The Placer herald., 1857-10-10
Abolishing Grand Juries.

so 1ar al leaSt as LOnuOn is concerned Is now be-
fore Parliament, and receives the support of gov
ernment. A motion intended to defeat the bill
was rejected by large majority. The able law
yer Sir F. Thesger defended the BILL and refer
red to the repeated representations of grand ures
themselves to the effect that they were not only
unnecessary but absolutely an obstruction to JUS
tce.
We are glad to note this movement. For many
years we have been &C nvinced that grand juries
are of no service in furtherng the ends of justice
but merely aid in complicating judicial business.
The institution of the grand jury is one of the
relics of the past which it would be gain to get
rid of. The administration of justice has out
grown the necessity for it; and now that its reten
ton can do no good the sooner we get rid of it
the better" Pitsburg Gazette.
1t was scarcely to be expected that pro-
position to do away with Grand Juries should
originate in England, the home Of the system,
and a land where, from the attachment of
the people to old laws and time-honored Gus
toms, reforms are Of proverbial slowness.
And this is especially true of their judicial
system, which has been SO seduousy guard
ed against Innovations that an atmosphere
of fogyism may be said to cling around the
courts, envelope the statutes, and permeate
through every legal channel of the realm.
The claws delay" is an expression of Eng
lsh origin, and comprehensive meaning when
applied to their courts of Chancery, wherein
suits have drawn their slow lengths beyond
the lives of several generations, and attor-
neys and clients have transmitted to their
sons, as heir-looms, suits in law, that the
term Of their natural lives proved too short
to have brought to termination. The i'm
perfections of the system have not escaped
the popular English writer's of the day, and
they have striven earnestly to evoke public
sentiment that would move the people to
action and exert an influence upon the law
makers of the kingdom. But the British
public are slow to be convinced, and slow to
act, and years are required to accomplish
what with a more exctable people would be
but the work Of months. Once convinced.
Englishmen move, slowly, ,circumspectly, and
obtain in time the reforms they seek, but a
generation may have passed from youth to
age, before the needed work is accomplished.
With the American people the case is diff
ferent; there is proneness for the new and
untried. Old laws and customs are valued
only as they are suited to the wants and con-
dition Of society. The rapid growth of i'm
provenent and population calls for frequent
change, and the response is generally in i'm
mediate action. Their watchword isprogress:
and in law, religion, politics, in the mocha
mic and liberal arts, and sciences, the nation
looks forward to advancement. The Ameri-
can mind being eminently practical, customs
of century will obtain but little consdera-
tion from it unless adapted to tho present;
and law and religion must keep pace with
the enlightened intelligence of the age, to
be effective in their mission of good.
The American people would be i'll at ease,
to confne themselves alone to retaining in
tact the bequests of their fathers. They ad-
mire the work they did, but look forward to
new triumphs. These they achieve, but still
they strive for greater perfection Improve
ment must make its impress on every hand.
The unoccupied praries and primeval forests
are inviting fields for their energy and in
genuity, and thither hies an adventurous
population to convert forest into garden,
rear cities, establish the marts of trade, and
build new commonwealths. Their condition
creates new wants, gives birth to new ideas,
and these operate in framing new laws--the
aim being ever in view to improve upon the
old.
But not to lose sight Of the caption Of
this article, it seems strange that the first
effort toward doing away with grand juries
should be made in England, where the sys-
tenn had its origin, and which is one of the
results of that charter of freedom so endear-
ed to the heart of every Briton. We would
have naturally looked for demonstration
Of the kind to have been made in the United
States, and cannot see why the pruning
knife of legislation has not long since Topped
off branch Of the judicial system SO i'm
perfect in its parts, and of SO little utility
The argument that body of twenty-four
citizens called together from different local-
ties, to pass upon and examine into facts in
regard to crimes or misdemeanors reported
to have been committed, are more apt to ar
rive at an equitable conclusion than it the
same facts were presented to the ATTORNEY
of the State, and by him Indictments found
or ignored. will not hold good as far as re-
lates to California Grand Juries, land we be-
lieve those Of other States), as it is notorious
indictments are frequently found when there
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