Ai a; Oi : 0; 1 : 2 4 6 6 4 Advice to Posterity John Lewis ADVICE T O POSTERITY, CONCERNING A POINT of thelaft Importance. Written by a F R I E n d to LIBERTY and PROPERTY. LONDON: Printed for J. Freeman, near St. Paul's. M DCC LV. ADVICE T O POSTERITY. TH E People of no Country can boaft of Privileges fo noble and beneficial, as We of this Nation. We are particularly happy in -thofe which refpedt our Lives, Liberties, and Properties. In all Cafes concerning thcfe, we are to be heard by Judges, N vho hold their high and facred Offices, not by the precarious Will of the Prince, but during good Behaviour, (a Condition I almoft equal to a Tenure for Life) and | we are to be determined by a Jury of Twelve Men, our Equals } and fuch is A 2 the [4] the glorious Circumftance of our Free- dom, that even the King himfelf is not above the Laws of the Land, nor has he the Power to violate the Property of the meanefi Subjecl ; but his Caufe mull; be brought into our Courts of Law, be heard before our Judges, and be deter- mined by a Jury. Thefe Privileges are invaluable, as they are the higher!: a Nation can enjoy, and without which, no Nation can be truly free. Our great and virtuous Forefathers efteemed them fo much, that they thought no Price too dear, nor Rifque too great, fo they might enjoy and trans- mit them to Pofterity. Let us therefore remember, that they came floating down to us upon their Blood j and then, furely, we cannot but think it our Duty, to be watchful of fuch vaft Privileges ; and, upon the leaft Appearance of Danger, endeavour by every conjlitutional Me- thod, to tranfmit them intire to our Po- fterity. Happy, [5 ] Happy, thrice happy are wc indeed, who live in a Golden Age, when Virtue and publick Spirit ride triumphant, and reign without Molejlation ; when the Seats of Justice are filled with great and able Lawyers, whofe Hands are clean, and whofe Conduct is beyond the Reach of Calumny; and when no unfair Me- thods are ufed by Men in Power, to pack Juries, or tamper with them. But former Times having feen on the Seats of Ju- ftice, Men of a quite different Cafr, Time- fervers, Sycophants, Creatures of the Crown, ambitious, covetous, venal, cruel, abandoned, projlitute-, and having alio feen various Practices, unfair and uncon- ftitutional, upon Juries, in Matters of ' Life, Liberty, and Property, between the Crown, and the Subject; it is not impoffible that future Times may again fee fuch Judges, and fucb Practices upon 'Juries. It may not therefore be amiis, for the Benefit of Pojlerity, to point out fome of the Symptoms of Danger to thefe invaluable Privileges, which ought to [6] to alarm every Native of this Ifland, up- on their firft Appearance ; and to recom- mend fome legal and conflitut'fonal Reme- dies, if they ever mould appear. The, fir ft Symptom that ought to alarm the People is j if ever they fhall fee railed to the Office of a Judge, a Man, who to ferve a Court Turn, in a Matter which concerns the moil: enential Rights of the Subject, mail knowingly, and wilfully, immorally, and impudently broach an ab- folute Falsehood, in the molt publick Manner ; averting that to be Law, which he could not but know was not Law, and in which he may openly and clearly be detected. You may be abfolutely certain, that fuch a one will not be more fcrupulous, or confeientious in one Capacity, than in another. The Judge will be as much a Slave to his Ambition, Avarice, and Ve- nality, as the Senator; and the Lives, Liberties, and Properties of the People, as often as they iTiall be litigated with the Crown j [ 7 ] Crown, will he facrificed to his Pafiions, as long as the Crown has either a higher Preferment to beftow, or Money to feed the Cravings of his Coffers. A False- hood can only proceed from a bad Heart, and from a bad Heart nothing that is Good can proceed. From the Abundance of the Heart the Mouth fpeaketh, we learn from the highest Authority. But the People, in this Cafe, are not without a Remedy, they may, and doubt- lefs, would, upon the iirft Rumour of the Advancement of fuch a one, in humble and dutiful Addreffes to the Throne, from all Parts of the Nation, reprefent the dreadful Confequenccs that muff, inevi- tably attend Life, Liberty, and Property, from placing in the Scat of Jultice, a Man, who mould have no Regard to Truth ; and implore the then King to fill that Place of judicial Trull:, with fome Perfon, diiHnguifhed by an nufullied Cha- racter, and a firm Integrity. Nor is it