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lished in such numbers, that, if the people fail of adequate information on public affairs, it can only be for want of time to read papers so voluminous. Every public library is gratuitously supplied with complete copies of them, and they are freely distributed by the members of Congress among those whom they represent. Newspapers, being the great vehicle of every-day information respecting public men and public measures, are made by law the objects of special favor in the arrangement of the mail, the expense of conveyance being so light as not to be burthensome to the poorest citizen; and more than ten thousand (11,100) post-offices convey them to every village and neighbourhood. Further to encourage the diffusion of political information which might not find its way into the public documents and newspapers, the same freedom from even the slightest expense of conveyance, is extended to the correspondence of every member of Congress, and every citizen is thus invited to communicate with the representative of his district with the utmost freedom, or with any other member with whom he may wish to hold communication. Thus invited and encouraged, and fully supplied with sources on which full reliance may be placed, if any citizen fails to keep himself well informed of public men and measures, he can complain of no one but himself.

There are several other topics of argument by which this duty of the citizen might have been illustrated, such as the indispensable necessity of the people possessing this information, to the suitable and satisfactory performance of any of the duties of citizenship; and the consideration, that, in a popular government, the acquirement of this knowledge by the citizens is only qualifying themselves to superintend their own business. But I have chosen the argument, by which the duty of the citizen to acquire the requisite information is inferred from the extraordinary facilities furnished him to this end; and the rather so, because this source of illustration seems to have been seldom used.. It may well be argued, that every duty is the more imperative as the means of fulfilling it are the more easily obtained. And, as the nation has, in its wisdom, rendered the means of political information accessible to all, what can excuse an individual from the duty of availing himself of them?

CHAPTER VI.

THE DUTY OF THE CITIZEN TO AID IN THE DEFENCE OF HIS COUNTRY, AND IN THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE, BY SERVING ON JURIES, GIVING TESTIMONY ON OATH, &c.

Ir is easy to understand, that universal peace is the interest of all nations; still history attests, that the utmost comity of one nation towards every other, joined with the most even-handed justice, has not always secured to it this great and invaluable blessing. The perverse passions of mankind,* the ambition and sometimes the resentment of princes, the thirst of powerful individuals for personal distinction, the dazzling splendor of military glory acting on warm imaginations, the love of enterprise in many, and passion for excitement in all, conflicting rights, claims, and interests, and sometimes questions of mere etiquette, have all had their influence in disturbing and desolating the earth with frequent, afflictive, and sanguinary wars.

We may hope and trust, that the blessing is in reserve for mankind, to have an international tribunal established for the adjustment of national controversies without the arbitration of the sword. But hitherto all attempts to establish such a tribunal have been unsuccessful, the hopes of the friends of universal peace have been uniformly disappointed, and, amidst the conflicting interests, passions, and prejudices of individuals, parties, and nations, the maxim still retains much of its original force, that "the best way to insure peace is, to be fully prepared for war." Our duties, moral as well as civil, are prescribed by the present condition, circumstances, and prospects of human affairs ;— they must necessarily have reference to the existing state of things, and not to what we may wish they were, and may trust they will be at some time hereafter. And, as it is a moral duty of a very high order, to obey the government under which we

* James iv. 1.

*

live, it seems too plain to require or even to admit further illustration, that all citizens who cannot claim exemption on some fair and reasonable ground, are morally bound, when called upon by government, to aid, and, if need be, personally to take part in the defence of their country. This aid is to be given cordially and cheerfully, not in obedience to power which we cannot resist, but as a part of our moral duty.

Again, it is the duty of the citizen to render personal aid in the administration of justice, by serving on juries and by giving testimony on oath. "The trial by jury," says Sir Matthew Hale, "is justly esteemed one of the chief excellences of the English constitution, it being an institution most admirably calculated for the preservation of liberty, life, and property. Indeed, what greater security can we have for these inestimable blessings, than the certainty that we cannot be divested of either, without the unanimous decision of twelve of our honest and impartial neighbours? This tribunal was universally established among all the northern nations, and so interwoven with their very constitutions, that the earliest account of the one, gives us also some traces of the other. In this nation," continues he, "it has been used time out of mind, and is coeval with the civil government thereof; and, though its establishment was shaken for a time by the introdution of the Norman trial by battle, it was always so highly valued by the people, that no conquest, no change of government could ever prevail to abolish it." †

