The weekly Butte record., 1863-05-16
Punch's Charge to the Jury.

The subjoned charge" was cut from an
old file of the Lancaster pa Intelligencer,
into which it was copied from the London
Punch, about fifteen years ago:
"Gentlemen Of the Jury: You have sworn
in all cases to decide according to the evidence !;
at the same time, if you have any doubt you
are to give the prisoner the benefit of it, Sup
pose you have 10 pronounce on the guilt or in-
nocense Of a gentleman accused of felony. You
will naturally doubt whether any gentleman
would commit such an offense accordingly
however strong the evidence may be against
him, you will, perhaps aequit him. The evi
dences Of your own senses is at least as credita-
BILE as that Of the witness if, therefore, your
eyesight conviDces you that the prisoner is a
well dressed man. you have right TO presume
his respectabity and it Is for you to say
whether respectable person would be likely
to be guilty of the crimes imputed to him. In
like manner, when you see shabby looking
fellow n the dock, charged. for example, with
sheep stealing, the decision rests with you
first, whether or not that individual is a raga-
muffan, and, secondly, how far it is probable
that man of that description would steal
sheep.
Of course. as has before been said, you will
always be guided by the evidence but then
whether the evidence is trustworthy or not is
matter for your private consideration. You
may believe it if you choose, or you may dis
believe it; and, whether, gentlemen of the
jury, you will believe or disbeIieve it, will de-
pend upon the constitution of your minds If
your minds are so constituted that you desire
to find the prisoner guilty, perhaps you will
believe it; if they happen to be so constituted
that you desire to find the prisoner guilty, per-
haps you will believe it if they happen to be
so constituted that you desire to find him not
guilty, why then you will be very likely to dis
believe it. You are TO free your minds from
all prejudice, if you can, and in that case, your
Judgment will be unbiased but if you cannot,
you will return verdict accordingly. Is it
not, strictly speaking for you to consider what
will be the effect of your verdict; but if such
a consideration should occur to you and
and you cannot help attending TO il, that YER
diet will be influenced by it to certain extent
You are probably aware that when you retire
you will be locked up until you contrive to
h,- (,,r
discussion, or by some of you starving the
Others out, or BY tossing up, aud your conclu.
sion, by whichever of these processes arrived
at, will be more or less in accordance with
your oaths. Your verdict may be right it is
hoped it will it may be wrong; it is hoped
it will not. At all events, gentlemen of the
jury, you will come to some conclusion or other,
unless it so happens that you separate without
coming to any.
UNCONSCIOUS SNAKE E-CHARMING.-A friend
of the writer, resident on q farm near Bathurst,
New South Wales, had received from England
a set of musical glasses and one afternoon he
arranged them on table and proceeded to
play upon them. The door of the room opened
upon the back yard, in which, at distance Of
ten or twelve yards. was wheat-stack With
both arms reached across the table, be had
played some time, when be became annoyed by
receiving repeated blows on the leg. which be
for some time disregarded, thinking they pro-
ceeded from his dog. For while he played
on, occasionally thrusting at the supposed ami
nal with his knees, to make him move further
of, when it gave him harder blow than usual,
until at length, surprised at the animals per-
sistence, and at the number and rapidity of the
strokes he received, he paused and looked over
his shoulder, and there witnessed most ex-
traordnary sight. Erect on the coil of his
tail, spinning round and round, and swaying
its head and body to and fro, and evidently IN
state of the most extatic delight was huge
snake The blows had proceeded from the
folds of its body, as it danced hither and ihlth-
er close to the chair Of the unconscious musl
eian. Il did not stop its motions Immediately
on the cessation Of the sounds, and seizing a
stick, which luckily stood handy in corner,
few blows terminated at once its dance and
its life. 1t had probably inhabited the wheat
stack, and been attracted thence By the sounds
/ London Leisure Hours.
I, A MAN generally expects domestic breeze
when bis wife begins to put OF airs