pofliblc, I think, that fuch humble and dutiful Addrdfcs could prove unfuccefs- fulj [8] ful ; iincc thus, by removing the Wicked from before the King, his Throne will be JiabliJhed in Right eoufnefs. Another Symptom dangerous to thefe Privileges, would be to fee a Judge, in a Caufe between the Crown and the Subject, ufing the Influence of his high Station, to miflead the Judgments of the JoRY, by partial and finifter Injinua- lions, to the Prejudice of the Subjects jujl Rights. Of the many Cafes of this Sort, which may happen in Time, and which, at prefent, occur to my Mind, I will, now, only mention One. Suppofe a Dif- pute to arife between the Crown and the Subject, about a Right to a Piece of Land, or any other Property. Sup- pofe the Subject Plaintiff, and the Crown, or Agent for the Crown, Defendant. The Plaintiff produces, in Support of his Claim, we will fay, Ten WitnelTes, chiefly Farmers and Tradesmen ; but all of them Perfons of fair and indifput- dble Reputations. They, upon Oath, fpeak to the feveral Points to which they arc [9] are called, and, by a Courfe of Evidence, uniform and confflent, each Man witlv himfelf and all with one another, prove the Plaintiff's Right, The Crown, or any Perlbn for the Crown, Defendant ; pro- duces, we will fay, Fifteen Witneffes, who are, or at leaft appear to be, Gen- tlemen of f ijjurc and 5fQtune ; but, per- haps, many of them, Dependents upon the Court, or Objects of its pafl, or Ex- pectants of its future Favours. Thefe likewife fpeak upon Oath, to the fevcral Points to which they are called ; and, by a Courfe of Evidence, inconfifte?it and con- tradictory, fome contradicting them- felves, and many of them contradicting each other, endeavour to eftablifh the Defendant's Right, Upon the Cafe thus ftated, who would not expect, that the Judge, in fumming up the Evidence, would obferve to the Jury, that tho' the Plaintiff produced but Ten Witneffes, and the Defendant Fifteen ; yet thofe for the Plaintiff were fubftantial and creditable Farmers and Trades- [ 1 ] Tradesmen, of fair and unimpeached Characters? That each Witnefs, through- out his whole Evidence, had been uni- form and confifient with himfelf ; and that all the Plaintiff's WitnefTes had been con- fifient with one another? That of the Witneffes for the Defendant, many in- deed, were, or feemed to be Gentlemen of figure and fortune ; yet he muff with Concern obferve, that their Evidence was. inconfifient and contradictory ', mofl of them contradicting themfehes, and feveral con- tradicting one another ? That he left it to the Jury to confider the Evidence on both Sides, and to find a Verdict for the Plaintiff or Defendant, according to the Credit they gave to the Witneffes, either, on the one Side, or the other ? I fav, upon the above-ftated Cafe, who would not expect from the Bench, fuch fair and ju- dicial Obfervations to the Jury, and con- fequently a Verdict for the Plaintiff'? But what a dreadful Symptom to thefe our boafted Privileges would it be ? how threatening to the Lives, Liberties, and Proper- Properties of the Subjects ? If on the con- trary a Judge fhould direcl: a Jury to take Notice, that the Number of Witneffes for the Plaintiff were but Ten, but that the WitnelTes for the Defendant were Fifteen, that the Witneffes for the Plain- tiff were only Farmers and Trades- people; but that many of theWitneffes for the Defendant were Gentlemen of figure and fortune ? Good God ! what an In- sinuation would this be ? What are the Inferences to be drawn from fuch Obfer- vations? Do they not imply, that Two of the largefl, and molt ufeful Bodies of Men in the Kingdom are dciVitute of all Reli- gion, Morality, Honefty, and Truth, and ready for Perjury, and confequently for all Kinds of Villanies ? And that the only Men capable of thofe Virtues, and who pollefsthcm, are Gentlemen of f ijjltrc and fortune? What would this ftrike at? Our All. The opprefTed Subject, in all Matters concerning his Life, Liberty, and Property, would hereby be irreme- diably cart into the Hands, and lie wholly at the Mercy of Men in Power, by being U deprived [ 12 ] deprived of the Benefit of legal, honejl, and credible Evidence. For whenever a jury Avail be taught, and Avail adopt the Maxim, That no Wknefs is to be credit- ed, however conliAent his Evidence, however fair his Character, under the Degree of a Gentleman of jpirrurc and fortune i efpecially if Gentlemen of figure and ozfuuf , however Jhort and inconfift- ent in