Aurora General Advertiser from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • 2

what law ought to provide for and thereby iwvMttuMriin' the perjury i TU commitm to vhm vxs eomnutttdjJx rtaloj amsmberfstametothsseledrnenoftlu I the hill Provided always and be it further gave his vote for making us pay the debts of the man by whoav they had been This is never to be forgotten 'Zkw fc ai i-v- Sc kunoo vt trcsim SATURDAY JANUARY SO 1808 enacted that when a verdict shall be given tsjm of a ston also a letter covering the tame from the selectmen and by them prcuued through thr plaintiff in any action to he brought against any justiae of the jieace peace offi cer or other person for taking or imprison-' ing or detaining any person or for seizing arms or enteiing houses under color of any authority given by this act and it shall appear to judge ou judges before whom the same shall be tried that there was a probable cause for doing the act complained of in such action and the judge or court shall certify the same on record then and in that case the plaintiff shall not be entitled to mere than sixpence damages nor to any costs suit i provided also that where a verdict shall be given lor thtf plaintiff in any such action as aforesaid and the judge or court before whom the cause shall be tried shall certify on the record that the injury for which such action is brought was wilfully and maliciou-dy committed the plaintiff shall be entitled to treble costs of suh Thus as the reader will perceive man injured by the magistrates or their underlings should obtain a verdict from the jury the judge may set that vtyilicl aside and the injured person by wav of redress may Jure to pay his own co! It is really difficult to see how a jury can be in such a case of any use at all There was a debate upon this clause of which I shall give an account Mr Brand moved for the clause to lie expunged as being grossly unjust and Mr Perceval admitted that the clause was not one which he could have wished to see introduced but hen the necessity of the case was considered when it was recollected that the state of Ireland required that very irksome and disagreeable duties should be imposed on the magistrates which they would he unwilling to perform and which iu fact it would be dan- their representative to this house have attended that servee mul euh have to REPORT That they proposed to meet the said seamen at Faneud Hall hut it was requested by some of the gentlemen not to meet them Your committee then named twenty -five of the memorialists and not less as a committee to meet your committee oh Friday the 15th inst at three Your committee attended at said time and place and found six only of the merno- rialists present namelv fofin White ofPhiladel phia aged 40 years Lilley of East Port district of Maine 25 yt-ari John Ilayman Danvers in the ounty of Essnx aged 22 vear yh Hoar of Virginia agad 24 years Gnjfttk of Balumore ageu 25 years James Adas of Virginia aged 24 ears There were threa others appeared who had pot signed the memorial Your committee consider that they had no further authority' than to exa mine the said memorialists and report a state of facts which appear to he a follows as to three tile aboe mentioned men James Prase Porn "in Salem has a wife and four children living in Lynlk-ld That he had been in boston four or five weeks This was the only married man John White said he has three children in Phil a lel)hia That he had Sail-d out of Boston five years but did not know anyone man of the memo rialists who vyere absent That he was discharg ed from the schooner William Joseph Thirst muster about 3lh December eight days before be signed the memorial These are the only men who have either wife or children John Hoar was discharged from the brig Edward captain Elliot master about 24th December John II a man came from Salem in the bark Mary in December JcJfcrson Grijp was discharged from the ship Aurora Isaac Rand master December 14 James Adas was discharged from the ship Eaton captain Netyman January 1 1803 John -acted that 'whnn of ed of Hoar says he dul not sign the memorial himself 1 but that a person whom he did not know signed it 1 for him neither dd he know any of the others whose names were signed bv the same man as a p-1 pears on the memorial being about eleven 4n num-1 her and that he did nt apply himself but was prevent Should any object to this conduot of jurors as-nuny thoughtless men do how I ask will they mend it? Let us suppose a juty divided 8 and 4' Now he who objects to the 4 giving up to the 8 must advocate the 3 giving up to the one or the other consequence must follow and the latter is to double the evil every way In short so little has the jury been attended to that no principle whatever has been preserved their selection their treatment and their unanimous decision shew have becn-used as a cloak or a curtain to other powers To swear then to do right and then to compel them by necessity to do wrong is a curious species of morality for court of justice Will the friends of the judges