Northern Weekly Gazette. — 1907-02-09 (Stockton-on-Tees, Cleveland, England)

TRIAL BY JURY.  The system of trial by jury in vogue in this country is oft described as one or our most primed institutions. To secure that justice should be fairly apportioned amongst the subjects of the King our fonetfathers braved many dangers. Justice, they maintained, should not be bought or sold, and as a safeguard against maladministration trial by jury was inaragurated The jury system as it prevails in this country has, so far as the even-handed manner in which justice is meted out is concerned, much in its favour. The preliminary sittings of the Corthrt before villa the Thaw murder case is to be areued inturcluces us to a different method of sele;ting jurymen than that which prevails in Dagland. It cannot, be said that the comparison is at all favourable to the American system of administering the law. About 300 names have been submitted, but so far it has scatroelry been passible to secure sufficient jurymen to act. Prom apparently trivial causes one after another of the 300 names has been struck off the list of eligibles. By this weeding-out process it will doubtless he possible to eventually eeoure a, jury which will be so sympathetic to the millionans prisoner as to save him from being electrocuted. Unfortunately for the cause of justice in America there are manly ways by which the wieailthy man may escape the consequencee of his errors. The law's delays, as we have recently seen in the election of jurymen, are carious, but even if an adverse verdict was recorded there are 1110130 devious ways stall by which the carrying out of the sentence can be delayeid forty years. In the ease under ditscussion, however, the £lOO,OOO which is being spent by the defence will doubtless exercise so portent an influence can the verdict as to render efforts far further delay ry. But far a 214160a1 to be blind to the errors of the rich man augurs ill far national morality. •  On this side of the -Atlantic trial by jury. is sta regarded as one of the bulwarks of British Eberty, despite the many stories told of the curious verdicts recorded by the twelve good meii and true upon whom rests the responsibility of finding the verdict. And in the finding of the verdict jurymen had up to the passing of an Act of Parliament in 1870 tio undergo much diecorafort. "No meat; no drink ; no fire." each was the law which regulated the jurymen acid helped them to a quick decision. Instances are an reeord whEsre a juryman had secretly provisioned himself so that he might be able to hold out against, the men who took a oontrary opinion to that which he had farmed. It is aiso interesting to mute, in view of the recent mistakEs made by Judges in convicting, innocent men, that juries when they made any mistake generally favoured the prisoner. In one 01103 tried in the North the Judge., thinking that safficient evidence had been given, asked the Ivry if they desired to hear any more evidence. The eman, after consulting his oolleague6, rePhied in the negative, with the result that the prisoner was discharged. Though the jurymen eurplained that they had not riven any verdict, Le liccisznew. haviog been could uati