of providing either, he connected himself with a creature as thoughtless as himself, and, with his eyes open, plunged himself into evils which the incessant labour and toil of his whole life could scarcely alleviate, and never remove. Or, it may be, he set out in life with better prospects, and, as far as human prudence could foresee, was fully justified in becoming the head of a family; but he neglected the opportunity of making the best of his circumstances he foolishly thought that his better resources would entitle him to a life of greater ease than his neighbour-and that, while others ought to rise early and late take rest, he might indulge himself in comparative ease, till his increasing family and his diminished means brought poverty upon him, "like an armed man," and he sunk in the contest. Or, perhaps, the produce of early labour was spent, as soon as it was acquired, in public-houses, or in licentious indulgences; or, it may be, the idleness and bad management of his wife wasted his daily earnings, clothed both him and his family in rags, and drove him from his own fire-side, to seek a home in the receptacles of drunkenness and profligacy. Were the question always asked, "What occasioned this state of wretchedness?" the proper answer would frequently be suggested by some fact or other, which ought to induce the sufferer to ascribe the heavier part of his burden to his own thoughtlessness or vice; and surely this consideration, whilst it removes any imputation on the injustice of the arrangements of Divine Providence, should check the rising murmur, and excite to redoubled exertions, that those may not bear a part of the punishment who had no share in the sin.

It must, however, be acknowledged, that there are innumerable cases of extreme poverty, which cannot be directly charged on the improvidence or misconduct of the sufferers. The very state and condition of human nature, as we have seen, as well as the direct appointment of God himself, as a memorial of his displeasure against sin, impose the evils of poverty on a great part of mankind, and subject them, by an irreversible law, to a state of considerable suffering. This is not the place for entering on a discussion on the justice of this law, and its consistency with the sentiments we entertain of the infinite benevolence of the Supreme Being, though much is at hand to vindicate both; yet I cannot omit this opportunity of observing, that the principles on which the Christian religion is founded, and the prospects it opens of a better world, afford a very powerful, if not an effectual remedy to the evils of poverty. Not at present to mention the relief which the hand of private charity is ever ready to administer, and the still more extensive support which the Legislature has provided for the aged and infirm, the Bible directs the attention of the pious poor man to a state of things, to which the present is only introductory, and from which the evils of the present life are altogether excluded, and where a provision is made for happiness more extensive than our largest wishes, and commensurate with eternity. These Scriptures, moreover, assure us, that the evils of this life are corrective and medicinal, and, comparatively, but of momentary duration: they declare that our 66 present light afflictions are but for a moment, and that they

are working out for us a far more exceeding, and an eternal weight of glory." At the same time, they take away the bitterest ingredient from the cup of sorrow, by repeatedly assuring us, that every thing which befals a good man proceeds from the hands of a Father, who "does not willingly afflict the children of men," but chastens us as a "father the son in whom he delighteth ;" and who never chastens but "for our profit."

The present life, also, bears so small a proportion to the future time, especially the life of man, sinks into so small a point, when com pared with eternity--and the pains or pleasures of this world fall so infinitely short of those of the future-that in the prospect of what lies before us, the present seems to lose its importance, and the Christian, whose hopes are full of immortality," may exult with the prophet, "although the fig-tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flocks shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no berd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation." The poor and pious Christian, therefore, has many resources and pleasures in the absence of this world's treasures and enjoyments: and that man is an object rather of envy than of pity, who can look from the humble inmates of his cottage to Him that dwells in the heavens, and say, "Lo! this God is my God, for ever and ever.". -" God, even our own God, shall bless us." But, for those irreligious and profligate poor who are fed with the bread of affliction here, and have no prospects for the future, every pious mind must feel the deepest commiseration, for they are poor indeed! They lose both worlds. The present refuses its riches and its pleasures; and the next they contemptuously cast from them. Here they labour and toil for that which is not bread ;" and that inheritance which they might have," without money and without price," they throw up as utterly undeserving a thought. The evils however of poverty, small as they are, when viewed in relation to a future and eternal state of existence and salutary as they may be to correct what is wrong in our nature, and fit us for the enjoyment of a better world yet considered in themselves, and in connexion with our present state of existence, are far from being trivial, and demand every alleviation which wisdom can suggest and affluence supply. If they cannot be removed, they may be mitigated; and the law of our common nature, of man and of God, imposes upon us the obligation to adopt every prudent and practicable expedient to diminish the sum of human misery. Is it the appointment of God that "the poor shall never cease out of the land ?" He has also enjoined "thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy in thy land. Thou shalt surely give him, and thine heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him ;" and this injunction is enforced by a promise "that for this thing the Lord thy God will bless thee in all thy works, and in all that thou puttest thine hand unto."

