Morning journal and courier., 1893-02-20
are ranked in legal parlancs as a part of

tions, while 1t is still uncertain whether there Is @ good case against them. Anoth- CT boast of the French Is that every case, barring only those with which justices of the peace have to deal, Is tried with more than one judge on the bench. In the highest court, the court of cessation. there must never be less than eleven judges present. Five is the lowest number in 6 court of appeal, and for court of sssi. zes or court of first instance, the mini mum of such functionaries is three.
 The truth is that judges seem to be in greater favor in France than juries Ger tsinly they are more relied upon by those responsible for the French code of proce dure, though they would hardly, we should think, be held preferable by those cited for trial, if one msy judge from the statis tics et hand. h civil cases juries are en. tirely unknown, and 1t is only in one oi the courts, the court of assizas, that such uncertain quantities are brought into play even in the trial of criminals. But the statistics-well, they are decidedly sugges tive, and they have msrked bearing on the question, often raised in America, ss to whether lurymen are a help or a hin drance in the administration of justice. The figures we quote have reference to ju. dicial procedure in France during & recent four years. and what they show Is, that while acquittsls before assizs courts, with trial by jury, were twenty seven per cent and while of those found guilty in such courts seventy four per cent gained yer dict of "extenuating circumstances, in the other courts, where the judges are the jury, there were only six per cent of ac- quittals and but sixty two per cent. who had their punishment tempered because oi mitigating circumstances.
 French juries are extremely sentimental If our memory is not at fault it wss jury of this nationality who acquitted the mur. derer of his father and mother because his counsel appealed to them to have pit, upon poor orphan. At any rate, tha the twelve ''good men and trus" often ac quit over here when the verdict by right should be one of guilty, is only .oo appa rent to even the indulgent French mind We have not heard that French jLrymer have the itching palms attributed some timea to juries in America, but they sure ly have tender sensibilities and, in some cases, rather soft heads. Beauty in dis. tress hardly ever appeals to them in vain, and it is proverbial that in class of eases which Is rather common here, as for in stance, where from jealousy or some other strong passion, a woman has drawn a re volver against her erstwhile lover or per hsps thrown vitriol over him, the twelv, good FreHchmen in the jury box are al mos. sure to judge leniently, and as likely ss not, if the woman in the csse break down, they will not only scquit, but vii do so with choked voices and with sym pathetic use of their pocket haudkerchiefs
 But there are other queer doings il French courts besides those in which sen al for instance to find ths presiding judg, acting es prosecutor. Not only does b, examine and cross exsIsire the uitnssses but he subjects the accused 10 a s!milal process, aud does not scTuple to expres his opinion of the latter, snd even [, strongly condemn him, while he is still the verdict not having been given, pre- sumptively innocent. But this presump ton of innocence does not seem to eXis in France. Charles de Lesseps is told b, the judge that he has bsen mixed up Il dirty job" and when this opinion wa volunteered his trial had scarcely begun This illustrates how the accused are treat ed, and another incident In the same tris shows how the judges may comment sd versely, if they choose, upon the testimo ny of witnesses.
 The President-Do you know who It ceiyed the cash voucher for five hundre thousand francs!
 Witness-No.
 The President-It is strange that 70 should not know. It seems to me that
 myself should have been more iuquisitiy than that. Laughter
 This, though it was funny, was hardl without b!as, and when, st the same si tiGg, this frs. president of tue court ( appeal interrupted another witness wit the remark that it the Pauams compan had never adopted the plan he had sue gested 10 them ''lr would have been blessing to unfortunate subscribers, som of whom were likely 10 die ct starvation, he not only did that which indicated | prejudgment of the case but went So fla | sdritt from judicial calmuess to eve | drag feeling into the csse. But this | France, We must remembsr, and that
 the way they do tEir gs in this country. The French judges, however, are by [
 means devoid of dignity. and, exceptin | in great trials, whsn Uuteide excitemeI | seems to bs too much for them, they sl
 not wanting apparently in judicial repos' | To make the rounds Of the different court | in the P.lais de Justice affords you a vie | of as fire body of men ss you could el | peot to fnt anywhere in France. The | are hardly so solemn looking their b' | wiggej brothers over in Britain, but the | appear quite too virtuous 10 wink { | wrong, and altogether, in their blsc gowns and white lapets, they impress tt | visitor much as body of prim lookin | Church of Epgland clergymen would |
 likely to do They are seated on the bsnc
 in semi circle, the president. of cours
 in the middle, aud you notice as you z
 from one court to another that in ever
 instance the president has before him, in
 niche at the opposite end of the room,
 bust of the figure Liberty, snd behir
 him painting of the crucifxiuH seen
 Otherwise the court rooms are much
 you find them in other countries-plen
 of bsrristers waiting for briefs, and Il
 usual number of morbid outsiders; sor
 of them so deeply absoibsd in the procee
 iDgs that they are taking a nap.
 One feature of the French judicial sy
 tenn deserves unstinted praise, and that
 the thoughtful regard it shows for tho
 in limited circumstances, and its really n
 ble efforts to bring legal redress with
 reach of the humblest citizsn. In rega
 to trivial matters, it is as much the du
 of the justics of the paace in rural tow
 to settle the differences, if he can, vii
 out allowing the contestants to come fC
 mally before the court, ss 1t is his duty
 honorably try such cases If his friend
 offices are unavailing. In higher coul
 the poor who find themselves obliged
 invoke the law are absolved, If they wi to be, both from couusers fees and frc court and stamp duties Nor is this 8 but almost everywhere throughout Fran there are special courts made up of trs
 experts, and of leading business men, the settlement, without delay and wi scarcely any cost, of disputes between e
 ployers and workmen, and of the dissgr , ments occurring between rival commerc houses. These courts are a great boo and their existence is another proof, add to many of similar import, that the Fran 5 of these later decades, far from being rich mans country, Is one rather in whi } the workman holds sway, and whose fairs are regulated with special referer . to the well being of the masses. H. T. We are not surprised that people V , | not take new cough remedy, when tn
 know tre value of Dr. Bulls Cough Syrr