their Evidence, Aiall be examined againft him, the Security to every Man, in refpect to his Life, Liberty, and Pro- perty, will be in the utmoft Peril j I may venture to fay, entirely taken away. Is it not poAible that Gentlemen of f i- jjurc and fortune may be wicked and profligate ? nay ! May they not often be the Engines and Implements of Men in Power, and owe their i 2 t0lUTg and f ou- tlines to fertile and fcandalous Compliances, which honcfr Men or" a lower Clafs would be amamed and incapable of? And furely, fuel Gentlemen of i ; .jjnrc and fortune are at lea A as capable of Perjury as a Farmer or Tradesman. Were [ '3 ] Were the Lives and Manners of Gentle- men of figure an d fortune, of Farm- ers and Tradesmen, to be ftrictly fem- inized, and compared together, I am apt to believe, far the greateft Portion of Religion, Honejiy, Sincerity, and Truth, would be difcovered among the latter. If we fearch our Churches, who ihall we find moft frequent, vigilant, and molt attent- ive in the Worlhip of Almighty God, and all the Religious Duties ? I believe, the Farmers and Tradesmen ; thefe Gentlemen of figure and f omtlir, I fear, feldom or never entering a Church, ex- cept it be to receive the Holy Eucharift, to qualify themlelves to hold a lucrative Employment. That a Man is a fub- ftantial Farmer or Tradesman, and of an unimpeached Character, is an un- deniable Proof of his Honefiy ; fince the Livelihood of either depends upon the Credit of his Integrity : For who would let his Eftate to a Farmer, or deal with a Tradesman, that is a Knave ? What Itcalbn then, I wonder, would be ai- B 1 iignc.d, [14] figncd, why an honeji worthy Engl ill: Farmer, or Tradesman, mould not be as credible and good a Witnejs, as a Gentleman of figure and formic ? But, according to the above Do&rine of Number and Condition, Fifteen Sharpers, who, by Gaming and Cheating, {hall become Gentlemen of figure and f OztttEe, may overturn and invalidate the uniform and confiftent Evidence of Ten, as honeji and worthy Men as any in the Kingdom ; and for no better Reafons than, becaufe the forjner were Fifteen, and Gentlemen of figure and fomme, and the latter were but Ten, and they, only Farmers and Tradesmen. I believe, whenever this Doctrine fhall be heard from the Bench, that the Gentlemen of the long Robe will not think themfelves at all obliged to a Judge, for a Maxim which tends fo much to reduce the Bu- finefs of ' Wejimin/ler-Hall, and the Charges of the Law. For, who would fee a Council, or employ an Attorney, when nothing more needs be done in a Caufe, than [s] than for the Judge to aik the following Queftions, and to decide without a Jury? For Juries, who are to determine upon Evi- dence/airly heard* and examined, would, then, in a manner, become uielefs. JUDGE. How many WitneiTes have you, piain- PLAINTIFF, Ten, my Lord ! JUDGE. Are they Gentlemen of ftQMtt and ^oztuttfj or Farmers and Tradesmen only ? PLAINTIFF. They are all Farmers and Trades- men. JUDGE. Have you no Gentlemen of figure and fortune among them ? P L A I N- *6] PLAINTIFF. No, my Lord ! but they are all very boneji People, and would not forfwear themfelves for the World. JUDGE. How manyWitnefies have you, Defend- ant? DEFENDANT. My Lord ! I have Fifteen. JUDGE. Are they Gentlemen of figure and fortune? DEFENDANT. My Lord ! many of them are Gen- tleman of 5ri0ure and fortune. JUDGE. Produce them. Very well. The 1 17 ] The DECISION. JUDGE. I have tried the Caufe between A. B. Plaintiff, and CD. Defendant; and^.B. having produced, as Witnefles, Ten Perfons, who are only Farmers and Trades-people j and C. D. having pro- duced Fifteen, as Witneffcs, many of them being Gentlemen of figure and 3?ojrun:, I decree in Favour of C. D. the Defendant. But you may fay, Suppofe both Par- ties mould have Witneffcs, who are Gen- tlemen of figure and fortune, Will there not then be a Necefflty for a Jury ? I fay, No, according to the DoBrine of Number and Condition ; unlefs, when the Numbers of Gentlemen of jfigurc and fortune, are equal on both Sides. For, when one of the Parties mail have a Majority of Gentlemen of jfiflUCC and fortune, the Judge may proceed thus. JUDGE. [ i8] JUDGE. How many Witnefies have you, Plain* tiff? PLAINTIFF. I have Ten, my Lord ! JUDGE. Are they Oentlemen of 3?i|jurc and 3f0tunc? c. are they only Farmers and Tradesmen? PLAINTIFF. My Lord, fome of one Sort, fome of the other. JUDGE. How many Gentlemen of fifftirc and fortune have you ? PLAINTIFF. My Lord, Eight of them are Gen- tlemen of FIGURE and FORTUNE. JUDGE. [ *9 3 JUDGE. Who are they? Produce them. Well, Defendant-, How many WitnefTes have you ? DEFENDANT. Fifteen, my Lord ! JUDGE. How many Gentlemen of $i#UV2 and irOgtimc are among them ? DEFENDANT. There are Nine, my Lord ! JUDGE. Produce them. The DECISION. JUDGE. 