Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1911-12-12

| Dut the American courts persist In aQ-
herring to Englands cast-off system as
1t existed in that country about 140
years ago, at the close Of the Ameri-
can revolution. The two systems were
contrasted very we'll in the trials of
Nan Patterson in America and DR..
Crippen in England.
CHAPTER II.
History Of the Common Law.
The fundamental principles of the
common law of England could not
possibly be otherwise than unreason-
able and absurd, because they were
originated by the early Britons, Jutes,
Angles and Saxons when they were
ignorant, superstitious and blood
thirsty savages, who offered human
sacrifices and had queer notions OF
justice and good conduct. To make
matters worse their wild ideas of right
and wrong were modified from time to
time by various sea robbers and
greedy marauders who prowled and
pillaged along the coasts and settled
in the country among them. One
writer declares contemptuously that
"These early Britons had a religion
which was entirely unfit for publica-
tion, that they were suitable only to
act as ancestors and that they had no
other good points" (He further states
that the Angles were not right angles
but were most obtuse when drunk and
were Try-Angles when they tried to
walk honey
When the Romans took charge of
these untamed barbarians In 43 A. D.
and began to civilize or domesticate
them, the general law of the Romans
had been intelligently and systemati-
cally developed for more than one
thousand years, and when they aban-
doned England in the fifth century
their universities were teaching
courses in law which required five
years to complete. This magnificent
Jurisprudence was based upon reason
and justice, but 1t left no perceptible
Impression upon the common law OF
the country. These rude heather not
only hated the laws Of their former
oppressors but were not able to think
and to reason like highly civilized
men; so they clung to their old laws,
which were based upon. bravery and
luck, and became very disorderly.
When the Scots and Picts began to
threaten them they begged the Ro-
mans to come back and then invited
the Jutes and Saxons to come over
and protect them. These savage war
riors came and promptly chased their
hosts entirely out of the country and
introduced additional common" laws
and some Of the most unique methods
Of executing them, which were horri-
bly, cruel and depended solely upon
chance. fortitude or physical strength.
lThey had trial courts in which the
ordeal of water was administered to
the uncleanly, hard working class
who were fearfully oppressed and
were known as "villeins." The ac-
cused was brought into the moot
court and either thrown into cold
water to float and be killed, or sink
and drown; or he was compelled to
run his bare arm into boiling water.
If at the end of three days the injury
had disappeared, he was discharged;
IL not. he was declared guilty and
probably hanged or burned alive; for
so late as the time when Blackstone
wrote (1765-6S) there were more than
one hundred and sixty offenses pun
ished by death without benefit of
clergy"
| When the accused was so unfortun-
ate as to be a fighting man or person
Of sufficient social prestige as to enti-
tie him by law to be beheaded with
an axe, he had the distinction Of being
tried by the ordeal Of fire. In this he
was compelled to hold a piece Of very
hot iron in his hand or to walk bare
foot and blindfold over nine red-hot
plowshares laid lengthwise at equal
distances. A deputy could take his
place for a sufficient consideration;
but in either case II one burned his
foot the principal was declared guilty.
This generally happened, unless he
was influential enough to make sat
isfactory arrangement beforehand
with the clergy who presided. In this
way Queen Emma succeeded in clear
Ii ing her character when suspected OF
familiarity with the Bishop Of Win
chester. This practice was not abol-
ished in England until 1918.
When a very indiscreet defendant
remand him to Jail for contempt, and
weights would be piled upon his chest
until he was persuaded to change his
mind or was crushed to death. The
last act of judicial torture occurred
in England in May. 1910. but 1t still
f1ourishes in the police departments
Of the United States. being called the
third degree" and is thus described
Ill d ItCtll VI liiC L oit i%o"
Journal: "A delicate woman is ar
rested for murder and at midnight the
corpse is brought to her cell that the
horror may compel her to confess; OIL
a rat is put secretly into her cell tC
exhaust her nervous system and inner
strength. Another prisoner is denied
food or his food is highly salted and
he is denied water. Others are Slug
ged" brutally or placed in solitary
confinement or bitterly cold cells OIL
in frightfully superheated rooms, OF
red pepper is blown into their cells
and other atrocities perpetrated in
the effort to torture a confession from
the helpless wretches."
In the ninth, tenth and eleventh GEN.
turies the Danes and Normans, who
were conspicuous for their valor and
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