could
not find ground, though he
founded with a 35 fathom
line, he con fequently could
not bring the ship to an
anchor,but fentMr.Brown
low, his chief officer, on
shore in the jolly boat.
On the boat's coming near
the shore, it was found im
possible to land. Mr. Brown
low therefore relolutely
leaped overboard, and hav
ing gained the shore, found
means to warp the boat in.
On examining the island,
he found a Caffre man, and
Bengal woman,from whom
he received the folio wing ac
count :—That about a year
before that time, the firft
officer of a French veflel
had run away with her,per
fuading the people that he
had orders to carry her to
the island of Bourbon ; in
stead of which he purpolely
ran her on shore on the
island of Galega, in the
hope, as they reported, of
ruling as a Prince on some
insular domain. That the
crew consisted of the officer,
an European boy, eight na
tives of Madagascar, and
the Bengal woman, with
Are these high trusts reposed only
upon particular occasions ? Every ci
tizen who may be occasionally called,
Should be habitually qualified to dis
charge them.R
But on these topics I cannot now en
large.
A FRENCH vessel, which
11 some time since arrived
at Bengal, brought inform
ation of the wreck of a ves
sel having been leen on the
island of Galega ; some peo
ple were allo seen on the
fliore of the island, suppos
ed to'have belonged to the
wreck.
Some gentleman of Cal
cutta, commiserating the
situation of the people, re
lolved,at their own expense,
to dispatch a vessel in search
of them; and the Nancy
Crab being then in the ri
ver, bound to the Malabar
Coast with rice,Capt. Quane
very humanely undertook
the service.
Foreign Intelligence.
EAST-INDIES.
ISLAND of GALEGA.
The whole of the above
people,including the officer
and boy; had perilled ex
cepting four, two of whom
had been taken off some
time before by a French
fliip ; but the two people
found by Capt. Quane had
concealed themselves fear
ing they might be carried
to this Mauritius, and there
treated as pirates. They
had subsisted entirely on
turtle, cocoa-nuts, and the.
eggs ofa leafawl resembling
a duck. They found the
water very bad, the foil in
capable of vegetation, and
covered with Sharp coral ;
cocoa-nuts, however, were
found in abundance.
The woman had borne a
child on the island by the
officer, which died a few
months before the arri
val of the Nancy.
Capt. Quane received
the man and woman on
board, and landed them on
his return at Pondicherry.
LONDON, August 23.
On Monday evening, as
Mr. Readway, of the Bo
rough,was walking to town
from Shooter's Hill, just at
the bottom he met with two
men, who appeared to be
gentlemen, being very neat
ly dressed, who got into
conversation with him a
bout the hot weather ; said
they were coming to town,
and ifit was agreeable they
would keep company, as it
would be much fafer for
three than one, as there was
so much robbing ; they
walked on until they came
near Peckham Gap, for that
was the way they agreed to
walk, when they eacli of
them pulled out a pocket
pistol, and demanded his
watch and money, on which
he gave them his gold watch
and nine guineas,with seven
shillings ; the silver they re
turned to him, and then
wished him a good night.
DUEL. - Last week two
servants maids, in. Mallow
lane, Cork, fought a duel
with knives, when one of'
them stabbed the other in
the belly,and it is feared the
wound will prove mortal.
This was a love quarrel !
provisions for three months.
The island of Galega is
fi tuafed in 10. 25. louth
latitude, and 56. 45. east
longitude, low land, and co
vered with trees, about two
leagues from its extremities
from N. N. W. to S. S. E.