The Morning herald., 1875-10-27
Must Twelve Men Agree !?

jury system is its requirements of an unani
nous verdict. In every other politico-le
gal institution, the majority rules. A ma
jority Of one on the bench Of the Suprem,
Court of the United States can settle a cas-,
that involves issues of transcendant i'm
portance, but a. majority of ten inside :
jury-box is held incompetent to decide tn.
most insignificant point. Marcus Norter
was once elected Governor of Massaehu
sets by one vote. An iota more than 81
per cent. of the votes made him chief rulel
Of great State. If some scsundrel hac
maliciously brought a charge of petty lar
ceny against him and had got fellow.con
spirator on the jury, the verdict Of the
honest eleven could not have freed him
from the stigma Of crime. On The bench
inside our societies and corporations, and
at the polls, the majority rules. Why
should it not do so in the jury-box?
The early history Of the jury-system is
somewhat obscure but it is certain that the
requirement of unaninity is of compara-
tlvely modern date. Sweden, which with
the rest of Scandinavia, furnished the
Nsrthmen who became Normans in France
and carried the Scandinavian institutions
Of their fathers into conquered England,
still preserves jury system that counts its
age by centuries. One-half the jury Or
any greater number, with the Judge, or the
whole jury, against the opinion of the
Judge, give the verdict. When majority
Of jurymen is opposed by the minority and
the Judge, there is no verdict. This is
majority-rule, tempered by sort of cumu-
lative vote on the part of the Judge. The
Northmen carried this system with them
into France, but, when they became Nor
mans, and the province they had seized
Normandy, they changed about and re-
quired an unanimous verdict. Thus cor
rupt form of the Scandinavian original
was carried 10 England by William the
Conqueror. Before the Conquest the YER
dict of two-thirds Of the jury had pre-
vailed in English Courts. The dissenting
was fined. A trace Of this old Gus
;on crops out in several cases after the con-
luest. In these,t the verdict of elevsnjury.
nen was accepted as conclusive, and the
welfth was clapped into prison for hn eb-
tinacy. But in the reign Of Edward III.
t was settled that the twelfth must agree.
rhe decision to this effect contained one
clause, advising the Judge. Of
Assize to take the jury around with them
n cart until the luckhss wighh man.
'gsd to agree. This was sngrsfted upon
'ur legal system this requirement Of unani-
nifty, responsible for so much Of the delay,
be uncertainty, and the expense wak
which legal administration is justly
:harged. There have net been wanting
hs assailants Of the idea. Jeremy Be1t-
nam says: IF the work Of forming vsx-
licts had beea the work Of calm relectisa,
working BY tks light Of experience in a
comparatively mature and enlightened axe,
sme number certain Of afssding = majeri-
y on one side, viz: an odd number, woLd
- this, as on other occas;ons, have been
and 70 the deeisisa Of that pre-
'ondering nunber would, Of course, have
'een given the effect Of the esnjunct deci-
ion Of the whole" This i had English
nut good sense. Hallam combines good
less in both when he refers, IN his "Hits.
, Of the Middle Agss," to that prepos-
erous relic of harbarism, the requirement
+ unanimity in = jury" Ysatnau says,
n his "Study Of Government" "Ws ceald
low we'll conaider whether absolute mani.
nifty may no. safely BE- dispensed with,
Finally, ws may quote in support Of our
'osition Tie report Of = Parliamentary
commission which recommended \ few
'sars ago, that, after jury had lbsen out
welvs hours, . verdict given by nine Of
to msnbers should be accepted n final. 8. |
't' '"le ----s.>----l .4.
Word has been received by his family |
hat Chan Laisun, recently renewed from
he Chinese Educational Comuissisn in this
country, has been restored 70 full tsvor with
lis government and appointed Secretary " |
Legation to England. . - ~