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Show 150 ATROCIOUS JUDGES. [A. D. luul. One of the Jury.- I cannot in conscience find him guilty, because the words in the inclictrnent and the book do not agree. Jlyde.- That is only through a mistake of the clerk's, and in that sentence only; and you may find him guilty of all, that sentence excepted; but why did you come in before you were arrrecd? 0 F01·eman.- \V c thought we hall been agreed. Ilyde.- You mu t go out again and agree; and as for you that say you cannot in couscience find hin1 guilty, if you say so again, without giving reasons for it, I shall talce an order 'with yott.* We shall find an explanation of this last threat (which soon produced a verdict in accordance with the wi ·hes of the chief justice) in IIale's Pleas of the Crown, l where it is stated that while Ilyde wa..: acting as a judge of nisi prius, he intro· duced the Hlcgal practice of fining juries for not rendering verdicts sati --factory to him. " I have seen," ·ays IIn.le, H ar· bilrary practice still go fro1n one thing t.o another. The fines set upon grand inque:ts began; then they et fine· upon the petit jurors for not finding according to t.he uirection of the court; then afterwards the judges of nisi p1'ius proceeded to fine jurors in civil cau~cs if th 'Y gave not n verdict according to direction, even in points of fact. T'ltis was done l>y n judge of assize [Justice IIy<.l , at Oxford, ·v~ugh. 1L15] in Oxfordshire, and the fine csLreate<l; but I, by au vic of most of the judges of England, , laye<l proce.'s upon that fine. [ Ilale was at this time chi f "baron of the Court of Excbe-. quer.J The like wa <lone IJy the same judge in a case of * 6 State Trials, 701-709. t 2 Hale, P. C. 1.58. A. D. 1CG4.] llOBEUT IIYPE. 151 burglary. The fine was cstreateu .into the exchequer. but 0 the like advice I stayed process; and in the case of l~agola:, [:'~ugh. 153,]. and other jurora fined at the Olcl I)aylcy for ~1v1ng a verdtet contrary to direction, Ly nd vice of aU the Judges of England, (only one Ji:3::5enting,) it wa ~ ruled to be against law."]* . In the fervor of loyalty which still pre,·ailccl, such doctrmes were by no n1eans unpopular; and while Chic(' Ju.JiC'e IIyde • was cried ur) u~, .'.l l 1 e) mt·n c11 t J· U< 1g e 1u- y 1h e trn• nnplwut Cavalier , the dejected I~ounuhead.:-3 lwrdly ,.c,nturcd to whisper a complaint again t him. To ihe great grief of the one party ' and , no d ou bt , to t }1 e ... ccrct J·O Y of · the other, who inter-preted his fate us a judgrnent, his career was suudenly cut short. On the 1 t of l\Iay, 1 G G~), a: he \\·a~ placing himself 011 the bench to try a dis:cnter who bad publi::;]wd ~ Look rcc-ommendin( o)' the "con1 p1.e 1w n::s ·w n, ,, 11 1 at 1J au,1 been promt•~ ed by the. ICinoo- ' :s· D ec 1a r'.", t t1' 011 f'r om l 3reda, wlu.l c apparently in the enJoyment of perfect health, he dropped Clown <lend. * The above pas--a 1 1 · 0 A . . • "< ge cu e; osec m brackets has been added by the editor. . ur . m. encan Judc"r es , m 01 .e sub tl e t I1 :1.11 thc1. r predecessors, m. stcad of fin-dm g Jdu nes for not re 1l de u.· ng vcr d.1 cts accordr. ng to di.r ectw. ns, haYe intro-uce the practice f t. · · th t . o q ues 10nmg Jurors beforehand, and not allowing em o s1t unless t11 ey pass a sat1· sfactory examination. - Ed. • |