426 
County Zuarter Sessions of the Peace, [Dec. 1, 
trecasteaux, Marchand, Turnbull, Van¬ 
couver, Bligh, and Bass. 
How graiitying it would be to know 
after whom were called -all the countries 
of the old Continent! 
Liverpool, Mercator, 
Oct. 10, 1811. 
To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. 
SIR, 
HETHER I am a traveller from 
necessity or inclination cannot 
be a matter of much moment to vour 
readers; it is sufficient for the present 
purpose that such I am, and such I have 
been for some months past. After pay¬ 
ing my respects to his highness of Glou¬ 
cester, at the installation at Cambridge, 
I took an excursion to the westward; 
and, tovvard the conclusion of the sum¬ 
mer, I crossed the great north road in 
the opp'osite direction, shaping my 
course to the eastern side of the king¬ 
dom, and thence northward, through all 
the midland counties. Fart of this ex¬ 
cursion happened to be at that period of 
tlie year, when the Quarter-sessions were 
bolden in the different counties, and 
divisions of counties, in the direction of 
my journey. As few things afford me 
more amusement than attending the 
trials of culprits, where i he offences are 
rmi of that very heinous nature, and the 
consequent punishments of that extreme 
kind, us to affect my feelings, there was 
scarcely a court of sessions sitting, during 
rny tour, that I did not strole into. - The 
different modes in which the business of 
these courts was conducted, struck me 
Torcibly, and has been the subject of 
much subsequent contemplation. The 
first remark I made was, that, liiougb the 
limited jurisdictions of the corporate 
towns presented very little business, in 
comparison with those of tiie counties; 
and that, though the justices who pre¬ 
sided in the former were, in general, 
much less qualitied, by their situations 
in life, and their pievious education, for 
presiding over courts of law; yet that 
every thing was conducted with more 
decorum, and the trials proceeded much 
more according to rule, in them, than in 
the county sessions. A little observation 
left me at no loss to account for lids 
difference, and for superiorityhere I 
sh ield not have expected previously to 
]iave found it, Tlie justices of these 
little borough jurisdictions are assisted, 
or rather directed^ by a geiuiemaii at 
the bar, under the denomination of Re¬ 
corder, , whose turn of reading, and 
habits of life, have rendered him qua- 
116ed for presiding over a court of 
justice. 
Excepting two instances, I observed 
the chair of the sessions in the county 
courts, invariably filled by a clergyman, 
and much the majority of tlie ass/amnt 
justices of the same profession. I found 
on enquiry, that, in some places, these 
magistrates too took the chair by rota¬ 
tion ; the consequence of whicii was, 
that it was always insufficiently fided; 
that the advocates ran riot, that there 
was no system, no uniformity of practice; 
and, in snort, for want of a regular sta¬ 
tionary chairman, that the clerk of the 
peace became in fact the sole authority, 
to whom the bench ot justices were 
but secondary persons. Even in the 
places were this soft of rotation in filhng 
the chair did not take place, I cannot 
say I saw it filled by the clergy with any 
satisfaction. In some instances there 
appeared complete insufficiency, and, 
where that was not the case, a sort of 
didactic flippancy, an impatient con¬ 
tempt of legal forms and juridical pre¬ 
cision, supplied its place. As individual 
magistrates, I have no doubt that the 
clergy are among the most useful; and 
ft is reasonable to suppose, that they 
must be so. They are men of educa¬ 
tion, they are resident in their sphere of 
action, they have at least an equal sense 
of moral duty with the rest of mankind; 
but it is only perhaps reasonable to sup¬ 
pose a greater, from their continual 
tiabit of considering moral subjects, and 
of reaching Christian duties to the con¬ 
gregations committed to their charge. 
But, wliile their profession is the occasion 
of their possessing these qualihcations 
perhaps in a superior degree, it is at the 
same time productive of some habits pe¬ 
culiarly mimical to that patient investi¬ 
gation those nice discrimii'iations, and 
that silent attention, which ouglit espe¬ 
cially to digtinguish the judge who is to 
decide upon liie liberty or the property 
of his fellow-man. Habituated to ha¬ 
rangue without contradiction, they can 
with difficulty impose upon themselves 
sufficient taciturnity to admit without 
interruption the arguments ot the ad¬ 
vocates. Being much used to generalise 
the subjects on which they treat, they 
can seldom bring their minds to admit 
those nice distinctions which, in favour 
of liberty, the law allow G or those sub- 
iilue? 
