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would be enough for a maintenance for all, and that every man might then live at his ease. Such persons ought to be informed that the whole rental of the lands of Bagland does not exceed 38 millions annually, while the population amounts to 13 millions; which leaves barely three pounds a year for each individual, and at once shows the absurdity of the calculation. Such opinions are circulated solely for the purpose of exciting discontent among persons ignorant of the truth, and of moulding their minds to receive the doctrines of revolution.

The riches which the poor man naturally regards with an envious eye would be as nothing if cast into the common stock; while this change would deprive him of the resource now provided for his necessity in time of need. If all property were in common, those who are at present rich would indeed fare as badly as the poor; but the poor man would fare infinitely worse than he does now. This is the great truth to be made plain and intelligible to the labouring people; and were this truth once distinctly understood, it would go far to reconcile them to their condition.

The possessions of the wealthier classes yield the fund which supplies the means of present relief under the Poor Laws; the true design of which is to save the poor man from falling into absolute want. These Laws were never intended to provide work for the strong nor maintenance for the idle; but the mistaken mode of carrying them into effect has gradually admitted the latter to participate in the fund of the helpless.

All plans for the sudden abolition of the Poor Laws are altogether impracticable. They are so interwoven with the habits and feelings of the people, that it would be equally unjust, as well as unprofitable, to attempt it. But an improvement in the administration of them will gradually accomplish all that is required; while the compulsory mode of raising the supply, which cannot now be laid aside, will render those contributors who might otherwise withhold their proportion.

The first thing to be done is, to exclude the idle and the profligate from all participation of benefit-to allot relief, not at so much a head to the respective families, but according to their merits and means of existence.

The next is, to restore among the labouring people that desire of independence, that reluctance to parish alms, which our countrymen formerly felt, and to assist them in becoming so by every practicable aid to industry.

It is highly important to convince the poor that they will be the gainers by such an improvement in the system, which, as it now stands, will not only be ruinous to the upper ranks; but they themselves will be equal sufferers when the whole property of the nation shall be absorbed into the general mass of pauperism. The value of different ranks is not more important in preserving order in society, than in supplying a resource to poverty from the benevolence of those who are Treasurers and Stewards of Divine Providence. A rich man, should he possess not one grain of charity, cannot help benefiting his

poorer fellow-creatures. Let him spend his money how he may, he must afford maintenance to numbers. His ordinary wants, his pleasures, his vices,-minister to the support of hundreds whom he never saw, and who know not their employer. It is impossible to estimate the prodigious number of manufacturers to whom he gives direct encouragement in the making of every article of his clothing, equipage, and furniture. The wine and the coffee on his table employ hundreds in the preparing, and the transport of it to his hand, as well as the vehicle in which it is conveyed. But reduce this man to the condition of a pauper, he contributes nothing to all these trades; and, should pauperism become universal, all must necessarily cease.

It has been wisely observed by the celebrated Adam Smith, that the poorest inhabitant of England possesses certain comforts which an Indian monarch cannot command. Should this country ever be reduced to the state we now contemplate, all the sources of our present comforts would be cut off, and the people of this happy land would be replunged into that state of ignorance and barbarism, in which, before the Roman conquest, the whole nation was involved.

If any one of our readers should be disposed to doubt this, let him inquire into the present condition of those countries once enjoying all the blessings of civilization, which are now immersed in the most deplorable ignorance and wretchedness. Let him ask those who have traversed the once happy and enlightened country of the Lesser Asia, where the first rays of Christianity shed their lustre ; let him ask what comforts, what knowledge, the miserable descendants of those ungrate ful nations now enjoy. The Traveller will tell him in reply, that no traces remain of their former refinement and grandeur, except the fragments of their palaces and temples ;-that war and rapine have wasted the population ;-that famine and disease have desolated the former abodes of learning and science ;-and that even the soil which was once clothed with verdure, and yielded abundance to the possessors, is now become a barren desert.