venture out and combat tffese exposures Or will tjiey content themselves with decrying innovation and tell ns of the sacred trial by jury a here tofore If they do it is to be hoped the day is not far distant when the Enlightened yeomanry of our country will shew them that juties have consciences not to be forced and their oaths are not to he disregarded when acting as jurors in fine that they have Tights and claim the dignity due to their station and trust REGULUS ro THE AURORA On Tuesday last the federal governor of the state of Delaware Truitt was sworn inte power and place lie delivered a very good address particularly as it respects the administration of like the addresses which hitherto have come from federal malice and venom He ha complimented the pretent administration of the general government in such decided and liberal terms as will do him honor George in composing this addi ess has done himself and our state some honor and I have no doubt and the rest of your democratic friends also feel confident of a liberal policy The address should he safely preserved as full proof of the wisdom and virtue of Mr Jefferson in managing the affairs of the government HONESTUS Dover January 23 No doubt but application has been made to our legislature by some of our new created insurance companies for charters It is to he hoped that the legislature will not grant the same unless they consent to insert in their policies a clause of some import similar to that ol the United Slates insurance with regard to the submitting points in controversy to a releitncc and in fact the penalty ou -ht to be much heavier than is submitted to by the latter office for for the sake of one thousand dollars they might get clear of such and by that means keep a man out of his properly for a number of years MARK THEM iv Post gcrous for the to perbrm with the zeal and fidelity rcquiied unless they were protected of unintentional errors into which front appearances they might tje led who on that and ter memorial anv and one sea citizens This when in short it was considered that the very jurors in such actions of damages might be persons against horn ifhad been necessary Charles Lilley aml James Aders djd not sign j-or tcm tQ exercise the enactments of this act and whose minds might en that account be inflamed against them when all these things were considered it was the opinion of those best acquainted with th state oflreland that the act must he impel fectly executed unless the magistrates were secured by a clause like the This is a pretty good confirmation of my lord assertions respecting the unanimity tint prevails in Ireland and the well known readi ness of the Irish to join heart and ind as one man against the enemies of the constitution Sir Arthur Pigot the late attorney general in answer to Mr Perceval said that he was decidedly of opinion that the provision now objected to would be a disgrace' to the statute book Were they by ibis most extraordinary bill to give extraordinary powers to magistrates and then after they had exceeded even the powers given them to protect them from the verdict of a jui If the right hon gentleman was afraid that the persons asked by the same peisun to let his name be put down themselves neither did they know the person signed for them nor any of those whose names were signed ly the same hand It appears the memorial that the same hand signed one third of the whole number One of them farther states that the man appeared to he a gentleman he sat in a house where he did not belong as sailoi passed by he called them in And put downtbeiruames but heasked themtoharetheir names put down without their solicitation Af examining the six men wlm signed the (and the three who did not sign your committee read over to them the whole list of names distinctly requesting them if they knew one to declare it and of the whole one hun Ired four in numb who not appear they knew only fite tvs of them belonged to Salem of them a blacksmith the other ha 1 gone to four weeks ago one other belonged to Ken-nehunk and the other as not to he found It further appears that the memori'd wras intended 1 1 be presrnteil to their affluent fellow and not to this house 1 he gentlemen selectmen were present during the im estimation being the result of the enquiry your committee are of opinion that the above mentioned to be returned the selectmen who FROM THE BERKSHIRE REPORTER ALssrs Ptiei'i As the couHty of it is- supposed' nanuf ctures more woollen cl'H than any other part of America in proportion Its inhabitants it about 350n0 on a space of about 5 by 25 miles And as the ihipro'cment in the quality and quantity of our wool ii of utmost importance you are earnestly request to i isert the following communication f-om the celebrated ml Humphreys to the Agricultural Society of this state Yours A Some account tf the Spanish Sheep Communicated to the Massachusetts Society for promoting agriculture tty the hon David Humphreys The importance of ihe iorating the breed of Sheep in our country part'cularlyin the article of