CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 453 



plan of the police of London, and its efficiency is highly spoken 

 of. From all the information I could gather, crime has very much de- 

 creased in both the Cape district and colony. The statistics of crime 

 show but few cases. The quarterly sitting of the grand jury took 

 place during our visit, and there were but six presentments, viz., one 

 for culpable homicide, two assaults with intent to harm, one robbery, 

 one theft, or receiving stolen goods, and one fraudulent insolvency ; 

 and this within a district containing fifty thousand inhabitants. 



There are great complaints about the administration of the laws of 

 the colony ; the English system now prevails so far as to allow counsel 

 to the criminal. The trial by jury is established : seven of the twelve 

 must be present, and it requires a majority of these only to convict; 

 if more than seven are present, and the jury are divided equally, the 

 prisoner is acquitted. The Dutch criminal code formerly in force 

 has been modified by the English, so far as respects some punish- 

 ments ; torture, for instance, has been done away with. The crimes 

 of murder, high treason, counterfeiting, and rape, are punished with 

 death ; thefts of large amount, assault, robbery, and the like, are 

 punished by transportation ; while, for other and minor crimes, the 

 prisoners are employed as convicts on Robben's Island, working in 

 the quarries; for less offences, flogging and imprisonment are inflicted. 



On the other, hand the English civil law has been modified by that 

 of the Dutch : this has increased litigation, in consequence of the 

 absurd manner in which boundaries were formerly laid off; such, for 

 instance, as estimating by the distance a man could walk in an hour, 

 or canter with his horse. 



Another source of complaint, which amused me not a little, was the 

 administration of justice by a supreme court, over which a chief 

 justice and two puisne judges preside: two of these are English, 

 while the third is a Scotchman; the consequence is, the English 

 judges administer the law after the English code, while the Scotch 

 judge follows that of Scotland, which often renders the decision dia- 

 metrically opposite ; and it is impossible for the advocate or client to 

 know by what judge or law his case is to be tried. It was said, I 

 know not with what truth, that high connexions have been consi- 

 dered more suitable qualifications for the office than legal knowledge. 

 The salaries do not exceed fifteen hundred and two thousand pounds 

 annually. 



There are in the Cape colony eight districts. Each of these 

 is governed by a commissioner or civil magistrate, who is assisted by 



VOL. V. 114 



