The Statesman.
London, England, 1815-03-24 00:00:00

,A-L7701X;...-01:1

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Mr.llOßNEryitcrs ACCOUNZOWN4C4*
Qf sTRIKINQ SPEUI4I, JURIES.

When the Attorney-General has brought his ac-
cesation,- and renewed and delayed it as much as he
pleases, if he Theses to try it, he tries it by whom
he pleasv, (or he is always sure to have a Special
Jury foe •the trial of this sort of charge.. Libel is
al e ay., tried..by a Special Jury. Now this seems a
very comical' thing, for there is an expellee attending
it. The Gentlemen, I suppose, would not be
thought to be unnecessarily lavish of the income of
the Crown, which has lately been found so deficient.
Special Juries were never intended or appointed for
the purpose. They were intended to examine into
merchants' accounts, or tiny critical or nice matter;
and yet Special Juries- are always made use of in
matters of libel. And indeed why should they not?
It costs the Attorney-General nothinz. In the case
of any other prosecutor,, it would be at his eapence;
but tire Crown pays this—that is, the people pay it
asainst themselves. However, that is no objection
to Mr. Attorney-General ; for if you look at the
luw expences in the Civil List of 1776, you will find
that amount to the little insignificant sum of 60,0001.
.1 defendant against the Crow,' is its a blessed situa-
tion ! But as the expellee is no reason against the
Attorney-Geileral chusiug to try it by a Special
Jury, by that means he tries it by althost whom he
pleases: Ido not mean by the particular ite4leiditals
whom •he pleases, but generally by that description'
of men that he pleases.
The method of striking i Special Jury seems at
first sight fair enough. Forty-eight men are struck
from a hook. The Defendant and the Prosecutor
each strikes off twelve. That seems very fair and
just; bat it is very fat from being so fair. Of
the Special Jurors in this country, especially in Mid-
dlesex; great numbers are qualified by the Crown;
they ire Esquired by the Crown ; and these Crowe
Esquires always attend open the Special Juries. In
the City, Gentlemen, 'to which you belong, yoss
know, I dare sat, many of you, what merchants
ocre—what merchants ate: You all know well;
'that the very numerous and extensive contracts which
, are going forward, bring a swarm of merchants in
amongst you. Every man that has a contract be-
comes a merchant. Every man that his a contract
is liable to be struck on a Special Jury, and he is sure
to attend if lie is taken : and you must observe be.
sides, that the Solicitor of the Treasury, who is in
this constant employ of striking Special Juries,
knows all the men, their sentiments, their situation*,
their descriptions, and the distinction of men..
Now, Gentlemen, for the method of striking a
SpeciarJury, which I shall not wonder that you
are not acquainted with. Observe, I db not lay
these things to the charge of the Attorney-General;
he only uses the powers which others put into his
hands. The Special Jury, you may imagine, are
taken indifferently, and as it may happen, from a
book 'containing all the names of those who are
liable to serve. I thought so, when I read the Act
of Parliament appointing the manner in which they
should he taken. But when I came to attend to
strike the Special Jury, a book with names was pro-
duced by the Sheriff's Officer. I made what I thought
an unexceptionable proposal : I desired the Master
of the Crown Office that he would be pleased to take
that book, open it where he would, begin where
he weuld, at the top or at the bottom, and
only take the first forty-eight names that came.
—I laid, I hoped that to such a proposal the
Solicitor of the Treasury could have nothing to ob-
ject. I was Mistaken ; he had something to object.
lie thought that not a fair way ! He proposed, as
the fairest way, that two should be taken out of
every leaf. That I objected to. I called that pick-
ing and not striking the Jury. To what end or
purpose does the law permit the parties to attend,
if two are to be taken by the Master of the Cromn
Office out of every leaf? IVlty then need I attend ?
Two may as well be picked in my presence as in
my absence. I objected to that method. The
Master of the Crown-Office did not seem to think
that I had proposed any thing unreasonable.—
'lie. began to take the names, but objected that
he could not take the first 4S that came, because
they' were' not all Special Jurymen. I said, then
take the first 48 Special Jurymen that come. He
'KAKI to me that he meant to do it. He began ; but
as I looked over the book, I desired him to inform me
how I should know whether he did take the first 48
Special Jurymen that came, or not ; and what mark,
or description, or qualification there was in the book,
to 'distinguish a Special from a Common Juryman?
He told me, to my great surprise (and he said I
shOuld wonderatit)ohat there was no rule by which
he took them. How then, can I judge? You mast go
by some method. What is your method ?—At last,
the method was this: that when he came to a man,--.
a Woellen=draper, silver-smith, merchant (if merchant
was opposite to his name, of course he was a Special
Juifniari)—but a woollen draper,• silver-smith, &c.
he-said there were person who were working men of
those trades, and there were others in a situation of
life fit to betaken. How then did he distinguish ? No
otherwise than this : if he personally knew them to
be men 111- reputable circumstances, lie said, he took
them if lie did not know them, lie passed them by !
Buf thii is not all. The 'Sheriff's Officer stands
by, the S'elicitor of the 7'reasury, his Clerk, and so
forth : and whilst the names are taken, if a .name
(for they know their distinction) which they do' not
iikr occurs, and turns up, the Sheriff's Officer says,
`5 O,- he Is dead." The defendant,• who does
,net know all the world and cannot know all the
names in that-book, does not desire a dead man for
his Juryman.--" Sir, that man has ietired." " That
natant does tint live any longer where he ditl." " Sir,
limit man is too old." "Sir, this man has failed and
become a bankrupt." " Sir, this - man will not at-

tend." " Oh (it is said very reasonably), let us
have men that will attend, otherwise the purpose
of a 'Special Jury is defeated." It seemed very ex-
trnerdinary :to me. I wrote down the names, and
two of thew which the Officer objected to f saved.
I begged him not to kill men thus without re-
morse, as they have done In An:erica, !wilily because
he understood them to be friends to liberty : that it
was very true, we shalt gee than alive again -nest
week anti happy ; but let them be alive to this muse.'
Tito lirlt name I took notice of was Mr. Ssinibury,
a tobaccontst on Ludgete'•biil. The Sheriff's Officer
4141 he had !wen dca,l seven mouths. That struck

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