concurrence in preferving the publick peace, and bringing such as violate it to punishment, we fhall contribute, in our respective stations, to the fecurity of this great fettlement, and to the profperity of these provinces, in which the dearest interests of our common parent and country, Great Britain, are now effentially involved.

CHARGE

TO THE

GRAND JURY,

AT CALCUTTA, JUNE 10, 1785.

GENTLEMEN,

WHEN I first addreffed a Grand Jury of Calcutta, too foon after my arrival in this country for any distinct idea to be formed of all its inhabitants, the small number of prisoners, which, to my infinite joy, appeared in the calendar, gave me an opportunity of fpeaking at large on the inftitution of this court, and the principles of criminal juftice. It is my turn to address you at the opening of the prefent feffion; but I have not, unfortunately, the fame reason to rejoice, nor the fame excufe for expatiating on general topicks: I may, nevertheless, without the impropriety of detaining you too long, touch on one or two fubjects, which I have much at heart, and on which I cannot but flatter myself with a hope of your concurrence.

If I may justly, as I do fincerely, conclude from my own obfervation at former feffions, that the Grand Juries of this capital will deferve the praise of intelligence and moderation, vigilance and humanity, I must be perfuaded, that you, Gentlemen, have little need of inftruction in the discharge of your important duty, and I confidently leave with you the few perfons, who are, I fee, imprisoned under accufations of petty crimes; nor is it either expedient or becoming to point at particular cafes, of which I have no official knowledge.

One cafe, which has come regularly before me as a justice of the peace, concerning the death of a flave girl, whom her master had beaten, I think it my duty to mention more at large; leaving to you the determination on facts from a view of all the circumftances, and declaring only my opinion of the law. A master may legally correct his fervant with moderation, and with a view to his amendment; nor, if the fervant thus corrected should die by some misfortune unforeseen, and unlikely to happen, would the mafter be guilty of any crime; but if the correction be immoderate, exceffive, unreasonable, cruel, the party may have, if he live, a reparation in damages; or, if he die, the master will be guilty of manslaughter or of murder, according to the circumftances; of manflaughter, if he gave the

fatal blow in a fudden burft of paffion, after violent provocation, with a weapon not likely to kill; of murder, if he had full time for deliberation and coolnefs of blood; and that, whether he intended to destroy life, or only to chaftife immoderately; for the true sense of malice, to conftitute this horrible crime, is MALIGNITY of heart, or a difpofition to do mischief, which may be ascertained by comparing the fault with the correction; and the age and condition of the perfon ftricken, with the force of the striker, and the danger of the inftrument used by him. It is hardly needful to remark, that, in such cafes, a fervant and a flave, if fuch a relation be known to our modern law, ftand precisely on the fame ground; as a lord, in feudal times, might indifputably have been convicted of murder for killing his villain or his neife.

In the prefent cafe, you will hear the witneffes on one fide only; and it is recommended by great lawyers, left enormous crimes fhould be fmothered without a trial, that Grand Juries find fuch bills, as their confciences oblige them to find at all, for the highest degree in the scale, that the evidence fairly fupports, leaving it to the Petty Jury, under the direction of the Court, in queftions of law, either to hold the prifoner guiltless, or to ascertain the precise measure of his guilt by their verdict; but you are not absolutely

and

bound to follow this practice: you are bound to find the whole truth, as nearly as you can; if the evidence amount not, in your confcientious opinion, to murder, you may reject the bill for that crime, and find another for manflaughter; nor ought it ever to be forgotten, that the great rule which all should obferve, from the petty juryman to the prince, is, to look on the crime and example with the eye of feverity, but on the criminal, as far as poffible, with the eye of compaffion; fince it is the extremity of evil, fays lord Bacon, "When mercy has no commerce with mifery:" yet it must be added, that mercy is due to the publick alfo, who may be great fufferers, if crimes actually committed escape unpunished.

fe

Another cafe, Gentlemen, calls for your rious attention: a forgery has been committed, either by the perfon accufed before me, or by his accufer; which involves, not only the common guilt of that crime, an intent to defraud another, but alto a defign to affect his perfonal rights in the highest degree, and to abuse the process of this court by rendering it fubfervient to the purpose of imprisoning a man, who stood in the way of others; and this attempt was to be forwarded by the baseft fubornation of perjury: it is a contest between two brothers for a large estate; both the accufed and his accufer