1 have tried the Caufe between A. B. Plaintiff, and C, D. Defendant. A. B. C the [ *>.] the Plaintiff produced Ten Perfons as WitnefTes; Eight only of whom, being Gentlemen of tfiffttrc and fortune, were credible WitnefTes , the reft being no better than Farmers and Trades- people. But CD. the Defendant, pro- duced, as WitnefTes, Fifteen Perfons ; oi whom Nine, being Gentlemen of figure and f Outline, were credible Wit- neffes- y the reft being only Farmers and Trades- people. Now, A. B. having no more than. Eight credible Witnefies, and CD. hav&NiNE credible Witnejfes, and Nine being more than Eight, it plainly appears that C D. the Defendant has a Majority of credible Witnefj'es ; therefore I decide in Favour of the De- fendant, C. D. You may afk, Whether Council, At- tornies, and Juries, may not be neceff'ary in a Caufe, where there are no other Wit- nefTes, on either Side, but Farmers and Trades-people? I fay, No: becaufe I don't lee how a Caufe can be at all deter- mined without Evidence. Now that can [ ] can never be admitted as good Evidence, which does not come from the Mouth of a credible Witnefs ; which, according to the Doctrine of Co n d i t i o n, a Farmer or Tradesman, cannot be. For, the Credibility of a Witnefs confuting in Ho- nefiy, Sincerity ', and Truth j and thefe be- ing the Properties, only, of Gentle- men of figure and fortune ; it being impcfjible that a Farmer or Tradesman mould poflefs thefe Qualities ; for if they are capable of them, the Doclrine of C o n- ditjon mult fall to the Ground. Farm- ers and Tradesmen are not credible Witneffes ; and therefore there can be no fufficient Evidence given, for a Jury to determine upon, where there are no Gen- tlemen of tfiffure and fortune to give Evidence. And as it would be both ufe- lefs and ridiculous, to examine inefficient Witneffes, there can be no Neceflity of impanelling a Jury, of feeing Council, or of employing Attornies mfuch a Caufc. Thus we mav fee how the Doclrine of J Number and Condition, were it to be C 2 eftablimed, [ ] eftablifhed, would deprive the Majority of the honeft and worthy People of England, of their undoubted Right of giving their Testimony, and of receiving the Benefit of it, in all Caufes, either be- tween the Crown and the Subject, or be- tween Subject and Subject. How it would affect the large Body of Practition- ers in the Law, and how it would end in the total Subverfwn of the bejl Securities we have for our Lives, Liberties, and Properties. But, indeed, it is not likely that Juries, or any of the Forms of Law, will ever be totally laid alide ; becaufe Men in Powe^r, in evil Times, will think them expedient, as they may ferve to glofs over their very bard and unjujl Proceedings againfr. the Subject. For they, who fhall be only remotely, and in the Confequence, concerned in the Determination of a great Caufe be- tween the Crown and a Subject ; being ab- fent at the Trial, and unacquainted with the particular Circumflances of Hardihip fuffered by the Subject j hearing that the Caufe [ n ] Caufe has been determined under the old, legale and confiitutional Forms, will be apt to fit down contented, miftaking the Shadow for the Subftance, and in no wife alarmed at his own Danger and quite tboughtlefs, that the Oppreffions of his near Neighbour, and Fellow-fubject, may become his own Cafe, or the Cafe of the Nation. We will, therefore, confider further, what will be the Consequences, if this fatal Doctrine of Number and Condi- tion (by which Juries are to give Cre- dit to none but Gentlemen of 3fi0iUrc and r^ttmc) mould ever prevail, and be eftablifhed. No Man then will be able to J9* call any Thing his own. No ! he will every Day be liable to be legally diverted of his jiift Right, and to forfeit his Life upon the Oaths of Gentlemen of fi~ gltrc and f OUimr, who frequently are no better than the mercenary Minions, and Slaves of Power and C 1 Fa- vourites. Then Wealth and Popularity, the almoft infeparable Attendants upon eminent /sien [ 2 4 ] eminent Virtue, will become capital Crimes; and the PoffeJJbrs of them momently walk in Jeopardy, expofed to the Perjuries of fuch c rtly Gentlemen