wool had been early impressed on my nund In addition to the gradual process of improvement by bestowing mo'e-care and on our native flocks in feeding them well and crossing the blond obviously suggested by reason and experience) two modes occurred Ter hastening and onsuring the attainment of that interestin' object The first to imro luce on op igale an entirely new race if a mine perfect one could be oltfuined the second to meliorate bur flock by producing a mixed pro eny fr our ordinary ewes by rn jis of a better breed But before there couid be sufficiently good reason for justifying the trouble and expense of transporting an adequat nu uber it was the part of wisdom to ascertain first whether the breed be superior in intrinsic value to those which already existed And in that case secondly whether tne race contemplated to be introduced is likely wne propagated the to retain all those quadrics hich constituted fhe original superiority of value? And here I found my opinion' in the affirmative of both questions as applied to a particular kind of Spanish sheep on the Lets stated in some instances ly respectable individuals and in others by official reports In Spain two distinct species of sheep have for ages existed the one named Meni-vos famous for their short fine wool peculiarly fit for carding the other denominated Ch rros distinguished for their long and coarse wool more suitable for combing The former are so precious as to he sought with eagerness by all who wish to meliorate the staple of the woollen manufactory in any country of Europe while the latter though much larger iu size are in so little estimation as never to he procured for My statements and remaiks will bd confined to the Ahrinos The height of the male is about the same as that of the ordinary breed in this country The head appears rather bigger and straighter The ears are very small The eyes remarkably bright Tke horns curved in spiral turn The neck shoit Tho chest broad The member more compact and thick than those of our former breed of sheep and the carcase is thought to have smaller bones and to be more round in the hinder part Tne body face and legs are covered with a delicate fleece which grows amazingly thick without any mixture of coarser locks or hairs This fleece is remarked to be much more impregnutod than that of any other breed with an oily substance apparently exuded in perspiration This animal is perfectly gentle Wut quick firm and regular in all his movements The female is considered generally having tho more characteristics of the pure blood in proportion as she approximates to this dc-ciiption yet the ewes are commeniy destitute of hoi ns A few well attested facts wifl serve to shew the value of this race None of the -where States was likely to preserve all those qualities which constituted the original superiority of value I needed only refer to the propagation of a bleed from the sime flock' with fleeces augmented in quantify and ui-diniriahad in fineness in Britain France Holland Switzerland (izrinitiv Denmark and Sweden In the mot noitiiern climate to which they have been cirried they fonc supns cd the cold peifoaly well and even with nit suffering any injury from having been in some instances "buried fora time under tho snow At the ttional farm of bouill in France they are repurte ou gooj authb-i'v to have not only resisted toe unfavorable influence of a siutiou natural too low and moist but to have preserved tk-ir wool in all its original fine less -ami Ktt Lrve increased the weight to an astonishing Be- gree -j It is a fact confirmed by experieme Se-yorid contradiction that the quality of ite wool does not depend on the quality of nu- turcs in Spun because same pmturts lnve unioLtined' irom time immemorial to different breeds which have never atM-sil-1 ted one remarkibie for the shortness and Idleness the other for ihe length and coarser ot the wool is Troreover equally well pre-1 ved that the quality does not depend cm the hit the greater pjifqf th Mtri-J nos make aunti-hly because there uie otkets I flocks of the same rce whicn remain perpeM ally ia the sn: district FOR TUB AURORA Trial by some light has lately been thrown on trial and a general wish that the trial shall really be by jury and not by judges as heretofore it ednnot he amiss to say a word on the jury itself If we have by scrutinizing found secrets in the trial perhaps wei may liv examining discover something wrong even in the jury Surely every thing ought to be examined and if at the adoption of the several constitutions it was not -if ignorance devotion to antiquity or any other cause whatever led our fathers toiulopt pi i-lish trial without examination of its parts it behoves its on the discovery to do it now with freedom and firmness The requisites to a good trial are capacity of intelligence disinterested)! ss and imparti clity The attainment of all these is per- haps impossible because as the selection must depend on some department of the court the partiality of such department may reach the jury and to take the jury