The National Register.
London, England, 1821-08-05 00:00:00

z-----

..

‘! 14

SELECTION OF SPECIAL JURORS.

" If selection be packin.2.,- said one of the Judges of
tlic King's Bench (when a new trial was moved for on
ac e,•ilot of the Jury having as was asserted been unfairly
" the Master of the Crown Office has right to
pack," and as long as that right be recognized, we con-
tend that a fair and constitutional " Trial by Jury'can-
not he looked for—the following Report throws enlist-
deraide light on the present principle, and by it, it ap-
'wars that Imo)! twt ref a are necessary—on the pre-
-5:111 system an administratiim has interfered to obtain a
picked Jury—that they did not succeed was owing to
the existence of more honesty on the part of the Master
than his successor may possess.

Report of the special committee appointed to examine
the books and lists of per,ons qualified to serve on juries
in and for the city of London.

To the Lord Mayor, Aldermen, and Commonalty of the

City of London, in Common antembled.

We whose 11:IMfli ale hereunto subscribed, your special
committee, to whom, oil the 17th of Jiffy, Inl7,
it was referred to examine the hooks and Lists of
Persons qualified to serve on Juries in and fur the
City of London, and to repoi t thereon—

Do eel tity, That iii pursuance of the above references
wrr felt it our duty minutely to inquire into the composi-
tion of the book from which Special Juries have been
t.• I nt k, as also carefully to investigate the mode in which
it bus been constituted, the principles of the law upon
which it was founded, together with the manner in which
fie alias►er in the Crow•n•olfice, and the Master on the
Plea side on the Court of King's Bench have proceeded
to nominate juries therefrom, in causes connected with
the Government of the country, and those to which the
Crown has been a party :
That, in order to facilitate their inquiries, your com-
mittee requested the attendance of one ut• the Secondaries
of this city, Samuel Collinridge, Esquire, who produced
to and left with your committee such of the several lists
of special juries as were in his possession, which had
been returned to his office fur the purpose of causing the
several jurors, therein mentioned, to be summoned to try
the issues joined in the Court of King's Bench anti Com-
mon Pleas, which were to be heard and determined at the
sittings after the several terms of Hilary, Easter, and
Trinity, last past.
That if appears to your committee, from the best in-
formation they have been enabled to obtain, that the
practice of nominating special juries from a book con-
taining a limited number of statues, has existed for many
years, unsanctiened, however, by any statute or pre-
scriptive custom.
It further appears, that the said book has been con-
structed according to the discretion or caprice of the
acting secondary for the time being, who had theretofore
claimed and exercised the right of placing upon and re-
-11101, ing f the said list such names as he thought pro-
per, ptolessing to be regulated by the recommendatiou
of other special jurymen, of some attorneys, and of the
sheriffs; which recommendation, however, lie considered
himself authorized to follow, or to dispense with at plea-
sure. And your committee is apprehensive, from the
evidence brought before them, that this power ha, been
sometimes used for the gratification of prejudices, and
not always with that impartiality which ought to charac-
terize the administration of a public functimiary.
That your committee have carefully examined the said
special jury hunk, and for the purpose of better ac-
yrninting themselves with the qualifir ations, as jurors, of
the several persons whose names appeared therein, di-
rected Mr. Town Clerk to send lists of such names to the
deputies of• the Common Council of the several wards,
requesting them to make inquiries as to the residence and
profession of the several persons stated to reside therein ;
and having received returus trout the whole, your coin-
suittee now submit the result of the information afforded
by such returns, and their inquiries respecting the Sallie j
fit which they pat tieuially In to draw the attention of
your honourable court. Although it is obvious, that
within the city of London there must be an immense

number of persons who arc eligible to serve on special
Julies, your honourable court wiil be no less surprised
than your committee %sire, to find that the said book con-
tains only dtia 11.1111 es, from whom all the jurors are se-
lected.
That out of that untidier there arc no less than 226 who
arc not householder• within the• city of London, and of
e iiir.e disqualified to serve.
That the remaining 259 are the whole of the household-
ers whose names are in the said I k.
That out of this number of householders there are of
those, isa the modern acceptation of the term, mer-
chants btl

.%nd ul 1110,4; usually billed lladeameu, hut weiclialuib 17,

Your committee has been thus been particular in stat-
ing the residence and 4trofession of the parties, whose
Times ate thus placed on the special jury book, or list so
called, not for the purpose of proving that the accidental
distineWasi bufweeis merchants and tradesineu can at all
airect the illegibility of the pat ties, but to show that the
practice of a special Silty being compiaeil ekclusively of
Merchants, which has hero the alleged plea for the past
practice, is as unfoutided iti fact ns it is aileily misty-
purtestby any principle of law.
Phut awing the smote. site' the let Mt hefoie alluded to,
it nppeath that by Mr. ColialigiLlgt... ICIUI Us, that the jowls
for the filial. of 114 causes acre summoned, an open&
which occupied part of 3i days : and that during that period,
oat of the cud 'lumber of 4r45 a hose snores 11,1 e in the I k,
'2.4 only %mete aummnuttl, aad they in the felloa log pi (.•
pni i low