To avert such ruin from this highly-famed nation, every patriotfeeling should be called into exertion. If the wisdom of Parliament has hitherto been unable to devise a prompt and effectual remedy for the evil, it surely proves that the means must be sought where the authority of the State cannot penetrate. It is to be sought for in the moral character of the people. The people themselves must, each in his individual capacity, accomplish that reform upon which the public safety and happiness depend-a reform which can only be effected by the means pointed out in the energetic language of Mr. Burke:"Patience, Labour, Frugality, Sobriety, and Religion:- these should be recommended to them. All else is downright fraud."

EDITOR-L.

POPULAR LAW.

No. II.

In the former article we brought down our abstract of the British Constitution to the manner of enacting laws by the three estates of the realm. Our next object must be to show the provision which has been made for putting those laws in force. Private Acts of Parlia ment, that is, such as have a local operation only, authorizing the inclosure of waste lands, building of public edifices for various purposes, making of roads, &c., point out in themselves the persons who are to put them in execution. Commissioners are named, and sufficient powers are granted to carry the intentions of the Legislature into effect. It is the same with the Acts which relate to the revenue: the established administrators of the law have nothing to do with this species of jurisprudence, except in those cases where the construction and meaning of them is questioned, and it is necessary to enforce their provisions by the sanction of a higher authority. But all laws of a general nature, enacted for the government of the community, without regard to particular places, pass immediately into the great body of our jurisprudence, waiting their application by the judges of the land as occasions may arise. Every law awards the infliction of a punishment upon those who offend against the plain principles of justice; or it is a command upon the people to do certain things, or to abstain from doing certain other things. Now it is obvious that the mere injunction is not sufficient to ensure obedience; it is therefore essential to the general welfare, to promote which the law has been enacted, that some penalty should be imposed on those who disobey. Its amount is proportioned to the magnitude of the offence; from the loss of life down to a temporary imprisonment, or the exaction of a trifling fine. The task of the judge commences at this point. It is his duty to interpret the Law, and order its sanctions to be put in force. In some instances he is strictly bound by the provisions of the statute; but with regard to the generality of offences, he is vested with a discretion to commute the punishment, when the guilt of the culprit is softened by extenu ating circumstances. On the other hand, in cases of aggravated delinquency, his sentence may amount to the highest severity prescribed, but cannot exceed it. He is gifted with the attribute of mercy, but he may not be vindictive. If the flagrant criminal has nothing to hope from his enormities, he has nothing to dread from the injustice of the tribunal before which he appears: he knows the terrible forfeit he has incurred; and, if it is demanded, the sentence is pronounced in order that others may be deterred from a vicious life by the example of an ignominious death, to which the constant violation of the laws must inevitably lead. Anciently the jurisprudence of the kingdom was, under the King, in the hands of the ecclesiastics; from which body, as the most learned, the judges were chosen. At the Conquest the ecclesiastical jurisdiction was diverted into another channel, and the successful practitioners of the law were elevated to

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the bench, care being taken to select those to fill up the vacancies, whose abilities and experience best fitted them for the important trust. The fact was different with respect to the Court of Chancery; the judge of which court was chosen generally from among the bishops: sometimes the office was bestowed upon a statesman, or courtier, but seldom upon a lawyer. At the close of Elizabeth's reign, however, the practice of elevating none to this dignity but those who were best qualified by a practical knowledge of the laws, was established, and has never been departed from, except in one instance, during the succeeding reign; and then the innovation continued but for four years. It is the province of the Lord Chancellor to decide in matters of civil property, taking for his guide the common law of the land, and the principles of equity rather than the technical distinctions of legal enactments. He is the general guardian of all infants and idiots who are destitute of natural relations to protect their property. It belongs to him also to administer justice in cases of bankruptcy; to watch over the interests of public charities, and discharge several other functions of great weight in the good government of the State. The immense extent to which the business of Chancery has increased in modern times rendered it necessary to appoint an assistant to his Lordship; who, under the title of "Vice-Chancellor," sitting in a separate court, facilitates the ends of justice, which before were impeded by the great accumulation of suitors. There is also another court, of remote origin, coming under this general description, in which the Master of the Rolls presides; yet all are scarcely sufficient to meet the numerous demands upon their judicial attention.

