The Statesman.
London, England, 1813-03-30 00:00:00

►~.~

.~

But there ie a double violencesdone to theCa netitu.
lion in the present caset If the Princess of WALD
i 5.510 liduttitess (I ant obliged to argue thus Tor the
reasons Wore assigned), then bath she been grossly
injured, by,
uithholdieg frbm her the benefit of a &-
rliverance the jcidgment of her Paws mulatto the
Public bath been injured likewise, by Abe impunity
that bath attended hitherto her. false Amu es ;. a
roaring liar let loose itt.a populous city, it not a
mote de ogerous animal thafia false witness, sanctioned
with impubity. The power' of the )(leg is to do
justice. • Polestar regia, est Jittery jaaitians.
vecy • true, that some. Kings have withheld justice,,
but what then was pleaded against them, thacl
they had " damnably
,ineurred the crime of. pert;
ju M ry." Jars VIE STCOND pretended to a power or
dispensing with the law, in order that in. certain"
cases he might not be obliged to hang his own
tools, and what then ? It was decided that he
had endeavoured to subvert the Constitution, had
'broken " the original contract" with his people,.
and that dt the Throne had thereby become vacant?'
[ Lord SOMERS declared that he had unkingetl himself.
" Ile did that," says the acute SAMUEL JOHNSON
(another able writer in those days), '6 that we never
could have done for him, he made himself no King."
Novr it is as old a doctrine as the time of the Saxons,
I that if a King breaks his Coronation Oath be be-
comes no King. Nic nomen Regis in eo conttabit*.
And the ingestions De FOE•shall tell you the same
thing in verse
When King% the Sword of Justice first lay clown,
They are ao Mugs, though they pons. the Crowu :
Title+ arc shAdowN Croolis lire empty things,
Tile coop of Su !firm. is tlin END Of Kings.
To guard in War, tout to protect terrace :
#s hat Tyntnts tniee commence, the Kings do cease,
For arbitrary power's so stionee a thine.
It inaken the Trout, and unmet:es the King." •
The True Moro Englisinnua.
Tile justice and homapity of the English nation im-
pel led them to punish the Ministers who misguided
the Prince, and not the Prince himself, saveouly on
very extraordinary occasions, such as in 1688 ;* and
surely the best way. to prevent the recurrence of
such disasters, is, to caution .both Prince and Mi-
nisters against any violations of the Constitution,
and most particularly in respect to the administra-
tion of public justice, so vital a part of the compact
abore-mentioned. I shall close my reflections on
this part of the case, with the story of a lady who
was falsely accused, in the same manner that her
Royal Highness appears to have been, and who bad
ample justice done her under a dispensation of go-
vertiment very similar to our own, in many respects
—a government, indeed, from which we have derived
many of our laws ; I think L may say some of the
most humane, and the most
_just, that we pos-
sess+. This.lady was tried, as the Princess of WALES
ought fo have beer, by GOD and her country, and a
mast affecting trial it was. The Lady's name was Su-
sprite, she %slavery beautiful, and as chaste as she
was beautiful ; but who is secure against malicious
interpzetaticins ?—NcedOubt something in this Lady's
conduct inspired a hope in the breast of two Elders,
favourable ao their purposes. These Elders were
Magistrates, or Ministers of Justice, in the land she
lived in, just as our. Earls or Eoldermen were an-
ciently called Elders tad ‘Visemen ; and it was their
duly to have protected her honour instead of assail-
leg It. They preferred against her however a false
accusation, but fortunately they were detected.—
There is something very strange and inscrutable in
the means that Providence often uses •to detect
crimes, and guard innocence. These men differed
at their stories, and the people, who were the real
Judges, were shocked at the discovery of this great
ittiqUity. We read, that they cried out with a loud
voice; and that/hey arose against these two Elders
or Judges, and that, according to the law.of Moses,
they did unto them in such soil as they maliciously
intended to do to their neighbour, and they put them
to death." Thus was the chaste SOSANNA tried,.and
acquitted, by Gon . and her Country. And here
we see the advantage of a public , made of trial;
end the security afforded by having our Veers
for our Judges. In popular judgments, it is
true, imposition is sometimes practised; as well as in
other judgments; we see that it had very nearly been
successful here ; but there 'is this grand advantage at-
tending them, that though the people may be itepesed
upon, they are never intentionally unjust. But we
will suppose, fora moment, that the chaste SUSANNA,
instead of having iteen tried by her country, had
been tried by a secret tribunal of inquisitors, who
should have extended impunity to the false Elders,
allowed them to correct their evidence, or called on
them a second time for fre§h testimony, 'surely in that
case their schemes Would have been better eqecerted,
and this virtuous Lady., instead of having hada true
deliverance, would have ultimately fallen a sacrifice
to malice, falsehood, and arbitrary power.
I remain, &c.