The Golden Age of Law.
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THE GOLDEN AGE OF LAW. IN the realms of law, history assuredly is of whom addressed the jury, and then refus both instructive and entertaining, for it ing the prisoner — generally ignorant of law shows what a miserable myth the " golden — the privilege of legal assistance, seems age " is, and exposes the sham of the " good shameful in the highest degree. Better by old days." It is impossible to imagine how far it should be as now, and that the prisoner any one who has read Lord Campbell's should be given every latitude and every chance of escaping punishment. "Lives," the "State Trials,". and such im portant legal works as Stephen's " History Again, the scale on which punishments of the Criminal Law," can ever regard the were awarded was terrible; high treason, past with feelings other than those of pro petty treason, piracy, murder, arson, bur found disgust. glary, housebreaking, and putting in fear, Let us consider what was the position of highway robbery, horse stealing, stealing a man charged with an offense in the time from the person above the value of a shilling, of the last two Stuart kings — the end of and two other offenses, were punishable with death, whether the offender could read or the seventeenth century. This period is chosen, not because it was not. If he could not read, and was there exceptionally bad, but because it is more fore unable to claim benefit of clergy, all generally interesting, although the days of felonies and every kind of theft above the the Tudors would reveal details as cruel and value of a shilling, and all robbery were as unjust, when the brutality of Sir Edward capital crimes. Flogging was a most popu Coke, and other servants of the Crown, lar punishment, especially in cases of mis demeanor, and such tortures as cutting off equalled that of Scroggs and Jeffreys. Legal procedure was very different then the ear, slitting the nose, burning in the to what it is now, and its terrible intrinsic hand, were freely dispensed by judges. Burning to death was the regular punish unfairness can be understood when one re flects that the proceedings in a criminal ment for women found guilty of treason. court were initiated and conducted on the But enough has been said on this subject supposition that the prisoner was guilty of to show how materially in this respect the the offense charged against him: that in "good old days" differed from our de cases of treason and felony, which then cadent age. practically included all serious offenses, the And now, limiting our observations to the prisoner was not allowed to have counsel to specified period, let us turn to the most represent him, except by leave of the court interesting cases which were tried during — seldom given — and then only to argue those reigns, which have been termed "per points of law. haps the most critical part of the history of It was a long time before counsel were England," and we cannot do better than permitted to cross-examine, and it was not commence with a trial, which is not only a until 1837 that they could address the jury monument of injustice, but one of constitu in defense. To one acquainted with the tional import. technicalities of our criminal courts, the The Regicides, i. e. those who were con procedure adopted, e. g. in the seventeenth cerned in the execution of Charles I, and century, of arraying against a man on trial were excepted from the act of indemnity, for his life, a number of eminent counsel, all were arraigned at the Old Bailey, on the
