The Statesman.
London, England, 1810-11-15 00:00:00

wince yourselves of the magnitude of the trust—to
cunsi4•how deeply your sworn pledge " to tell
,4,4,aud truly try" will affect the peace and secu-
eftg of your 4/wit souls—to remember the stake,
4ife, -liberty, or estate, that will be.committed to
ips*Stiecisiou ;--aail Uttar you will. bring your. '
4, 'moire, that having so sworn, no parser
1110-110k7141 In .flter Pat ItilfeediaeleutfOui fullil_
gearssityeet. r oath. .
.• *fhatever censures .or praises. you may have.
heard, whether true or false, te, tie reproach. or.
commendation of either party whom you may be
called to try, they must be rememborcd no more
when you take your judicial seats ; which must be
eAtereti with minds free from prejudice, fear, or
submission ; in order that they may be flexible to
thar w'eight,of the evidence in Court, and that only;.
end stubborn against every other pressure. ' -
When you have thus prepared yourselves, and
, the indictment, information, &c. is to be read, if it
robe inarticulately or hastily rattled, over, require it
tp he read again slowly and distinctly ; observe
; rdissely the manner In which it is constructed, as it
! does sot unfreqnently happen that a potty offence
is grossly magnified by the use of technical phrases,
such as—with intent to vilify and defame his Ma.
:1114 ' jeity's Government—to degrade and bring into con.
tempt the, law of the land,—to destroy subordination
ita the army or navy—to raise sedition—secretly
isttlng—notoriously conspiring, and such like ;
ich being craftily interwoven with the charge,
Say deceive you by affecting the life of the accused
;party ,when you are not aware of their secret ten.
ttency.,4, it a, therefore, your especial duty to sere.

tb4o4,- in the nicest nsaaner, the .w hole tenor of the
~lodittraent, and to be sure that every part, as well
t4eiateist as the bare fact, be confirmed by deer
andoianifest evidence, before you say GUILTY
end tf coy Of, thereetv• or intentions be unsubstanti-
ated by evidence, though a part of them may be
proved, yet art you bound to pronounce the ac..
Cused NOT OVILTY ; for it is your very province to
frustrate the occult purposes of designing men, and
to protect „the person of your fellow.subjeet from
, unjust and malignant prosecution, which you cast
only do by wary attention and upright heart. A
fatal instance of this unsuspecting negligence of a
Jury is to be seen in State Trials, vol. 1, pap.
161—Udal's Case.

The witnesses that are called on both sides have
the next claim to your most serious and undivided
attention ;Au whom either Juryman may pet. such
(mations as hi pleases, without kave of aid ; it is
good also fot every one to minute down such parts.
of the evidence as appears* particularly necessaey
be.retnembered, is order to be better abte to'
satisfy each other w hen,they come to deliberate upon
that verdict, whether the specifications in the In.
dictated', &c. are, or are not, proved.
When the investigation is completed, and the,
worthy gentlemen .in sable robes assail you with
their flippant flourishes; I wish. to remind you that
it is not necessary to pay half the attention to their
declarations, that was due to the witnesses, who
were sworn to tell 46 tiontruth, the whole truth, and
nothing but the &nth ;" remember that words are
the commodity which Lawyers sell, and that they
are only delivering the merchandizo which they have
sold—that you have sworn to try by the evidence
which you have heard as well as grey, and can judge
as fairly, if you do not suffer yourselves to bu be.
guilcd. It is usual, also, before you are sent to
confer together on the verdict you are about to give,
.fur the Judge to recapitulate tbe heads of the mat.
tor given in evidence, with some comments of his
Girl, which are sometimes candid, impartial, and
',honest ; when they so appear, they deserve rove-
. rem and attention—but if they assume an
im-
posing, dictatorial, or coercive tone, they must be
rejected altogether, and you must rely only on the
iuference you yourselves draw from the evidence/
and soar own integrity will serve yoU with better
determination than any other source. A Jury of
twelve men are by our laws the only PROPER judges
of the matter et issue before ,them—Coca's 'esti.
totes, p. 4.—sod nothing can be more absurd than
to suppose that twelve are set to echo back the
voice of one, when they have individually sworn te,
" make a true deliverance according to the evi-t
dotes RETORE THUS :"-Indeed as a worthy writerlk
observes, " If our ancestors bad thought fit to
depend on the contiogeot tonally of Judges, they
would not have been-so-zealous to continue and
maintain the usage .oflaries."

_ .

