The Sun.
London, England, 1867-08-29 00:00:00

PRESENTMENTS BY GRAND JURIES.

Several presentments have recently been made to
judges by juries. At the present Middlesex sessions
yesterday, on presenting the last batch of bills, the
foreman of the grand jury said he was desired by
his brother jurymen to represent to the court that
it was their unanimous opinion that grand juries in
the metropolitan districts should be abolished, and
that many of the trifling cases, such as stealing 6d.
and is. 6d., might have been disposed of by the
committing magistrates. They were of opinion
that there should be an alteration of the law to effect
this object. The judge said the magistrate had
already power to deal with cases of not more than
ss. in value, but in some instances, although
the sum stolen was small, the prisoners were
old offenders, and the magistrate had no power to
pass a sentence of penal servitude, which perhaps the
offence deserved. That would account for prisoners
being sent for trial, although the offence with which
they stood charged might be small in amount. He
thanked the jury for their services and they retired.
The foreman of the grand jury at the Liverpool
assizes recently read, before separating, a present-
ment to Chief Justice Bovill, in which the jury
said that, upon a careful analysis of the cases
submitted to them, it was found that a considerable
number of the offences charged are not, in fact,
of more serious character than those which are
ordinarily dealt with at a comparatively small cost,
and quite satisfactory to the public, in the courts
of quarter session. The grand jury, therefore,
respectfully submit that except in cases of murder,
aggravated manslaughter, concealment of birth,
rape, arson, placing obstructions on railways,
robberies with violence, and the forgery of nego-
tiable instruments, there are no changes in the
calendar which, if the law so permitted, might not,
without any injury to the public interests, at a
greatly reduced cost, and the great relief of the
work of the assizes and the judges presiding there,
be confined to the quarter sessions. His lordship
having received the presentment, begged to thank
the grand jury, on behalf of the country, for it.
Ile assured them that it should be forwarded to
the proper quarter. He expressed his entire con-
currence with the substance of the presentment,
and would only venture to add that, in addition
to the saving of expense, time; and labour
bestowed on cases at the assizes, he conceived it to
be the great interest of the prisoners themselves
that they should be brought to a more speedy trial
than they could be if sent to the assizes. This was
an important point. In regard to their remarks on
the public-houses, he believed from his own expe-
rience that the cause of nine-tenths of the crime that
came under investigation was drunkenness. They
in this town had set a good example to others in
thus going to the source of the evil and recommend-
ing that the public-houses should be subjected to a
stringent supervision. He trusted that their pre-
sentment might receive attention.
A special jury at Leeds upon being discharged
authorised one of their number to make the follow-
ing remarks to Mr. Baron Pigott :—" Before the
special jury separate I crave your permission to
make a remark, in which such of the jury as I have
had the opportunity of consulting concur. Although
in the case of small cities or towns it may be ne-
cessary to empanel special juries from large areas,
no necessity exists in towns containing over say
50,000 people, to go for jurymen beyond their
limits, the inhabitants of which can attend with
much less inconvenience and expense than
can men from a distance. It seems to me
that, in the sacred name of justice, great
injustice is inflicted upon men who are compelled to
leave their homes and their affairs to decide such
trumpery squabbles and paltry disputes as those
which have taken up so much of the time of your
lordship's court during the past fortnight. It may
be that legislation alone can remedy either or both
of the matters referred to, but as law is the issue of
public conviction, not felt merely, but expressed, it
appears to me that this is a suitable time for speak-
ing, and that your lordship is the proper person to
whom to express our conviction." The Judge —I
quite agree with what you have said.