The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1897-03-25
MAGMA CARPA here.
Mr.. Noonan Sends a Copy Of the
Famous Document to the
Free Library.

Assistant Prosecutor Joseph M. Noonan
yesterday presented to the Free Public
Library the fac-simile of the Magma
Carta, which he received recently from
London. The document was sent to DIR.
Leonard J. Gordon, President of the Lii
brary Trustees. accompanied by the fol-
lowing letter.
MY dear Sir-I send to you herewith,
for the Free Publ Library, an auto
type copy of the original articles sub-
mitted by the Barons and accepted by
the King as the basis of Magma Carta,;
also a version of the same lone in plain
modern type. These articles form a
sort of memoranda of agreement between
h1ng John and the Barons and Com
moners OF england and were afterwards
east, with little variation, into the more
formal provisions of Magma Carta. The
peculiar style of penmanship, the free
use OF authorizations, the robust contempt
OF grammatical constructions and the in
PRODUCTION Of barbarous words make it
extremely difficult for anyone not IN ex-
pert in such matters to make head or
tall OF It,. The printed version will there
The thing would be complete with an
English translation, but that l have not
got. English translations of Magma Carta
are, however, to be had freely enough,
put are, unfortunately, not had freely
enough.
The bumptiousness of our American
conceit might be taken out of us, or, at
least, probably diminished. if we were
more familiar with that great document
and the lessons which it teaches. We
might learn from it that many Of what
we have regarded as our own most pre-
cious discoveries In the domain of po-
litlcal science are no discoveries of ours
at all. The right of every accused man
to a speedy trial by his peers and the
law of the land; the right of every man
to withstand taxation without representa-
fl0n tho RIGHT nf tho rn11nofipn nation ~
resist tyranny and If need be seize and
distrain the tyrant-these and many other
important rights were declared and con-
coded at Runnymede in A.. D. 1915.
The 30th of these articles reads Ne
fus uendatur, uel differratur, uel uetitum
Sit In Magma Carta this appears as the
18th article in the form, Null uendemus.
multi negabimus aut differemus Gus
ticram-'To none will we sell. to none will
we deny, to none will we delay justice,
This provision shoul not be without in
terest to US. for in our beloved country
justice is known to have been sold to
some. is denied to man. and is delayed
to all.
Another article is not without its sug-
gestive lesson for us. 1t requires the
King to appoint his Judges de talibus
quf sciant legem terre ct cam bene uelint
obseruare'-'from among such as may
know the law of the land and be well
disposed to observe it'-while among us
a Judge may be appointed without pub
lie scandal because of his ability to pay
a political assessment, and even a Chief
Justice may be selected by the method,
apparently, of measurement.
IF the study of history were taught
in our schools as 1t should be taught the
men and times of Magma Carta would be
as familiar to our children as are the
men and times of our own great Dec
laration. For no child can understand
worthily what the Aryan race has
wrought upon this Continent without a
prior knowledge of what at least the Teu-
tonic branch of that race had wrought
beyond the ocean previous to the discov-
cry of America. But of that, under our
system, not a word; blu much stuff about
Moqui Indians, Caye-dwellers and the
like.
Very cordially yours,
JOSEPH M. NOONAN.
a"DR. LEONARD j. GORDON,
Trustee Free Public Library,
Jersey City,"