The Sun. — 1867-08-29 (London, England)

PRESENTMENTS BY GRAND JURIES.  Several presentments have recently been made to judges by juries. At the present Middlesex sessions yesterday, on presenting the last batch of bills, the foreman of the grand jury said he was desired by his brother jurymen to represent to the court that it was their unanimous opinion that grand juries in the metropolitan districts should be abolished, and that many of the trifling cases, such as stealing 6d. and is. 6d., might have been disposed of by the committing magistrates. They were of opinion that there should be an alteration of the law to effect this object. The judge said the magistrate had already power to deal with cases of not more than ss. in value, but in some instances, although the sum stolen was small, the prisoners were old offenders, and the magistrate had no power to pass a sentence of penal servitude, which perhaps the offence deserved. That would account for prisoners being sent for trial, although the offence with which they stood charged might be small in amount. He thanked the jury for their services and they retired. The foreman of the grand jury at the Liverpool assizes recently read, before separating, a presentment to Chief Justice Bovill, in which the jury said that, upon a careful analysis of the cases submitted to them, it was found that a considerable number of the offences charged are not, in fact, of more serious character than those which are ordinarily dealt with at a comparatively small cost, and quite satisfactory to the public, in the courts of quarter session. The grand jury, therefore, respectfully submit that except in cases of murder, aggravated manslaughter, concealment of birth, rape, arson, placing obstructions on railways, robberies with violence, and the forgery of negotiable instruments, there are no changes in the calendar which, if the law so permitted, might not, without any injury to the public interests, at a greatly reduced cost, and the great relief of the work of the assizes and the judges presiding there, be confined to the quarter sessions. His lordship having received the presentment, begged to thank the grand jury, on behalf of the country, for it. Ile assured them that it should be forwarded to the proper quarter. He expressed his entire concurrence with the substance of the presentment, and would only venture to add that, in addition to the saving of expense, time; and labour bestowed on cases at the assizes, he conceived it to be the great interest of the prisoners themselves that they should be brought to a more speedy trial than they could be if sent to the assizes. This was an important point. In regard to their remarks on the public-houses, he believed from his own experience that the cause of nine-tenths of the crime that came under investigation was drunkenness. They in this town had set a good example to others in thus going to the source of the evil and recommending that the public-houses should be subjected to a stringent supervision. He trusted that their presentment might receive attention. A special jury at Leeds upon being discharged authorised one of their number to make the following remarks to Mr. Baron Pigott :—" Before the special jury separate I crave your permission to make a remark, in which such of the jury as I have had the opportunity of consulting concur. Although in the case of small cities or towns it may be necessary to empanel special juries from large areas, no necessity exists in towns containing over say 50,000 people, to go for jurymen beyond their limits, the inhabitants of which can attend with much less inconvenience and expense than can men from a distance. It seems to me that, in the sacred name of justice, great injustice is inflicted upon men who are compelled to leave their homes and their affairs to decide such trumpery squabbles and paltry disputes as those which have taken up so much of the time of your lordship's court during the past fortnight. It may be that legislation alone can remedy either or both of the matters referred to, but as law is the issue of public conviction, not felt merely, but expressed, it appears to me that this is a suitable time for speaking, and that your lordship is the proper person to whom to express our conviction." The Judge —I quite agree with what you have said.