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To To complete the general outline of British Jurisprudence, it will be necessary to explain the duties of several other functionaries, in addition to the account which we gave in our last Number of the judicial character. At present we have seen the prisoner at the bar, and have learnt the manner in which the tribunal is composed which is to determine his guilt or innocence; but we have not ascertained by what means he is brought there. The probability, amounting almost to certainty, of detection, is the best safeguard against the commission of „crime,a maxim well understood by the original framers of our system of internal government, and applied with great skill to the preservation of social order. The merit of dividing the kingdom into counties, hundreds, and tithings, is ascribed to the great Alfred. Each of these divisions was under the control of a civil officer; the tithing was superintended by a constable; the hundred, containing ten tithings, was watched over by a high-constable or bailiff; and the county, made up of an indefinite number of hundreds, was governed by the sheriff. The Howest of these officers was responsible to the one above him, and he tagain to his superior, reaching to the monarch himself, from whom the whole authority is derived, though the choice of persons was vested, in most instances, in the people. It will easily be conceived that this plan of municipal regulation, made when the country was thinly populated, must yield in its modifications to the changes produced by time and an increased number of inhabitants. The tithing, for instance, though consisting but of ten families, must necessarily comprehend a certain defined district; and it was not to be expected, that, whenever the number of distinct freeholders within its limits exceeded the original amount, the task of marking out the several sections was to be repeated. The authority of the constable now extends over the whole town, though many towns contain more than 50,000 residents. To assist him in the discharge of his duty a number of persons are appointed, called police-officers, who receive adequate salaries, and are continued in their situation so long as they conduct themselves properly, the constable holding his office but for a year, and rendering his services gratuitously. It is the business of these officers to apprehend offenders of every description. The constable may, without warrant, arrest any one for a breach of the peace committed in his own presence; and in case of felony actually committed, (that is, such a crime as may be punished with death, and some others of rather less magnitude,) he may, upon probable suspicion, arrest the felon, and, for that purpose, is authorized to break open doors, as confidently as if he had a njustice's warrant, and even to kill the felon, if he cannot otherwise be taken; and if he, or any of his assistants, be killed in attempting such

arrests, it is murder in all concerned. We may as well state, while we are on this subject, that watchmen are empowered to arrest all offenders, and particularly suspicious night-walkers, and commit them to custody till the morning. Private persons too, who are present when any felony is committed, are bound, under penalty, to apprehend the offender, and they may break open doors in pursuing him, if necessary; but they cannot proceed to this extremity upon suspicion, howsever strong, though they may arrest the felon by any means short of this, if the presumption of his guilt is clear and forcible. of visc29591 But, in ordinary cases, before the vaccused can be deprivedooficits sliberty, it is requisite that the charge should be sexhibited beford a -justice of the peace, who, upon a deposition being made upon oaths by the complaining party of the general particulars of the offenced grants his warrant for the apprehension of the culprit. This document is put into the hands of the constable, and commands him to seize upon the person named, and bring him before the magistrate for examination, when the individuals mainly interested attend; and if, upon am investigation of the matter, there appears sufficient grounds for putting the saccused upon his trial, he is committed to the county prison till the -assizes, or the next sessions of the peace, if the offence be of a minor edescription.d sooo & yd bobustni