*H. w Ls*, SolicitiOi to Yin

,

-
sometimei heard my feHow.subjects
(AO.
Alter or not Juries bad the foyer:, of
the kw as well as the' fact; 04 r
the testimony I mean to give oi the
leafy the question—thee dig Istibe
power in aLI cases that. come. under theirje.
Ilion ; for it Is well known, 'et facto jet oriter,
that the law arises out of the fact, so that till 'the
fact is settled there Is no' lew,.and it la a
treachery that would' underinine this aL. •
tempt to distract the minds of Jurymen pploof
for, do not the Jury constantly Weed' ,
quit, pw,
'fact and law together in almost alf cisesie Vooey
not in'indictments for murder oftgat.ear,
fit hfiaslanghter"-=" per infortanissas"—" se*.
fettapt" artheneireunistances appear to,tisent ?
avid Ltrrtartim's Uttar:el, sec. 368. declserl'
'l6i WO q tiake
,upers them the kno' re-
ledge of Arta ipiri.the 'natter they tncs,y,4 which
,is agreed tiv !fir iCoitk, his eOmnseet ,thereen ;
and indeed, as:l haite' before Observed, '4M-elev.
nest of the ole Minis lenees'ns no room tOisnistake
on theta' Volits;;• (or, 'if it had been intended *that
Juries shotildaitystiithe reeked fria, 1' am. sere
the firm of 'their 'tied( 4iitafillavoi implied .:441put
no device will, I'titist'; be ablelo briiittitellr9 41.
ter of fact from tnittliete lw,
1 will now suppAan • the to, tio.spitticit doe
it is always mostitegiePti; id• In censitlia.
tion upon the AOiele bearing,. when. it. 'is necessary
that a fair Coi t' nof Mite' -boll
15. pit 1U aov ee? on I
sides, should be strict and undiatnrbed ; mut here it
is to be compared with thi'mattei in the 'indictmcut
as before observed, the Foreman of the Jury being
particularly careful to ascertain that every one of
the twelve has unanimously agreed to the verdict that
is to be giveu ; and if it be done in the satisfaCtipa
of their own consciences, it matters not how it ac.
cord with the sentiments of the Court; as no Jury •
is liable to account to them " Why they have /baud
thus, or thai;" but if they suffer courteousness or
comptaisaneatO indtice them to du wrong to either
party, how wat thefaciwer it at the final judg-
'iceet ? lake we altall never hilal to doylore such
cowardice; for, in order that every Jery may more
fearlesslY eilif‘harge its dety, let them iecollect tbpt
'.the Judge is tient to attend on them as a Solieitort;
not as a peremptory muter, but a servqatt
,yfhq
paid fif his services out of their and. the ;peddle
poise.; and on ,his appointment, it is necessary fiat
be swear to indifferentty administer justice to all
" men, without respect of persons ; to take alp -
" bribe ; nor deny right to any, &e. and in default
44 of die*. tObe answerable to the King in body,
66 lands,. and goods. It is his particular business
in Court tas,see that the Jury be properly returned,
and dupe sworn.; that lawful challenges be allowed ;
to advlse by law whether such or such,evidence be
legal; to see that the truth be clearly sifted out ;
to answer questions on any point of lest qe which
the Jury request information in the .case t?efur,
them ; to take the verdict of the Jury, and to giro
'sentence according to law : fort as COKE observes,
the business of a Judge is 6, jus dicere, non fads
dare ;" not to make 'the 'law,. but„to declare the
law already made. When this is done, the verdict
is recorded, " Juratures super sacrainerituns sun In
&cunt, 4-c."' The Jurors do say urox Tunis •
OATH, &c. -whatever the indictment has previously
specified ; and this is transmitted as a precedent and
foundation for future judgments : if it be just and
right, the reward will be great ; but if negligently
or wilfully unjust, then has the barrier established
against oppression been converted into a destruc.
tire battery, and the curses of future ages' will call
down vengeance on the dishonourable heads of those
who caused it. •
A Resolution of the House of Commons, from
their Journal of the 13th of December, 1667, de.
claret the fining and imprisoning of Juries for giving
their verdicts illegal; and the same is confirmed en
the authority of the Judges themselves, in Bushel's
ease, Vaughan's Reports ; but giving wilfully false
and corrupt verdicts—being guilty of subornation
—receiving bribes—withdrawing from their fellows
—receiving from either side evidence not given in
Court—eating and drinking before giving their ver.
dicts—using fire or candle—or, refusing to give a
verdict, arttall. punishable offences.
. I most hate *like to observe, that I would not
lipereeeposed to aim to entice any Jury to con.
niveseemt. lakelty ; or that jest and legal punish`.
meats should not be exercised for the welfare and
safety of society : what I have dose has been: with
the wish to promote the great end of one of the
best blessings which our Constitution boasts ; if
my effort succeeds I area amply rewarded; and
only beg a liberal interpretation of my motiveafruits
the public; pronouncing myself their loyal' friend::
Nay 12, air

S. I Nov. 12, 1810.