176 Soceal Science Congress. 
“¢Tives thro’ all life, extends thro’ all extent 
Spreads undivided, operates unspent.’ . 
Here, then, is the law for our ardent but humble imitation. 
It is rich in promise, joyous in operation, and certain as 
truth itself. Of such a law how can we speak but in the 
noblest language that ever fell from the pen of uninspired 
man, ‘Of this law there can be no less acknowledged than 
that her seat is the bosom of GOD, her voice the harmony 
of the world: all things in heaven and earth do her homage, 
the very least, as feeling her care, and the greatest, as not 
exempted from her power; both angels and men, and crea- 
tures of what condition soever, though each indifferent sort 
and manner, yet all with uniform consent, admiring her as 
the mother of their peace and joy.’ ” 
Lord BROUGHAM, after suitable eulogies on deceased 
members, and other introductory observations, reminded 
the meeting that the report of the commission for inquiry 
into the great subject of capital punishment had been 
printed, that it is most important from the great body of 
information it contains, both on this and other countries, 
that it offered an almost solitary exception to the blank of 
the late session, for the material recommendation of the : 
report against public executions has been adopted by Par- 
liament after a somewhat warm opposition in the upper 
house. He referred to defects in the law of evidence which 
still remain not only without remedy, but without any real 
defence: the exclusion of parties in cases before the 
Divorce Court and other courts, who know most of the | 
facts. This no longer exists in civil suits, but in criminal 
cases we still shut out one party while we hear the other. 4 
The consequence, he said, of excluding the accused party 
had often been shown, and petitions to Parliament strongly . 
expressed them. A person is charged with an offence, : 
when he could at once explain all the circumstances, and 
show his entire innocence, and that the whole prosecution 
is a malicious proceeding, but his mouth is shut while his 
accuser is heard. ‘The French course of proceeding in this 
respect is to be carefully avoided; indeed, it was always 
proposed that with us the examination of the person 
accused, should only be taken upon his voluntarily tender- 
ing himself, and being willing to undergo the sifting of a 
cross-examination. Another deficiency of the late session 
was, the not passing an act to amend the optional clause 
in the County Courts Act. The importance of the juris- 
