Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1854-06-01

or Dansneu, or any ways ucSlIplcu ue"' =!
the legal Judgment of his peers" and that no
g entertainments shall be assessed, but by the
oath of honest men of the ncighborhood" These
cardinal principles of English law have been
affirmed and rc-atlirmed upwards of thirty times
bv the Kings, Lords and Commons OF Great
Britain The English people have governed
themselves in this way for more than SlS hun.
dred wears. Only two of their Kings have dared
TO prevent the people from being judged by their
ncirhbors-CIarles |, and James ll,-both OF
whom felt the vengeance of their injured SUBJ
iccts the one by losing his head, and the other
bv being deprived Of his crown. One of the
chief grievances complained of in the =" Petition
of Rights" was that Charles, instead OF allow
inw all his subjects TO be tried by their peers OF
lEe vcinagc in the County Courts, appointed
special Commissioners to hold Courts of mar
tia law" al unusual places, at unusual times, ny
which many innorent persons suffered, and the
guilty flvoritcs of the ty-.,nnical King escaped
The same complaint WAS made against James
II, in the "Bill of Rights" which asserts that
.jurors ought 10 be duly cmpanclicd and re-
tnrncd'-tllat Commissions for holding Courts
should not he issued. and that every one should
be responsible to the law. If We quit England
AID come to America, TIE same Angl"-SaXon
d.,, rmination to be governed by ones nei%hOr1's
is ncrccpiible every where "For transporting
us beyond seas to be tried" is one of the TWEEN
tv-scvcn causes, or juSliticaions assigned by tie
Declaration of Independence, for separating
from Great Britain. At the adoption of our
Federal Constitution, the people Of the States
were so Jealous Of the right 10 be Judged by
their nci.borS that they required IN amend
ment TO be added in these words: In all crimi-
NIL prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the
right 10 Il speedy and public trial by an imparii-
al iurv Of the State and District wherein the
crime SHALL have been committed, which District
shall have been prcri0Usly asccrtalned by law.
This applies only to trials for crimes, but we
must not forget that criminal trials arc the most
important that ever occur, and that the manner
in which they are conducted is the standard, or
measure Of liberty in every country as DIR.
Lcibur happily remarks. In France, most trials
cccur ut Paris in Austria they take place ut
vienna and how much freedom is there in either
of those empires! In England and America,
the only free countries under the sun, criminals
are tried al home, if may use the expression.
By far the most important OF our civil actions
are tried ut home also. Indeed al! local and real
actions, or such rs concern the title 10 land,
T:eSpass Gtcrc ciansam JregH, waste, nuiSlnces,
disturbance of the right of way, obstruction. or
diversion of water courses, and ever similar &C
ton must he tried in the District where the land
lies, or the iucOrporal hcrcditamrnt exists. The
law which requires this is to he found in the
great English Charter, and it has been adopted
by every State in our Union, either us Il consli-
tuiona or statutory regulation. 1t is, Therefore,
oniv Transform actions. or such as have but lit
,I, pf Iu,
can be tried by strangers in any District where
the defendant may be found. Some few OF the
States will not suffer any kind OF an action to
he brought against citizen om of his District,
Now parlzanship can affect the admin ,tratiou
of Justice only through the jury and witnesses,
who rs Il general rule must come from the
nciphborhuodn of. the litiyants according to all
American and English law. Our people demand
that their Jurors and witnesses shall not only be
well acquainted with the liligants and the canSc
of action, but that they shall also mutually
know each other Good character is thus ap-
preciated among jurors, parties and witnesses,
all of whom constantly strive to be under the
tongue of good report even rs citizens. There
fore large Districts should be reduced Tor The
purpose of having none but ncghbors, If possl-
Bile 10 act us Jurors or witnesses, who, whether
they be partiZans or rot, must come from
the yicinage to suit AnglO-SaXon notions OF the
right way TO administer Justice. dare to say
that many unrigEteOus vcrdicts have been rell'
dered in Edgcteld because the Jurors, parties
and witnesses were entirely, or in measure
strangers TO each other. If partizanship must
necessarily attend the litigation of L small Dis
,sicl simply because the people are all mutually
4 al ,.l, tl,,,r IA hn
action, and with the liligants themselves, why
we have seen that the Americans desire this ', ry
parizanship ut which the an;i-dvi>ionits affect
such l,oly horror--ihat our ancestors have sought
it and fought for it more than six centuries
Wha, mean our boastcd State rights aud inslI-
tulional, local self government but the privilege
of having small Districts with our neighbors, as
Legislators, Jurors or witnesses; for or against
IL.
By" neighLor3," do not mean those persons
who live on adjoining plantations to the llilganis,
but only such as dwell anywhere within the same
yicnage or District About two-thirds Of the
men in each District or County of al agrcniu-
RI, country are tax paving freeloldcrs, or jurors,
and is there are ut least $40 or 900 men II: 4
small District having say the minimum PopuIa-
ton that propose [4OoO.j so there must bc 500,
or GOO Jurors in such Il District. Court rarely
sits lon9rr than a single week in i small Dis
trict, which requires the service Of only about
l4l Jurors in the course Of Il year, and therefore
it must be plain. that several years e apse before
the jury list can be exhausted even in popnla-
ton of 1000. Moreover jurors are selected by
chance not by design, aud they are virtually
chosen months if not years before they are en-
panelled. Hence, on every jury, there are per-
haps some Immediate ncighbors, some strangers
and some fast friends to either party of n suit.
Bat the un:nia'ty principle renders Friendships
relationship, or even partizauship" utterly
powcrlrss 10 bring in verdict contrary 10 law,
or cvdemcc, or justice. Still let Us suppose that
partizanship does occasionally, or even frequent
IL Lcgcl wrong verdict in small Districts, how
easily can the Appeal Court send the case bac k
for 4 new trial One Of the leading objects in
establishing IN Appellate tribunal, is that it may
order case 70 be tried by another jury. when
ever one Committee of the Country" has de-
cidcd ii against law or evidence. Furthermore
the rcnuc might be changed-that Is if i party
cannot obtain justice in Il particular District,
owing to the prejudice, combinations, or paril-
zansIp existing against him there, let the case
be transferred and tried in IN adjoining District
rs is done in many Of the States. Partial wit
nc,Ses can have but little influence with all i'm
partial jury, especially where all are =" nc cghbors,
aud known to each other. 1t is but seldom that
suitor has more than tw0 enemies on jury,
and he can challenge that number peremptorlly
in South Caroina, Is was stated above. An
impartial jury can therefore be easily obtained,
Or if not the uuanimity principle or the Appeal
Court or the change Of rsn"s will remedy it.
If small Districts do promote partizanship so
as 10 prevent justice being administered to ili-
pants, il seem, to INC that we should all join in
a prayer for the Lord to have mercy on the in
Justice which is done by partizanshp in the