of jfijjurc and fortune. In fhort, all the Great and Good Men of the Land, will fall Vic- tims to the Avarice, Malice, and Revenge of the Great and Wicked. No Man, however innocent, will be fecure againft falfe Accufations, and malicious Pro/ecu- tions of Men in Power. He who mall dare oppofe ( though by the mofl: legal and conjiitutional Methods) Attempts on the Liberties of his Count rv, or the Male Practices of M of S , will be dragged before the Tribunal of partial and /*/! unjujl Judges (ffifthe^R and M . Vengeance) charged with Crimes he ne- ver committed, convicted upon the falfe Evidence of the mofl infamous Tools, and condemned without Mercy, to Death and Confifcation. What then will avail the Bill of Rights which we obtained by the late Revolution ? What will avail our Magna Charta and all the Pri- vileges which our brave and generous Fore- [ 25] Forefathers have handed down to us upon the Points of their Swords ? The Bulwark railed by them for the Safety of our Lives, Liberties, and Properties, would foon, by this one Engine, be undermined and demolished, and the Structure of ab- folute Monarchy, the difpenfmg Power of King James the II. Inuendds, &c. &c. will fuddenly arife out of their Ruins. Further, let it be obferved, that who- ever is deprived of his jujl Right, is as a&ualry, and effectually injured by one Way, as by another. It matters not, whether he lofes his Life, Liberty, or Property, by the arbitrary Will of the Magiftrate, or by the unfair and uncon- jlitutional Infinuations and Directions of a Judge to a Jury ; by influenced and falfe Evidence -, or, by a pack'd and corrupted Jury, upon a Trial ; which, under fuch Circumftances, would be a partial and unfair one. The Laws and Provifions made and intended for his Prefervation, being by fuch fmiitcr Means, perverted to his Dejirutliou, That [ 26] That fuch Practices, to the Prejudice of Juftice, may be, is certain, becaufe they ftand upon Record of former Ages : and \S\2\fuch Practices are highly criminal^ and odious in the Sight of God y as well as Man, none will dare prefume to deny -, God having, in the Cafes of Uriah and N a both, publickly avowed his Abhor- rence of pervertitig the Laws and Con- stitutions of a Land, made for the Prefervation of the Subject, to his Defini- tion or Prejudice. The Kings of Israel and Judah were limited Monarchs. They had no abfolute Power over the Lives or Properties of their Subjects. Dav i d lufted for B ath- sheba, without Right or Power to take her from her Hufband Uriah. David had debauched her, and to fave her from the Puniihraent due to her Crime, he re- folved on the Death of Uriah, that he might take her to Wife, which was the only Way he had to fcreen Bathsheba. But Da v i d, tho' a King, was refponfible for [ 2 7 ] for the Life of a Man -, and had he killed Ur i ah with his own, or by the Hand of an Anaffin, he had run the Rifque of a Rebellion, and might have been depofed ; but being inverted by the Laws of his Kingdom (for the Good of his Subjects) with the full Powers of a General, he employed thofe Powers in the Deftruction of Uriah; and, by Orders fent to Joab, the difhonoured Huiband was fet in the Fore-front of the hotted: Battle, (Joab being directed to retire from him) that he might be fmitten and die. Who can fay that Uriah was not both legally and unjujlly put to Death ? or that David did not legally and unjujlly take PoJJ'eJjion of his Wife, who was his Property ? See the Second Book of Samuel, and Eleventh Chapter. Did the legal Method, by which the unfortunate Man fell, in the leait ex- tenuate the Crime, either of Adultery or Murder committed by David? How de- teftablc Davids Crimes were in the Sight of the Almighty and Impartial Judge of Heaven and Earth, we learn in the Twelfth Chapter of the fame Book. Na- il than [ * ] than, by the exprefs Command of God, pronounced a moll terrible and jull Sen- tence upon him : viz. " Thus faith the " Lord God of Ifrael y I anointed thee " King over Ifrael, and delivered thee out cc of the Hand of Saul, and I gave thee " thy Mailer's Houfe, and thy Mailer's Wives into thy Bofom j and gave thee and of Judah; and " if that had been too little, I would " moreover have given to thee fuch and " fuch Things. Wherefore hafl thou de- fc fpifed the Commandment of the Lord, cc to do Evil in his Sight ? Thou hall " killed Uriah the Hittite with the Sword, " and hall taken his Wife (Note, that is -12, '38(3386) AT LOS ANGELES dSMSEI TTtJOAWV :>