Constitutional Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1824-1832, 1826-01-24

were several trials FOR COMPUTATION aud astrology the
early part OF this reign and the Countess of Lennox,
wthiour others, condemned for t-casou, for lnQui
ring how long the Queen woudlne But in $50
statute nganst wtchcrat was enacted, more lenient
than that of James which followed, il only visited
the first conviction with pillory and from this time the
offence the increase, till that sapent ruler who
taught divinity like king, and mode laws like priest
sgnaiised the first year of his reign by making felony
to suck,e mps, &c. and then the mischief rapidly
ed 10 ITS height which II attained by the and that
gour beyond the law " which the triumphant fanatics af
terwatds put FORTH in the abundance of their zeal and
| wisdom.
In this Statute (Which was repealed March "a 1876
the description OF the offence offences which were
made felonious runs thus:
one That use, practice, or exercise any invocation
or conJuration OF any evil wicked spirit consult
covenant with, entertain employ, feed or reward,
any evil or wicked spirit 10 for any nten; purpose
or take up any dead man, child. out OF hls
her, their grave, other place. where the dead
body reset'; or the skin, bonc other part of any
dead person. to be employ ed used in any manner OF
wl'chcraft' sorcery, charm, or cnchanment; shall
use, practice or exercise any wtchcraft &c. wheI cby
any person shall be killed, destroyed wasted consun.
ed pinned famed his her body or any part there
of such offenders duly aud lawfully convicted and at
tainted, shall suffer dcathn
In The course of the fifty years following the passing
OF tins act, besides great number OF single indictments
and executions, with much wholesale tcalirr
the following In 16lo fifteen indicted a, Iancas
ter and twelve condemncd 1922, six tried at York;
1854, seventeen condemned in Lancashire; 1914, SIX
teen executed at farnou; 1915 fifteen condemned at
chelmsford and hanged; III the and following ear
about orty al Bury in Suffolk twenty more IN the
country, and many Huntington; and according to the
estimate, OF Ady, some thousands burnt in Scot
land.
variety ofcircrmsances deserve notice from
serving as symptoms, or having OFT rated causes of
'c peculiar Abundance OF these notions England, du
ring 'he seventeenth century. Alch, NV as,roor, .
Nc have always had their believers and yotartes: Int
besides that they never excited the horror nor
occasionod the misery which flowed from the supposed
prevalencos of witcira they have been affected
by similar To those which made te latter for
Tune so formidable and which also such nature
as to render il formidable on, for a time. They have
al. their foundation in human nature ey appeal 10 the
love OF power, of pleasure, Of knowledge wealth. of
vengeance; they all give way, the moral pLo.
sophy which teaches regulate .,e passions AZ least
10 the progress of natural philosophy which shows them
10 re ineffective means Tor the propos d end. Their
HArances are, therefore, uniform, their course
H@iG -Iiady their grasp Of the human mind more firm,
'"or LpCt iDn and advance, and their exposure and
abandonment, more gradual than in the case before US
The statute If the first james has been already indi
Gated as one cause of The offences which, denounced
Al htst this tendency increased by the manner in
which was admlns, rcd The dlieren, cianses were
taken disiunctycy, and held sufficient if any one
OF the offences specified made the satisfac-
tion at the jury. Afterwards, the Judges adopted n
much more hutnane Interpretation, and usually decided
that they should be tax collectively and conseoucntly
that there could be conviction for wtchcra but in
cases Of alleged murder.
Many sent out, or kent ont of cou,i Inv
tie mercy of this legal discovery which was probaby
owing 10 the extent 10 which they had multiplied and
the facility with Which jurymen icte. One of the
latest convictions that of Amy Dunn and Roso
Culender, before Sir Matthew Hale, at Bury in lC64
They we're executed and died maintaining their limo
ccnce Their execution is foul bio, upon his name
and fully Justihes the remark, that "hs picty and hco.
oeiCai reading scored only to have t!e effect of render
ing him crcduous and unrccnt!ng.n There can be lii
tic doubt of their having been the victims of impusture
9ch was the opinion, publicly declared in during
Tue trial, OF Sergeant Keeling, Lord CORVALLIS and
cir r.diHund Bacon, who made some eXpcii,nou.s az
the judges request, the children ,ro prce. de-! 10 be
oe"'tced and found that when their eyes ere covered
they played off their fits, Sc at the touch of some ohe,
person, whom they mtooi for one of the accused lie
charged the jury without summing the evidence. dwell
ing only upon the certainty of the fact that there were
witches for ich lie appealed TO the Scriptures and
as nc said 10 'lhc wisdom Of all nations ana the Jury
having convicted, he next morning left them for cxccn
ton
Perhaps this trial is the only place in which we over
met with the name of SIR Thomas Brown without Mia
Sureabe associations ct we cannot leave if " fout ox
tracing his Evidence
There also DIR. Brown, OF Norwich person of
great knowledge, who alter this evidence given and
upon the view of the three persons in Court was des
red 10 give his opinion, what lie did conceive of Them
and he was clearly OF opif on tsat the persons were
bewiched; and said that IN Denmark there had been
lately discovery of witcn who used the very same
way OF a1llcng persons, by conveying pins into item
a. these pins were with needles and nails
work upon the bodies of men and women, upon ma
tura oundatIo" (tbat is 10 stir up and excite such hu
H0urs mp rabounIng in their bodies TO great OK
cess whereby be did, in an extraordinary manner at.
ct them with such distempets their bodies was most
subject To, as particularly appeared in these Children
for, tie conceived, that th swooung Gts were nau
raj and nothing else but that they call tie mother but
only heightened 10 great by the subtty of
the devil cooperating with the malice of these
winch we term witches at whose instance he doth those
villanies.n
For Sir Thomas Browns specuaiions on tue sub
Ject OF wilchcrait and daboical decisions we must
content ourselves with referring our readers to Itgn,
Errors, Book i. C. X. XII; &. y. C. XIII sec 49, and
b. vii. c. xii.
Very different the conduct Of Chief Justice
Holt, nor tho obligations of humanity less than
those of freedom 10 his firm, enlightened and upright,
mind. Whatever truth there may be in the we H. known
story Of his having, juucyle frolic given charm
for the asue, IN payment for tavern bill which lie had
not the regular means of discharging, and which was
afterwards produced before hin in evidence against his
andlady who had been practising with ~ Ger tain it is /
That his elevation was The signal for humane and
rational procedures; eleven tried before him and
all acquitted, notwithstanding TIC customary dispositions