Our ancestors brought the trial by jury with them, when they settled this country, and the eulogium bestowed upon it by the wise, pious, and learned jurist just quoted, is not beyond their estimate of its value. It was claimed and admitted as a right from the beginning; and, when this right was abridged by the British Parliament, the Congress of 1774 declared (see the fifth of their Resolutions), that "the respective colonies are entitled to the common law of England, and more especially to the great and inestimable privilege of being tried by their peers of the vicinity, according to the course of that law." In fact, the trial

* See p. 100.- Rom. xiii. 1-7; 1 Peter ii. 13-17.
History of the Common Law, Vol. II. p. 134.

by jury has always been regarded as the chief glory of our system of jurisprudence, and it is made the duty, as it is also the privilege of the citizen, in this way, personally to participate in the practical administration of justice. The grand jury, moreover, besides being the grand inquest for the indictment of criminals, are the constituted guardians of the morals of the country, and in respect to this part of their functions, seem to correspond to the Roman censors,* to whom the cognizance and supervision of the public morals were committed.

This institution, therefore, so venerable for its antiquity, its wisdom, and its practical value, evinced in the preservation and security of estate, freedom, life, and character, wherever it has flourished, has been esteemed too valuable to be intrusted to any delegated body whatever; - the people of this country, as well as of Great Britain, have wisely determined, by retaining it within their own keeping, to preserve, maintain, and defend it in its original integrity, and to hand it down unimpaired in value to coming generations. It is an institution, then, in the undiminished purity of which, the people have a universal interest. No one can foresee how soon his fortune, his reputation, his liberty, or his life may depend on the verdict of a jury; and, however upright the jurors may be, it is still a valuable feature of this mode of trial, that their sense of justice is stimulated by anticipating the possibility, that they may in turn, at some future time, be themselves placed in the situation of the accused.

But, after all the safeguards which this institution contains within itself, and which can be thrown around it, many and great as they are, its practical value must essentially depend on the virtue and intelligence of the great body of the citizens, — on the candor, integrity, sense of justice, knowledge, and sagacity, strength, and comprehension of mind, earnest and continued attention, impartiality, freedom from prejudice and passion, firmness, and personal independence of the individuals, who make up the jury. Without candor, integrity, and a strong sense of justice, it may be a matter of indifference to the jury how they decide the causes which come before them; without knowledge, and

* Censores mores populi regunto. Cicero de Legibus, Lib. III. c. 3.

sagacity, strength, and comprehension of mind, and earnest and unbroken attention, they may, after the most full and lucid statements and illustrations of the bar and court, still be too imperfectly acquainted with the many facts, circumstances, and reasonings pertaining to the case, to come to a sound decision on its merits; if, again, they are wanting in impartiality and are influenced by prejudice and passion, the stains with which partiality, prejudice, and passion are accustomed to discolor every object, will be seen on their verdict; if, finally, they are wanting in firmness and independence of understanding and judgment, they will be led blindly by the court, or in times of strong popular excitement, yielding to the general impulse, they will become the tools of party, or mere instruments in ministering to the excited passions of the multitude.

It is the duty, then, of the citizen, to bring to the maintenance and support of this institution, those qualifications of heart and understanding, which are indispensable to give it its full effect and influence, and to sustain the high estimation with which it has been regarded wherever it has been known. Jury trials can fully answer their end, only in countries where education and the moral and manly virtues prevail, and only so long as they prevail; and the state of trial by jury in any country is a very good index of the morals and intelligence of the people. Moreover, any duty which is committed to the hands of very many is in danger of being neglected by all; and hence it happens, that many of our citizens, if they have suitable impressions of the importance of the institution, seem to be without adequate views of the moral and intellectual qualifications required, and of the moral responsibilities which the duty of a juryman imposes on him. The trial by jury is the main pillar in the temple of justice; and impartiality, truth, knowledge, wisdom, integrity, candor, firmness, patience, and independence adorn its portals, and become its sacred precincts. It is the duty of the citizen further to aid in the administration of justice by giving testimony on oath in courts of justice, when required by law.

Some persons, in their estimate of the obedience which they owe to the laws of their country, acknowledge themselves morally bound by such laws as prohibit intrinsic evil (malum

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