The Sun.
London, England, 1848-12-19 00:00:00

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LONDON, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 19, 1848.

Although the law officers of the Crown in Ireland
have been completely exonerated from the serious
charges that had been preferred against them—al-
though his Excellency the LORD-LIEUTENANT has
shown that their conduct in setting aside certain
jurors during the late State trials was not only
justifiable, but that, bad they acted differently, they
would have been guilty of a grave dereliction of duty
to their SOVEREIGN and to the community in
general—although such is unquestionably the case,
it is deeply to be regretted that such accusations
could appear even for a moment to have the slightest
foundation, that any number of persons could be in-
duced to affix their signatures to a document
such as that which has recently been pre-
sented to the Earl of CLARENDON, and to which
we yesterday directed the public attention. The
administration of justice should at all times be above
the breath of slands r. It should not only be perfectly
pure and strictly impartial, but it should be beyond
suspicion. No deeper calamity could happen to the
nation than the existence of even a doubt as to the
efficiency of the institutions by which it is dispensed.
If distrust is once excited as to the public tribunals—
if the opinion gets abroad that a conviction may be
obtained, not because sufficient evidence is brought
forward to convince sober and dispa.sionate men that
the prisoner is guilty of the offence with
which he is charged, but because his judges
entertain political or religious sentiments wholly
different from those which he professes,
a hope can no longer be cherished of a peaceful and
constitutional Government, of a happy and contented
people. The existing powers may maintain their
position by force, murmurs and complaints may be
suppressed, fear and terror may prevail, but they
cannot rule in the hearts or govern the affections of
the citizens. A sullen obedience is all that can be
obtained, and that will only be yielded during the
existence of these influences. It is therefore of the
most vital importance that some great and compre-
hensive measures of reform should be introduced,
that discontented men should no longer be enabled to
give utterance to complaints bearing even the sem-
blance of truth.

So long as unanimity is required from juries, so
long as a single dissentient can neutralise the acts of
the other eleven jurors, so long will such rumours
be rife in the sister kingdom. When men can suffer
their private feelings or their political prejudices to
interfere with the discharge of their public duties—
when solemn obligations can be forgotten and oaths
violated—and when those who have so grievously
offended are lauded as patriots, in place of being
stigmatised as perjurers, then, indeed, it becomes
essential for Crown prosecutors to scrutinise the
constitution of the jury panel with a curious eye, and
fearlessly to desire all those of whom a reasonable
doubt may be entertained " to stand aside."

If, however, the system that has so long prevailed
in Scotland, and with such happy results, were intro-
duced, if after a certain time, sufficient for the most
ample discussion, the verdict of a considerable majo-
rity, say three-fourths of the entire number, were
received, there would no longer be a feasible excuse
for an indiscriminate resort to the obnoxious privi.
lege. A single man may set himself against the deli-
berate opinions of his colleagues, when convinced
that his single opposition would be effectual, and
that his party would derive great advantage there-
from ; but when convinced that, after a time, the
'majority would prevail, and that he would expose
himself to censure without any corresponding
benefit being attained, he would withdraw from
the useless contest, and speedily fall in with the
views of his brother jurymen. Under the present
system it may, and, we believe, frequently does hap-
pen, that the majority succumbs to the minority,
that an obstinate man, of strong frame, prepared to
bear the cold and hunger that might prove fatal to
others, will succeed in obtaining an erroneous deci-
sion. The able and experienced gentlemen who were
selected as Commissioners to report on the Common
Law most decidedly and unequivocally condemn the
present system. They say—" There seems to be no
good reason why, after a period of time sufficiently
be
long for the purposes of reasonable and ample dis-
cussion,nenet the jury should not be excused from the
n verdict, or why the present
Prikeeping
nciple of them together, until unanimity
produced
by a sort of duress of imprisonment,
nishaonuifldesbytely to require retained—.and g
a d
tagiieveidn_the interests of justice seem
a
, therefore that the jury shall
not be kept in deliberationerefore,
change of the law upon this
subject. We prupose
munol
ue
ss
ls
y, actonthnnerextopirreacitinoinre further of tohngter than twelve hours,
time, which in that
case shall be granted
period, they unani-
; and that, at the expiration of
the twelve hours,if
any
nine of them should concur in
verdict, such verdict shill be placed upon the record,