altogeth- er by lot bile it admits of partial men being drawn offers no secuiity whatever against ig- norance Thus whatever way we turn presents us with difficulty Let us then cast our eyes to other affairs of men if no helps or reliefs can be drawn from thence In legislation in nego-: 1 ciation in arbitration and in ery other mode of adjustment to which mankind have been led by instinct or by reason there have been this principle preserved that each of the in- 'terested parties chose such on whom they could rely as possessing these requisuequnli- ties8c an umpire sometimes by lot sometimes by mutual agreementof the parties and sometimes by agieementof the agents and submit to the decision of a majority Let us now apply this principle to the for-ifiatioti of 'a jury Suppose in a civil ttia ach party choses four anil the remaining four -by lot from the patinel and th it two thirds agreeing should make the verdict or each three and six by lot and three fourths make-the' verdict Would it be better or worse than the present is the question The effects likely to flow horn such con- formation of a jury and decision are these So much partiality would be listed on each side as might be useful but could do no harm Generally speaking there is a sense ft of honor which awaken all the powers of the mind to guard the interest of those who put their trust in us so far at least as to see they 1 Buffer no injus ice but which honor for 1 bids our going beyond what is plausible in favor of him for whom we are soliciting justice the very existence of which would reconcile parties to the verdict wherein their friends have acquiesced Consequently we might expect a useful degree of solicitude on each side by thoso chosen by the parties and a watchfulness between them from those uro-lj -pires chosen to guai the public trust i Ate there equal excitements to a faithful discharge of duty at present? Will men drawm by lot and folded like sheep for the slaughter give the same attention to the in- I vestigation and feel the same solicitude for public approbation If it be possible to blunt genius to hill ambition to sleep and to render men on oath indifferent to their duty it is in the manner of selecting and in the treatment of a jury No trust no honor no confidence is reposed more than in the prisoner at the bar guarded by a bailiff shut up without the supplies or the reliefs required by nature until all are unanimous An obstinate fool or bribed villain may force eleven honest men to re- turn a verdict against their oaths their con-' sciences and tide public sentiment 1 The unanimity of a jury no doubt origina ted in the princip'e that before the life of a fellow creature should be taken the mous consent of the community should bigiven which community is represented th jury But even this ptinciple is violated in requiring a unanimous acquittal To preserve the principle the petit jury should act as the grand is where there is not a unanimous vote of guilty the verdict like the bill bhould be' returned for want of the num ber twelve Should there be eleven grand jurors for a bill for want of the twelfth it is returned not a true and no question asked so in like manner the petit jury ought to return upon a single objection and no doubt such was anciently the cam But to compel them to suffer every privation common to a jul-y room until all agi ce is to sacrifice all piinciple reason and common sense and treating oaths of jurors like the obligation of persons undei duress The same reasoning equally applies to civil causes Look to all the concerns of mankind ami such a parallel cannot be found Legislators judges awd all dciibei alive bodies that have a vestige of freedom of thought decide by a majority This is evidence that the human mind is so subject to disagreement that it is necessary to provide for such a case Vet here in the last resort in the most interesting cases possible men are eo npeiled to lay aside 'this property of their nature and twelve in number to have but one mouth and one mind or commit innumerable perjuries 'Those who have expeticnccd the jury room know that so obvious is this absurd and unnatural condition one of the first pioposi- tions is to fix what majority shall govern two thirds or three-fourths are the common numbers to which having once agreed their honor becomes stronger than their oath below and thuS the jury themselves from necessity prac- tice against law under the pains of perjury 1 1 1 1 1 4 might be objected to apply td legislation Py $0 far as Leal interests are afiecual it fully a plies to towns counties or distritts often ri) fCtKlii legislation vacli elect their best men 1nd 'thcdliii ltc rested embers decide between I Holland can be fabiicated without the mix ol a certain portion of this wool The Prce is more than twice as high per pound ver-' lS it for ordinary kinda I shall mention 'another place the increase weight of the im-! fleece hen this breed has been transferred from Spm to another country upon the tes-claim superfine cloths in England France and tincny ol those