The Arkansas advocate., 1835-07-10
THE INTREPID JURYMAN.

Extracted from the late publication, en- titled An Excursion from Sidmouth Gin Dovershire) to Chester.'
 BY THE REV, EDMUND BUTCHER.
 cannot help congra;ulating our country men upon the Inestimable value of trial by Jury. have lately met with proof of iils excellence, which ought not to be forgotten.
 A judge on the north western circuit in Ireland, tried case. in which much of lo- cal consequence of the gentlemen n the neIghborhood was implicated. It WIS landlords prosecution agalnst one of his tenants fer assault and battery committed on the person of the prosecutor, hy the defend ant, in rescuing his only child, an inno- cent and beautiful girl, from personal viola ton. When the defendant was brought into the court, the prosecutor also appear ed, and swore to every fact iaid down itl the indictment. The poor defendant had no lawyer 10 teil his story; he pleaded his own cause eteetually, and appealing to the judgment and the heart, the jury found him not guilty.
 The judge was enraged, and told the iu- " they must go back aud consider the matter; adding he was astonished at their giving such an infamous verdict. The Ju- " bowed. went back; and in quarter ol all hour returned, when ihe foreman, ven- cradle old man, thus addressed the bench.
 "My lord, ID compliance with your ad- wee, we went back to our room; hut, as we found there no reason to alter our vir- dict, we return II to you, in the same words as before, not guilty. We heard your Lord- ships reproof; but we do not accept 1t as applying to Us. Individually, and in our private capacities, ii Is true, we are insig- Diicant men; we claim n1thiig out of this box above the common regard due 10 our humble yet honest stations! but my lord, assembled here as a jury. we cannot be in- sensible of the great importance of the office we now sustain. We feel that we are ap pointed, ;.s ,,u die, by tine jaw and ti1e con stitutlon, not only to act impar.iaIly between the king and his subjects, the offended and the offender, but to form the barrier of the people against the possible influence, prelu- dice or corruption of the bench; to which we do not wish to offer the s.s:alIes. degree of disrespect. much less of insult; we pay it the respect which one tribunal should pay another, for the common honor of both.--. This jury did nnt accuse the bench of par tality or oppression- no, we look upon if as the sanctuary of truth and justice; still my lord, we cannot era e from our minds the records of our school books. By them We were taught that kings and judges are but falible mortais: and thai the seat of justice has heen polluted by Tressilian, a Scroggs and a Jetfreys."
 The judge tfowned at these words, but intrepid juror thus proceeded: "Mv Lord am but poor man, yet am a free born subject, and a member of the constitution nay. am now higl for 1 am one of it's representatives 1 therefore claim for my fellow jurors liberty of speech"
 The judge here resumed his compiacen- cy, and the orator continued his address, i've have nothing to do, my lord, with your private character; in this place ii Is yelled by your official one we know you here on y in that of judge and as such we would respect you; you knnw nothing of tis, but as a jury, and Tn that sitlation, we look to you for reciprocal respect; we know Of no man however high his titles or his rank, in whom the law or the constitution would warraht an unproyoted insult towards that tribunal, in which they have vested the dearest and most valuable privileges they rossess. We sit here, my lord, sworn io give verdict according to our consciences, and the best of our judgments on the evi- dence before us. We have in our minds discharged our duty. as honest men. five nave erred, We are accountable, not to youl iordship, nor to the king who appointed you! but to higher, the Ki .g of kings.'' The beach was dinb, the bar was silent astonlshnent and applause lnurmured thro the crowd-and the poor man Eas dischar ged.