'34 
TRAVELS IN 
JURISPRUDENCE. 
The constitution and the practice of the Court of Justice 
at the Cape are ill suited to the sentiments of Englishmen, 
yet, as their continuance was stipulated for in the articles of 
capitulation, they remained of course unaltered. The civil 
servants of the Dutch East India Company composed two- 
thirds of its members, and one-third was chosen from the 
burghers of the town. The Company, as proprietors of the 
settlement, directed their servants to take the ascendancy in 
all colonial affairs, but by way of reconciling the free citizens, 
not in their employ, a certain proportion were admitted into 
the civil courts and public boards ; but, as might be sup- 
posed, the propositions and opinions of the former were gene- 
rally found to preponderate. None of the members of the 
Court of Justice were professional men ; nor were they sup- 
posed to possess a greater share of legal knowledge than the 
other citizens out of which they were chosen. The Fiscal 
and the Secretary were the interpreters of the law. The 
members might be considered as a kind of special jury, who, 
after hearing the evidence, decided on the facts by a ma- 
jority of voices. As members, composing a Court of Judi- 
cature, they had no salaries under the Dutch government, 
and therefore were supposed not to reject presents from one 
or both of the parties who had suits before the Court. But 
although they had no special salaries, most of them either 
actually enjoyed other employments attended with profit, or 
■were considered as entitled to succeed to them on vacancies, 
in recompence for their services as ministers of justice. And 
2 