c-mcerned in their management That the flesh is not less succulent or well flavored than the best English or Amer- riOH THE BOSI0K DEMOCRAT To the representatives of the toien of Boston Gevtlcmen The enclosed memorial was handed to the selectmen of Boston signed by number of seamen whoaie now out of employ and destitute of the nv-ans of support Upon the best information that can be obtained it is found that a large portion them does not belong to this town or rominonwe dill many of them are citizens of otheis of the Uniled Slates and a part a-e foreigners The selectmen have directed me to cninmunii ate the memorial to you to request you to present it to the general court for ligislati'e consideration I am respectfully Your obedient servant CHARLES BULI INCH Chairman of the selectnun To the honorable selectmen of the town of Bos-ton HUMBLY shew The subscribers that from their youth they have hitherto followed the occupation of mariners and have exposed tlcir lives to tlie elements and lluir health to the pestilence of lor1 ign climes not moro iu pursuit of a scanty ilwistence for themseli es and families than to procure for their fellow citizens the conveniencies and luxuries of M'e and to tin ir native country that unexampled prosperity which so proudly elevates her in the scale of nations Tliit the representatives of the people in congress assembled deeming it necessary lor tbo safety of their country to interdxt the ocean to your they are then by deprived of using those means of subsistem to which alone they are accustomed and at a Season of the year when olb-rs cannot be res rt-J to That many of your petitioners have wivs andchil--dieu whoso support has wholly depended noon the exercise of their maritime occupation but who now experience the privation of every necea-saiy of life Your petitioners fi list that wltei thu community at large is apprized th Oie operation of a general law is so unequal as to thus thre tt-u with ruin a class of their fellow citizens who have not been accustomed to shrink in the hour of ger and who are still ready to sacrifice theii htes the defence of their country that tlio'-e h'nnau- virtues which characterize their dountrymert wil instantly impel to a relict of those sufferings It their houses this nobody in the house 1) of the Common law but wus not thru already is therefore with confidence that we appeal to the commons seems to have objected blit it vv ts the case in all revenue question Yhee nil fathers of the town to make known our wants and to rail upon oar affluent fellow citizens to contribute to their mitigation: And we humbly pisv that such further measures may be taken as in the wisdom of the select men may be thought best adapted to procure an immediate alleviation of our peculiar distresses (SIGNED WITH 110 NAMES) Boston January 18t'8 aggrieved might obtain a verdict while the country was in a state of irritation why limit the time for seeking redress to six months If agdin he was afraid of the inflammable state of thjj minds and that they might even have been parties in the supposed transgres-j sion the remedy was plain and to change the venue to a more distant county where no dissatisfaction or irritation of feelings had prevailed It had been said that a similar act had been intended to be proposed by the late ministry He would only say for one that he had never been consulted on nor heard of such an intention nor had he ever seen the present bill till yesterday If the state of Ireland was such as the right hon gentleman represented and that a jury could not be had there whose minds were not in an inflammatory state why not take away the trial by jur papers ought to caused them to be p-x-sented NATHAN MATtTINT Pr Order COMMONWEALTH Or VISA CH USE TT In the house of representatives Tuts i iy Jan 19 1808 The foregoing report is read and ordered to bt printed We trust Mr Bronson will make a return mot respectable than his colleague Dr It appears that the Boston petitioners were 190 in Buckram and the remainder recruited by Dr Parke for the royal service BRITISH BLESSINGS IY IRELAND en-irely at least suspend it till the feelings of the people were restored to a greater degree of calmness and composure It was a mockery to continue the trial by jury and yet to dc- privc an injured person of the effect of a enables the lord lieutenant upon receiving a 'diet after it was given in his favour It wusi'1 memorial from the magistrates of county said that the judges of Iceland were fair stating that disturbances exist therein to pro-! partial and upright He should be sorry to that county in a disturbed state where- doubt it He believed that they in comm )) upon the bill compels every man woman and with the judges of this part if the kingdom child in that county to remain within their I with whom he was more intimately acquaint- housos from sun-set at night until! sun-rise ed possessed every honorable and uprigr in tho morning though it is notorious that' feeling and quality But this was a power su i-risc and after sun-set affords some not to be