The Court of King's Bench, so called because the King used formerly to sit there in person, is the supreme court of common law in the kingdom; consisting of a Chief Justice, and three puisne, or younger justices, who are by their office the sovereign conservators of the peace, and chief coroners of the land. It keeps all inferior jurisdictions within the bounds of their authority, protects the liberty of the subject by speedy and summary interposition, and takes cognizance both of civil and criminal causes. The next, in point of rank, is the Court of Common Pleas ; or, as it is sometimes called in law, the Court of Common Bench. The judges are four in number; created, as in the other courts, by the King's letters patent; and their duty is to hear and determine all matters of law arising in civil causes, whether relating to real property, personal effects, money due upon bonds, or suits which are mixed and compounded of all. The Court of Exchequer is inferior to both those already mentioned. It was set up, as a court of record, by William the First; though it has since been regulated and reduced to its present form. Its judges are four in number, and are called barons, not justices, as in the other cases, from the circumstance of their being originally chosen from among the barons of the kingdom. It is chiefly occupied in matters connected with the revenue; such as the recovery of debts and duties owing to the State; the punishment of persons violating the laws relating to exports and imports; and other offences by which the public treasury may be

injured, extending its jurisdiction to questions at issue between subject and subject.

The whole of these courts are held at Westminster; being near the palace of the Sovereign, to which they were formerly considered an appendage; travelling with the Monarch into such parts of the kingdom as he chose to select for his residence. Their permanent establishment in the Metropolis cannot but be regarded as a national convenience; not less advantageous to suitors than to those who are connected with the judicial administration. These courts sit at four different periods of the year, for nearly a month at a time; and in the intervals the judges are engaged in visiting the different counties, for the purpose of holding the Assizes; at which the prisoners are tried, and civil suits are determined :-a task which is performed twice a year. In the system of English jurisprudence an excellent provision is made for the attainment of complete justice, whenever that end is not accomplished by the award of the tribunal at which it is first solicited. Should a party feel himself unfairly dealt with, from defective evidence, a misapplication of law, or even the supposed misconduct of the presiding authority, he has the right of appeal to another court. A great part of every term is occupied in hearing motions for new trials upon cases decided by one of the judges when upon circuit, and in numberless instances such motions are successful. Then again, an appeal lies from the decisions of the Courts of Exchequer and Common Pleas, to the King's Bench; whose judgments in civil matters may be set aside by the Court of Equity, or Chancery. Nor does the privilege of the subject end here; for if not convinced that the adjudication is founded upon just principles, the House of Lords is open to him, as a last resource, and he may conduct his case himself, or put it into the hands of a professional gentleman; who, in addition to an assiduity and zeal equal to what he himself could boast, will add the advantages of learning and forensic ability. But we must explain a little more in detail, the formation of the courts of justice appointed to try the guilt or innocence of persons charged with violating the laws. We shall not now go into a statement of the means taken to put an offender upon his trial: that is a part of the general subject' which may be more conveniently elucidated in a subsequent inquiry. All offences are held, in law, to affect not only the parties upon whom they are immediately committed, but through them the whole community; as the whole have an interest in the safety of every individual. The Monarch, therefore, being the head of the State, and chief conservator of the public peace, every criminal act is laid down as being directed against the peace of our Sovereign Lord the King, who is in matters of jurisprudence the representative of the whole people. Before the opening of the Assizes, there are Sessions of the Peace. The Sheriff of the county is bound to summon four-and-twenty good and lawful men, to attend on the day appointed, to serve as a Grand Jury. They are chosen from among the gentlemen of greatest consequence in the county, some from every district; and it is necessary that there should be not fewer than twelve present to enable them to proceed to

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