pa' TRAVELS IN 
evidence, ho'vever firong, warrant the carrying of any fentenc« 
into execution, until a free confeffion be made of the crime. 
Such confeffion, it is true, was, under the Dutch government, 
fometimes extorted by the application of the torture j- in which 
cafe, if the guilty had nerve enough, he was fure to efcape, 
and if the innocent was feeble, he was equally fure of being 
hanged. 
Even in civil caufes, the prefumption that they were generally 
right is in their favour ; for fince the eftablifhment of an Englifli 
Court of Appeal in the year 1797, to the evacuation of the co- 
lony, out of the number of cafes brought before the faid Court 
of appeal, only one fentence was reverfed ; and it appeared 
that the error committed, in this inftance, by the Court of Juf- 
tice was owing to their tenacity rather to the letter, than to the 
Ipirit of the law ; and that by rigidly adhering to the fnni'inum 
juSf their decifion was produiflive of the fumma injuria. It was 
alfo fuppofed that, in the cafe alluded to, a very undue influence 
was employed to fway the Court; but as the' affair is yet to 
come before a Britifh court in England, I forbear to enter more 
at large into the fubjedt. Neither are the members of the Court 
of Juftice in the Cape fo wanting in talent or in legal know- 
ledge as might be fuppofed ; at leaft,, they proved to the world 
that they had fagacity enough to deted, and integrity and firm- 
nefs enough to punifh, the authors of a moft nefarious and bare- 
faced tranfadtion, which thofe perfons had contrived to carry 
through the Court of Vice- Admiralty with complete fuccefs, 
though the impofition was of the grolTeft nature. 
3 The 