intrusted to any man It was such of th best hours for husbandry labor Good a power as the law had refused to any jqdge or God! What a life to lead 1 Bui the being any set of judges This answer was shut up in this way js a trifle The magis-J complete in all its parts It left no excuse rates that is to say persons elected by the for the danse Now then let us hear the government have after the issuing of such defence of it by the present attorney general proclamation a right either by themselves sir Vicary Gibbs who contended that the or their office's to mak forcible entry at any enactment now objected to was not so novel lime in the night in'o any house to sec ifits as the hon and learned baronet had supposed inhabitants are at home and to take up and He confessed that plaintiff's in the situation imprison all those who may be caught out of alluded to were to be deprived of the benefit proposed so to qualify the clam-o as to coni- officer of thG revenue was sued nothing hut pl the house searchers to give rtn minntts the dry damage sustained by the injured par-lo the people within to prepare for the visit! ty was awarded against liim Where it was It was stdted that women ought to have a few a question of intention in revenue cases and minutes to lise and dress themselves But could be shewn the plaint iff coul 1 ten minutes was thought to he too much and not recover and it had been determined in the words a charmingly the case of Sutton and Johnston that 'the indefinite phrase was introduced in the stead' of cause" ican mutton 1 have frequent opportunities to decide for myself It is understood thatzmer-before mos are more easily maintained and fattened than the taller and larger breed inso-macn that there are persons acquainted with both breeds wtio' calculate that two hundred of these small honed and short legged sheep may he kept in tolerably good condition twenty of the other kind would suffer for want To establish a strong presumption in favor of the second point viz that the race then contemplated to be introduced into the question prohatAe was a question thereof Bu the most strongly characteris-' for the judge There the defendant would tic part ol this bill is the clause suspending the! have an acquittal and of course fast costs frpm the plaint ff here the plaintiff Was to tve a poininal verdict even although the judge was of opinion that the probable cause was with' the defendant The dailies which magistrates would have to perform in the preent-stnte Iceland weie of a most invidious natu-e and lie thought that this was not too great an indemnity to allow them in the discharge of such A Mr Boile supported the clause upon the ground "that the same bid been enacted before in Ireland and indeed that a similar provision now-made part of the of that country and lie asked sit Arthur Pi ot why he did not wlun in place come forward and propose to do it aw ty Tiiis Was a close question Aye this is the rtih Ail these thing' the wliigs forgot while in place Mr Erskine become Baron Erskine of Clucknianam' forgot quite fm got those bills against which he had so strongly protested and so solemnly owed to endeavour to cause to be repealed Nau lif common law as to retires against the magi trates and others in cases where they may under lor of this act be guilty of Unlawful violences against the people As the law thank God stands in this country as yet every magistrate and other peace officer is liable to lie punished for KfnS beyond the law except in cases where the revenue ir concerned and there the common Jaw that law by which 'our foref ilhers were governed and of which vv have the impudence boast is in a great digiee ubrogael by statutes by those statutes which William the third 's system of funding nd taxing introduced In other matters however we hvc as yet a jury to ap-pe1 to sgainst magistrates and other persons in authority who under pretence efexecu-ting'ihe law mvv convni jets of injustice against ns bur how the In') will now he situated in thii respect lh'- flawing clatisq the in question i'j c- reader to judge It is the aij tlte end of COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS In the bouse of representatives Thursday 14tflS Jan 1808 Mr Wright of Boston p-e vented a petition signed by several seamen which hail been previ ously addressed to the selectmen of Boston and by the selectmen recommended to the attention of the members from Boston the house of representatives Read and committed to captain Martin of jr-Wehead Mr Waul of Sa'ern and Mr Moody of Saco TUESDAY JAM 19 Captain Martin (of the committee to whom was referred the memorial of the selectman Boston covering and communicating a paper purporting to be a petiiion signed by a number ol Seamen praying for asri-'taiice) offers the report fF the committee containing a statement of the facts in the case The report being read and considered it is accepted and ordered to be printed It is also ordered that said papers be returned to the selectmen who caused them to be pre serted "Extracts from the journals SUMNER Clerk.