JUDICIAL AND EXECUTIVE SYSTEMS. 493 



say &quot; yes * or &quot; no &quot; to a proposed military expedition or to 

 some State-measure, also expressed its opinion concerning 

 criminal charges publicly judged, is implied by the fact that 

 &quot; the king could not grant a pardon, for that privilege was 

 vested in the community alone.&quot; Describing the gatherings 

 of the primitive Germans, Tacitus says : &quot; The multitude 

 sits armed in such order as it thinks good ... It is lawful 

 also in the Assembly to bring matters for trial and to bring 

 charges of capital crimes ... In the same assembly chiefs 

 are chosen to administer justice throughout the districts and 

 villages. Each chief in so doing has a hundred companions of 

 the commons assigned to him, to strengthen at once his judg 

 ment and his dignity.&quot; A kindred arrangement is ascribed by 

 Lelevel to the Poles in early times, and to the Slavs at large. 

 Among the Danes, too, &quot; in all secular affairs, justice was 

 administered by the popular tribunal of the Lands- Ting for 

 each province, and by the Herreds-Ting for the smaller dis 

 tricts or sub-divisions.&quot; Concerning the Irish in past timos, 

 Prof. Leslie quotes Spenser to the effect that it was their 

 usage &quot; to make great assemblies together upon a rath or hill, 

 there to parley about matters and wrongs between township 

 and township, or one private person and another.&quot; And then 

 there comes the illustration furnished by old English times 

 The local moots of various kinds had judicial functions ; and 

 the witenagemot sometimes acted as a high court of justice. 



Interesting evidence that the original military assembly 

 was at the same time the original judicial assembly, is sup 

 plied by the early practice of punishing freemen for non- 

 attendance. Discharge of military obligation being imperative 

 the fining of those who did not come to the armed gathering 

 naturally followed; and fining for absence having become 

 the usage, survived when, as for judicial purposes, the need 

 for the presence of all was not imperative. Thence the 

 interpretation of the fact that non-attendance at the hundred* 

 court was thus punishable. 



In this connexion it may be added that, in some cases 



