Morning journal and courier., 1881-06-18
f5ollrrraI allo Goarier.
Saturday Morning. June IS, 1881.
TRIsL BY JURY.

Trial by jury is one of the safeguards of liberty. Indeed liberty, as we conceive it.
 cannot exist without the trial by jury The Declaration of Independence specifies as one
 of the reasons why this country was justified in severing itself from the mother country,
 that Americans have been 'sdeprived in many cases of the benefits of trial by jury"
 The results of trial by jury are not always satisfactory, and therefore it is occasionally argued that there should at least be some change or limitation of the system and some go so far as to say that. admitting it's value for the conservation of liberty in the past. it does not follow that it is needed now for the like purpose. Mir. John c. Dodge is one of those who are of the opinion that we could get along without juries in civil suits. and he gives his reasons for so thinking in the At1aastic Monthly for July. He makes the point that jurors are greatly liable to error from the want of proper qualification for the work that they are to do. The aver age juryman, says he, is unaccustomed to continuous thought He has never learned by practice to weigh and compare evidence, nor to judge of the truthfulness of witnesses In protracted trials it is impossible to carry the testimony in his memory, or to aid his memory effectively by notes At the close of the testimony the court instructs him in the law applicable to the case, and then it becomes his duty to make up his verdict by applying as best he may legal principles often imperfectly understood to testimony imper- fectly remembered. Again, the juryman is k1, I, I.s. with him the cares of the business from which he was taken; and if anxiety about the harvesting, the notes that must be paid before the banks close, or the conduct of the boy who thinks epson salts means oxalic acid distract his attention, he will console himself by the reflection that his responsibil- ity is shared by eleven others D
 On the other hand, says Mr. Dodge, the judge brings to the work a mind disciplined by years of study, followed by years of study and practice. His knowledge of law enables him to see what facts are to be proved, and on which of the parties rests the burden of proving them, and so, as each witness delivers his testimony, to appreciate it's probative value. Practice has taught him to read witnesses. For him not words only but the manner, the tone, the gesture, the countenance, have force and meaning. He is not likely to be misled. He has opportu- nifty to take full notes, if need be- and after wards to revise and compare the statements of witnesses. The duties of his office are his work. His attention is not distracted by outside cares.
 All this and more that MT. Dodge has to say is plausible if looked at from his stand point, but we believe that it would take but & short acquaintance with the operation of trials without jury to discover much more serious evils than those complained of under the present system. Perfect justice is not to be expected, but the kind of justice we get from juries is probably as reasonable. on the whole, as that which we should get from judges, with their technicalities, their formal law and their personal feelings.