The enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1804-1815, 1804-12-15

has always been held ~ found rule oi cont
itrutton that all the words oul to have c;f, a.
cy, and when this law of the United States,
gave life and vital ipirit to The law OF Virginia,
II provided that III all cafes at common law the
rule or the fate iboold govern, but in Saics un-
der itatute where rules of decition are Other.
wife provided, the law OF tie Rate ihAli not
govern. Congreis iaw in the QUITE, the necrlli-
~ OF carrying into efie6t that great Contributions
al power OF etabEihins courts aud regulating
their mode of procedure. lnftead however, OF
efahiifhing any mode OF their own, they ADOPT
ed the modes already exiting in the fev.ras
ttates, and there is no other mode except in Ca
les of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction it
the laws of the fate where the offence has been
| committed, does not apply, what pohibr rule
| OF procedure or decliion could govern the court5
| in what manner is criminal trial to be con-
Quoted! The Saith fiction under any other
| conjunction becomes abfurd and nugatorv. II.
did believe that by the 33rd and Saith fcGtion, az
the act ettabliihins the Judicial courts, the laws
OF the fevcral tates nave been adop.e ed by Cor
| greis in criminal as well as in civil cafes.
| But the gentleman from Delaware ais lie
| how we can believe this to be the juft confirm.
ton, when the able council aligned to the de-
fence III this cafe failed TO produce this law ~
the court which would have procured them the
direct attainment of their end, without apnIy.
ing to the direction of the court? To this he
| aniwered he would not tell why they omitt.,.
| to bring forward this objection. This was no,
his concern. 1t might perhaps have cleaned
| their memory. But vii. It be an obie cfioD thar
becauie they failed, we ALTO ihuuld fail v,h,,
| think this law has been violated. That thr
| law OF Virginia was the rule ofconduct adopted
IN tins sale is proved by every preliminary az
| well as fubftquent fep. Ii then they did nnt
| make this expedition OF the law OF the Un;,sS
States, why was the trial in all either parts con
| Quoted conienant with the laws of Virgins
He itated the. cafe in another point OF view q.
although there is no common law jurifdiction Of
| the United States in criminal cafes, vet there ;c
IN each fate peculiar common law pcpera,lx
drawn from England, but varied 70 as 60 fp;t
their purpotes. Suppoie Virginia had never
inod'heo the common law OF England, as it re-
lateS 20 the law of defcents, and fuppofs !,
claim brought in the United States court by =
citizen of North Carolina for tract of land in
Virginia ut will be admitted that Conyreis can
make no law IN relation to defcentsl. How ia
the court 10 be governed by the law of de-
icents in North Carolina. or by that of Virginia
or by the common law OF England Certainly
they mutt conform their decIon 20 the rule Of
Virginia where the lard lies. L axe this com
mon law doctrine then in any other fenG- th,p
is being in standardization to our adnir,Itv
tnd maritime code, and it has no BATS, for com
mon law juriidiction, Congrefs have none in cri-
mlnal cafes; as all iuch cafes mEft be conltitut.
ed crimes b. itstute of Congress, preyious n
their perpetration, and a ftatute or written I,,~
is the oppoftc of common, which is an upyvr;,-
ten law made up OF uiages time i.nmeInorial. Jf
1t was efablifhed that this article tended in an,
ihape TO eftabliih the exploded doctrine ,h..
the United States had common law iuriEdietio,
in criminal cafes, he would readily vote aqa;nff
the article.
Mr.. Nfe60yen entertained no doubt but tbo
term OF common law expIeiied in the fatute ec
tabliihing the courts of the United States We
nfed as term of definition, and that il OUGHT
not to be Continued to give the courts any adi;s
tional jurifdiGtion, nor to abridse them rs 49,,
they poiieiied. He obferved in other nsr,s
the law that the words common law are MED ~
dntineulih that mode of procedure from what
was pied IN ol'r courts of admiralty. In Enc
land they had three diltind courts, governed BE-
three diftinct modes of proceeding unde,. thr..
laws. The common law courts, or the co,yr+s
at Weitminiter, and the cbancery court, are oo.
verned by the. common law. The admiralty
courts are governed by the civil law. and the ec-
cieiiatcal courts by the eccleliaifical law. Rr+
all and every one Of thcfe are governed by tbe
tatute law But in their mode of procesdiug-
each hasifs own peculiar rules, yet they all are
bound TO Conform to fatutx. ~ IS a n,.r..
had originally given them jurifdi6fion. In onr
own courts, he believed, it would be difficult to
conduct trials without fome proyfon rs to tbr
'noue' o'ts Va eAcnahSe and pronif1ory notes
were not made current till the time OF ouern
Anne. The fuit on thele actions is ffiu at conn-
mon law, though the remedy is given by natu4e
So when an indictments made upon a aatufe'
1t mutt be tried by the rules or the common
law, as was the cafe mentioned in the ,rficla
and with the gentleman from Virginia. he M.
ed IN what manner a criminal can be proG.cut-
ed but by the rules of the common law. uniefs
you have him to be tried by fuch arbitrary ones
AS the court may make at the time, in order 10
Tut their own purpoie. fit be true that we
have no rules or proceeding cfablihcd for our
courts ofJuitice, it is high time to iet about maxi
ing them. But the fact is, that rules are ec.
taohthed, and the reafon why they were eftab.
llihed, IN the manner they are, is that in this yay
Congrefs expected, and iully too, that thew
would give more fatsfa6ion to their conftitm.
ents to leave them to the rules of procecdne
they mad long been accuaomed to, than thew
would by introducing a novel ftt of their ovy:,
contriying. And he fat down fully CONVINCED
that the circuit court was bound to proceed
through the whole cafe by the rules eitablifhed
by the laws of Virginia.
The tixth article was agreed to. The yeas were Ge
venty-three and nays forty-two, as follows:
YEAS.--Meh;s Anderlon, Archer, Bard. Bedip
ger, BIaekledge, Boyd, Boyle, Brown, Bryan, But
Ter, Caiey, Claiborne, ]. Clay, NJ. Clay, Conrad.
lNrn12yp Mold (Nr,e4- ~ r.