In cases of still less magnitude, where the final adjudication is vested in the local magistrate, such as the misconduct of refractory servants, the unjust severity of masters, the culpable neglect of a husbands aná sfathers, by which those whom they are bound to protect and support become chargeable on the parish, the petty quarrels of vindictive #neighbours, and the non-payment of parish-rates, when legally demanded, in short, in all disputes arising out of matters of this nature, the wrong-doer is merely summoned to appear before the magistrate, and give answer to the complaint; and it is not till he has disobeyed >the call that a compulsive attendance is resorted to. 292009 dezodo

Though the principle of a limited control is applied to the office of magistrate, with great benefit to the public welfare, yet it is obvious that the arrest of the most flagrant delinquents would be rendered diffisult and uncertain, if a constable or police-officer could not be sempowered to follow the object of his search beyond the county in which he holds his appointment. It is therefore provided, that the Judges of the King's Bench, as magistrates of the whole kingdom, may grant warrants extending over the entire country; although the warrant of a justice of the peace in one county must be backed, that is, signed, by a justice of the peace in another, before it can be executed there, a rule which applies to escapes from England to Ireland or Scotland, and vice versa. The local magistrates may thus seize upon the offender, and order him to be conveyed to the place where the offence has been committed, where the process of judicial inquiry is instituted, preparatory to commitment for final trial.

The duties of a Justice of the Peace will be pretty well understood by what has already been said; and we need not do more than explain the origin and nature of his appointment. This office, when not an ad

junct of some other, but simply and merely a conservator of the peace, was originally bestowed by the election of the freeholders, assembled in their county courts; till the deposition of Edward II., by the contriv ance of his Queen, in favour of her son, rendered it expedient for the new monarch to assume the power of nominating them, in order that, being his creatures, they might the more promptly suppress all indications of inquiry into the means by which he had acquired the crown. At this period they were called Wardens or Keepers of the Peace, and their duties extended but little beyond the authority which their title imports; but, in the 34th year of the reign of Edward III., a statute was passed, giving them the power of holding sessions at regular periods, and trying felonies, and then they acquired the more honourable appellation of Justices. του

These Justices are now appointed under the Great Seal, and of course are selected by the Lord Chancellor. The King's special com+ mission is issued, naming the persons to act in this capacity for the county, some of whom are particularly pointed out, whose presence is necessary at the sittings for the trial of felonies and misdemeanors, whence the individuals so named are called Justices of the Quorum, distinguishing them from their colleagues, who are held of inferior importance. However, it has been the practice, in more recent times, to advance nearly the whole of them to the Quorum. From the whole body one is chosen to preside as Chairman at the Quarter Sessions and he is usually attended by the majority of his brethren, two at least, being essential to the legality of their proceedings.

The right of the Crown, in these appointments, is not entirely abso lute and uncontrolled: in the exercise of it regard must be had to the fitness for the office in the persons selected; it being required that they shall be of the best reputation and most worthy men in the county. Certain specific qualifications are also demanded by express Act of Parliament, which provides that every Justice of the Peace shall possess a { clear estate of 100%. or a reversionary estate of 300l. per annum. But this does not extend to Corporation Justices, or to the eldest sons of Peers and of gentlemen qualified to be Knights of Shires, the Officers of the Board of Green Cloth, principal Officers of the Navy, Under Secretaries of State, Heads of Colleges, or to the Mayors of Cambridge and Oxford, all of whom may act without any qualification by estate their station in life being held a sufficient guarantee for the respectabi- í lity of their character. It is also enacted that no practising attorney, solicitor, or proctor, shall be capable of acting as a Justice of the Peace for any county. The office of these Justices subsists during the plea-i sure of the King; and they may be punished if they abuse the autho rity reposed in them, to gratify their malice, or promote the interests: of their private ambition.

There is another officer whom we must not entirely overlook. The Coroner's is a very ancient appointment under the common law; he is so called, because he had to do chiefly with pleas of the Crown; and in this light the Chief Justice of the King's Bench is the principal Coroner in the kingdom, and may exercise that jurisdiction in any part of the