The Sun.
London, England, 1835-07-17 00:00:00

CERTIORARI BILL.

A Meeting took place this day at the Freemasons Tavern,
for the purpose of taking into consideration the propriety of
petitioning Parliament to insert in the " Certiorari" Bill, now
pending in the House of Lords, a clause requiring Magistrates
to take down in writing the evidence in all cases of summary
jurisdiction.

At a few minutes after one o'clock T. \VAKLEY, Esq•r
M. P., was called to the Chair, and proceeded to explain the
objects of the meeting.

The following petition was agreed to :
TO THE HONOURABLE THE COMMONS OF THE
UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRE'

LAND IN PARLIAMENT ASSEMBLED.
The humble petition of the following individuals humbly
that the privilege of trial by Jury is the birthright of an English;
man—that it is a privilege of great antiquity in this Kingdom; on',
In°'
is as it were incorporated with our Constitution, being they
valuable part thereof. sheweth,
That in Magna Charta it is more than once insisted on as the
principal bulwark of our Liberties ; but especially by Chapter 29 it
is enacted and declared that, " no freeman shall be hurt, either joi
his person or property nisi per legale judicium pariurn suorum, ye
per legem terra."
That your Petitioners therefore humbly submit to your Honour'
able House, that any infringement upon this privilege must ever be
viewed with a jealous eye by Englishmen, and ought to be so 13/
the Legislature of Great Britain.
That your Petitioners however with astonishment and regret
perceive that, while this inestimable privilege has been extended to
the inhabitants of Scotland, of the Island of Malta, and to those °
several other parts of the British Empire, great strides have been
made, by enactments in 'various modern statutes, to deprive Eng'
lishmen of this—the great bulwark of their Liberties, of this—their
undoubted birthright.
That many of these modern statutes authorize a single Magistratl
to act in the double and unconstitutional character of Judge an
Jury.
e
'1 hat your Petitioners humbly submit to your Honourable Hon%
that, where an Englishman is put to a summary trial differo,
from Magna Charta, and where statutes permit Magistrates to au;
both in the character of Judge and Jury, and the party accuse"'
instead of being tried by his neighbours in a Court of Justice, Mg
be convicted by a single Magistrate, in a private chamber, upl
the testimony of one witness, and, at the discretion of the 50
Magistrate, committed not only to prison, but there to be kept to
hard labour, and in some cases subjected to corporal punishment'
it is manifestly a duty incumbent upon the Legislation to use every
precaution to provide for the regular and due administration
justice by these summary and unconstitutional jurisdictions.
That your Petitioners humbly submit that, by the hulguage 2"1
sentiments attributed to the ablest Judges of the Court of Kioga
Bench, from and including Lord Chief Justice Holt, down to apt
including the late Lord Tenterden, it is every where evinced t)
the design of the conviction in these cases was (at Common Law)
not merely to record the fact of the judgment, but to show that t_.a
proceedings required by justice had been regularly observed, an
the sentence legally supported by the evidence.
That those learned Judges have on all occasions intimated, the
they regarded the obligation of recording the whole proceeding!,
a necessary counterpoise against the liability to error or misapP"t
tion to which a private and discretionary tribunal is naturally e;,,
posed, and therefore where no form of conviction is prescribed
„',
the statute, have uniformly required that the whole of the eviden,,,";
given before the convicting kagistrate should be set out on '-
record.
That in the third year of the reign of his late Majesty George
the Fourth, an Act of Parliament (chapter 23) was passed,
acting that in summary proceedings before Justices of the l'ea'",
and others, in all cases wherein a conviction shall have taken place
and no particular form for the record thereof bath been directed, at
certain form therein set forth shall and may from the passing of the
Act be uniformly adopted.
That in conformity with the just and sound principles of the C°l;
men Law, as laid down by the learned Judges aforesaid, it is
preachy directed in the said form that the evidence given by the, al
fored witnesses before the convicting Magistrate, shall beset
or
in the record of conviction.
That your Petitioners, however, with regret perceive tio.t,i°,
many of the statutes authorizing these summary and uneonstirlb
tional jurisdictions, and particularly in the 83d chapter of the
of George the I Vth., (commonly called the Vagrant Act), e"„e,
pendious forms of conviction are given in which there is no dire ii
Lion made as to the setting forth of the evidence, the g
consequerli
that in these cases, which are extremely numerous, the coo ~vict.
Magistrate is not by law obliged to set out either the proefeuly'
hail before him, or the evidence upon the record. tie°
That your Petitioners humbly submit that the entire dispensa t 8
of any detail, either of the proceedings had before the Magistl.3o,l;
or of tee proofs in support of the fact which these compeouliar,
forms allow, by withdrawing the principal obligation to a reg°
perfect, and cautious investigation, leaves too little security, W
subject against the possible effects of haste, mistake, or preeopc'
tion on the part of the convicting Magistrate.
That several of your Petitioners have good reason to know' tbab;
numerous individuals throughout England have been convictedjo
these summary and unconstitutional jurisdictions, without a 513';:eit
of evidence having been adduced against them to warrant tea
conviction • and that many of those individuals have not oidY 'eat
unjustly and- illegally subjected to one or more months confinet Aso,
to hard labour and occasionally to corporal punishment, but. !up
from their inability to have their convictions quashed for the ins
tf
ficiency thereof, have been compelled to remain convicted vagr
to the end of their existence.
That your Petitioners therefore humbly submit to your Hone
able House that these compendious forms of conviction, which ria,
been introduced into modern statutes, are manifestly not only
infringement upon the birthright of Englishmen, but also contr.VB
to the Common Law of the Land, and moreover subversive of wv,
first principled of Common Justice, by enabling Magistrates
some commit Englishmen to a dungeon, to bard labour, and in _
tb,
to subject them to corporal punishment as convicted vagrants,
out even a shadow of evidence having been adduced against to"-
to warrant such conviction.
Petition.-- having

,ber 4

Your .. 'etitioners ig informed that a Mew-
your Honourable House has obtained leave to bring 10 el.
Bill for rendering more effectual in certain cases procc..,
ings before Justices of the Peace, and for the better sZtie
pression of certain offences," therefore humbly pray 00
your Honourable House will be pleased to introduce a
therein abolishing all these compendious forms of con ja
tion contained in the various Acts of Parliament authoril to
these summary and unconstitutional jurisdictions, add td
enact that the aforesaid form of conviction, given in the fib,
chapter of the 3rd year of the reign of George the Fob'
uniformly be adopted in lieu thereof ; 014 the 4
to afford to his Majesty's subjects due security against
rary, unjust, and illegal convictions.
And your Petitioners as iu duty bound will ever voi•

been