r79i' tiTERARr intelligencer. 283 



aw, to fliorten its continuance in general, as far as is 

 confiftent with public fafety. Where a perfon has been 

 committed on a prefumptive appearance of guilt, if the _ 

 crime is not of a very heinous nature, he may in moft 

 cafes be admitted to freedom on hail, till it can be afcer- 

 tained by a fair trial, whether he has been innocent or 

 guilty of the crime laid to his charge. In crimes of a 

 deeper dye, where it is not competent to liberate the 

 prifoner upon bail ; the time of imprifonmcnt before 

 trial, is made as ftiort as is confiftent with a fair invef- 

 tigation of fa£ls. In this refpeft, England is confpicu- 

 oufly dilfinguilhed above all other nations, and with 

 jiiftice, is proud of her habeas corpus aft, which fo per- 

 feftly fecures to her the benefit of thefe invaluable pri- 

 vileges. 



In cafes where iraprifonmeirt is ordered as a puniJJjmettt 

 for delinquency of any fort, the power of inflidling that 

 punifhment, as the power of inflifting every other pun- 

 ishment awarded by the law, is taken out of the hands of the 

 perfon injured, and is, entrufted to the judge alone, who 

 10 impowered to prefcribe the time of its duration, and 

 to determine the condition on which it may be fliorten- 

 ed ; and who, by being cool and uninterefted in the 

 caufe, is fuppofed to be able, in awarding juftice, to re- 

 member mercy. 



In all cafes too, where imprifonment is ordered as a 

 punijhment, even the judge himfelf is not authorized to 

 inflicl it, till the crime for which it is awarded be ful- 

 ly proved : for it would be highly unjuft to inflict a 

 puniiliment, wliere there llill remained a doubt of the 



In general, our laws have alfo cautioufly difcriminat- 

 ed between crimes and fnis fortunes. If one man, for ex- 

 ample, fiiall have the misfortune to kill another, the 

 mere proving of this fadt is not deemed enough to fix 

 upon him the guilt of murder. Before the culprit can 

 be punilTied as a criminal, it muft be proved, that his 

 licart alfo was aflenteng to the deed : nor can any oae 



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