ENGLAND. 29 
Statistics. Justices are appointed by the king’s special commission. quer, which manages the royal revenue, and i which Statistics... 
—_r— In this i aati i justices are direct- Culses ctlatitas tnit-are detgnnined ; ‘one. tie oot, eV 
ed to be always i without whom no business or judicial part of it, which is again subdivided into a 
Municipal . 
law. 
Courts of 
justtoe, 
in 
to keep the peace 
of surveyors of the highways con- 
to execution the statutes for the re- 
Fa EE 
25 
& 
a 
if 
a = 
ri 
g 
& 
3 
The municipal law of England is divided into the 
i or common law, and the written or sta- 
The common law consists of general cus- 
particular customs of certain of the 
i , and those particular laws which are observed 
only in certain courts and jurisdictions. 
proceedings and inations in the ordinary 
-spangctacnpayl A yyiny wecpeneed 
pace rid so . Of these customs 
are the itories, the judicial de- 
cisions ing their guides. The 
written laws of the kingdom consist of those statutes 
which made by the king’s majesty, by and with 
consent of the lords / igess and tem- 
poral in parliament assembled. If common law 
and statute differ, the former gives place to the latter ; 
and an old statute is superseded by a new one ; but if a 
gies 
EF 
a 
: 
= 
E 
court of equity and a court of common law. From the 
equity side of this court, none lie immediately to the 
House of Peers. The whole num! 
to all of whom, intricate and important points of law, 
that occur in any trial, are referred. . They also sit 
in ihn Limes of Lords, in order that may assist: 
them with their opinion and advice, when that House 
acts in its judicial capacity. Formerly the judges were 
dependent on the crown ; but his present Majesty be- 
gan his reign with ing, “that he looked upon 
the independence and uprightness of the judges as es- 
sential to the imparti inistration of justice—as 
one of the best securities of the rights and liberties of 
the subjects—and as most conducive to the honour of 
the crown.” Upon this an act was by which 
the judges are to be continued in office notwithstand- 
ing the demise of the crown; nor can they be remo- 
ved, but by a joint address of both Houses of Parlia- 
ment to the king. The High Court of Chancery is the 
most im t of all the king’s civil courts of justice. 
It has its name from the judge presiding in it, who is ' 
styled Lord High C lor, because the highest point 
in his jurisdiction consists in cancelling the king’s let- 
ters patent, when they are granted contrary to law. 
The Lord Chancellor takes precedency of every tem- 
lord. By his office he is speaker of the House of 
s. To him belongs the appointment of all the 
justices of the peace thro lions ty mre and he 
is patron of all the king’s livings under the fouly va- 
lue of £20 in the king’s books. He is also the general 
guardian of all infants, idiots, and lunatics. The Court 
of Chancery, in which the Lord High Chancellor alone 
sits, and determines without a jury, ju causes in 
equity, in order to moderate the rigour of the law, to 
defend the helpless from oppression, and i 
extend relief in cases of accident, fraud, a teen of 
trust.’ From this court om Seeehney seeaeraser: 
statute that another be itself ed, the the House of Peers, which is the supreme court of ju- 
first statute is revived without any words for dicature in the ki . From its decision there can 
that purpose. be no farther appeal. 
common law and ety. 
the ecclesiastical courts, the courts military, e 
courts maritime. The court of King’s Bench is the 
was understood to 
The courts of assize act as auxiliaries to the courts 
already mentioned : They are composed of two or three 
commissioners, who are sent round the kingdom twice 
every year, except in the four northern counties of 
Northumberland, Durham, Cumberland, and West- 
moreland; in which the assizes are held only once a 
ber of judges is twelve; Judges. 
year. 
The trial by jury, handed down from our Saxon an- Trial by 
cestors, is the most noble feature in English juris- jury. 
prudence, and is justly regarded as the safeguard of 
the lives, liberties, and property of the nation, In ci- Jn civil. 
vil cases there are two kin juries, special and com- cases. 
mon ; special juries were ly introduced, when 
the causes were too intricate for the discussion of or- 
dinary freeholders. In forming a special jury, the 
sheriff attends with his freeholders book, on the 
per officer takes indiscriminately 48 of the freeholders, 
12 of. whom are struck off by each of the attornies on 
both sides, A common jury is returned by the sheriff, 
who gives in a list containing not less than 48, nor 
more than 72 jurors, whose names are put into a box, 
and the 12 first drawn out are sworn on the jury. The 
jurors may be challenged by either party. Bach of the 
12 men me epee, Hepa is sworn separately, well 
and to try the issue een the parties, and a 
true verdict to give according to the evidence. The 
3 
because the Sovereign 
pa ocoring by ata ad a. tN it is so 
u 
in San fe. Jotnlicind extease & the whee 
are three puisne judges, The authori 
Teenie he cekaronel ot wall so ciel aa the latter is 
called the crown side, the former the plea side, of the 
court. It is a court of appeal, into which may be re- 
moved all determinations of the court of Common Pleas 
and of the inferior courts ; but from it an appeal lies to 
the House of Lords, or to the Court of Exchequer. The 
court of Common Pleas determines all civil actions be- 
tween man and man, as distingui from “ the pleas 
of the crown;” which term comprehends all crimes and 
F eidgesiry ours. Cae “_—- Paar Ay "or haenad and 
i ju Ex uer, sO 
Semen Tage the encitel vada ch ceiling apon's che- 
quered board, is a court of law and equity also. It 
consists of two divisions. The receipt of the exche« 
