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fo ferreJ. and lhe day of appemnee. "Yhen lhe tri;¡/
proce,ds UPOll criminal kaers, the priv.'te pl'Ofeclltur
mu/I give /c"urity, at rair,ng the Irtters. th.t he will re·
port themduly exec~t"d lO the JuOietary. in terms of
q¡ S, c. 35 ; and the defender, ,/ h. be not alre,dy
in prifon, is, by th" Iwm, required to give cdurion,
wilhin a ce' number of afrer his cilation, (or
his appe,¡rance upon the day /ixeu (or his ·t, ial : Aod if
he giv.s oooe wilhin lhedays uf lhe chargl/ he may bede
nouoeed rebel, whichinfers thefor(eiture o(his moveables.
45. That pan of the indiélment, or 01' the criminal
lemrs, which contains the ground of lhe charge .gainll
Ihe' defender. and lhe n' lure or degrce of lhe pUllifllmenr
he ought 10 fuffer, is c.lled the libel. AII li ·els murl
be fpecial, fwiog fonh lhe pu ticuljlr faéls inferring rhe
guilt, aod the panicular place where thefe f,éls were
done. The lime of committing the·crime may be libel·
led in more general terms, Wilh an alternative as to the
monlft, or day o( the Olonrh : bUl as it il nor praélicable
in moOcafes, 10 libel upon the prectre of
¡eeeflion that may appm in proof, libels agaioll accetro
ries are fu/licieot, if they mentiooed, io geoeral, thal the
perfoDs profecuted are cuilty art aod pan.
46. The defender, in a criminal trial, may raife let·
lersof exculparion, for citiog witnefl'es in proofof his de·
fences .gainfl lhe libel, or of his objeélioos ag,iofl any
oí lhe jury or witoefl'es; which mun be exeeuted, 10 the
fame day of appear¡nee, Wilh that of the indiélment OC
criminalletters.
47. The diets of appearance, in the eourt of Jufiieia·
ry, are pmmptory ; the criminal letters muO be ealled
on lhe very day 10 whieh lhe defeoder is cited ; and
heoce. if 00 aeeufer appears, their effeél islo(l, i".flanlia
,,,il, and r,elV lem" mul! be raired. If the libel or
any of lhe exeeutioos, !hall to the profeculor appear in·
formal, or if he be diílideol of lhe proof. from lhe ab–
fcooding of a neeefl'HY witners. thecoun will, upooamo
lion m, de by him, dert:rt the diel pro loco el le",pore;
after whieh oelV Iwm become airo oeeefl'ary. A de·
fender, who does 001 appear on the day tO IVhich he is
cited, is deelared f"gi rive; io eonfequ. nce of whieh, his
fingle ercheat f.Jls. The defender, after his appearance
io eoun, is caJled the paooe!.
~8 The t"'othings 10 be ehieAy regarded ina crimina l
libel. are, I The relevaney of the faéls i. e. their fufli·
cie.ncy to infer the co, elur,oo; 7 . Their truth The
coofideratioo of the firn beloogs to the j. dgeoflhe Ctlun;
Ihat of the o,her, to the jury or aflize. If lhe f,éls li·
belled be round imlcvanl, lhe paoncl i, di(,lliO'cd from
the bar; i( relevant, ,he coun remilS the proof I her~of
10 be derermined by lhe jury; w~ich mun eonr,/I of I ¡
men picked out· by theeoun froma greater nunlber 0111
exc.ediog 4í, who havebeeo ,11 fumm oncd, and giVe" in
liO 10Ihe ddeoder al rervin~ him wirh aenpyof the libd.
49. Crimes cannOl, H e de!'rs, he r¡fu re,llo the ele·
fender, oath ; for no rerfon isconlpcll,.blc toflVe" ar.~i;l(l
himrdf, wh<re his life, lim~, libeny, or e(l.lIe i5ccn~lrn·
ed. nO( eVtn in crimes whieh infu infalliY; bl'cau/e ones
g"o~ ". me is, In ri~IH e/lllnation, "v"lu.lbl~ as hi5 hfe.
T r,,, e1\ oo'~ cxel'~' r"n /1O'.':tl'lr tOlhi, nI!c in try nr. rhe
trillle of ufury, whiehmay be provcd by lhc ufurcr's O\I·n .
oath, oot withO, oding the rule, ntmo Imellrr jurare in
fila", Iurpill/diuem. Crimes therefore are in the gene–
,.1c,¡;, proveable only by the defender's free conrer·
r,oo, or by writing, or by witnefl'es. No e~t,"judicial
confeOioo, uolefs 11 is adhered to by tbe panoel in judg–
men!, canbe admitted as evideoce.
50 AII objeélions relevant agaion a witoefs in civil
cafes. are alfo relevant io criminal N,o witnefs is ad–
mimd, who may ga;n or lofe by the event of the trial.
Socii crimini!, or afl'oeiates io lhe fame crime, are not
admitted agaioO ooe another, except either in erimes a–
gain/l the /late, as lreafon : in oeeult crimes, where other
witoefl'es eaOOOI be had, as forgery.; or in theCts or de–
predations eOOlmimd io the H:ghlaods. The leOimooy
of Ihe private party iojored may be received agaioO Ihe
pan"el, \Vhere the King's A,J,oeate is Ihe ooly profecu–
tor, ir, from the o.rure of the erime, there muO needs
be a penury of witnefl'es , as in rape, robbery, &c.
5l . After .11 lhe witnefl'es have beeo examined in
COUrt, the jury are !hU! up io a room by themfelves.
where lhey milO eootioue, excluded from aJl correfpon–
deoee, till their verd,él sr judgmeot be fubfcribed by the
foreman (or chaoeelJor), and c1erk; aod according tG
this verdlél, the court prooouoces feoleAce . eilher abfol–
ving or eondemniog. lt is necefl'ary, by the law of Seot–
laod, that ajury Ihould be unanimous in findiog a perfoQ
guilty; the narroweO majorilY is as fuflieient againH lhe
paone!, as for him, Juries caooot be punilhed 00 ae–
CDUn! of aD erroneoos verdia, either for or againO the
pannel'.
51 Though lhe proper bur,nefs ofa jury be 10 inquire
iotothe Iruth of tbe faéls foond rdev, ot by thecOurt, for
whieh reafon they are fomelimes ealled rhe inqueO; yet, in
maoyc,fes, they judge alfo io matters of law or relevaDcy,
T hus, though an objeélion againO awiloefs !h,'uld be re–
pelJ.d by the court. lhe jury are under no necelJity to
give more credit to rus teOimooy than they thiok jun :
Aod in all lrials of 3rt and pan, wbere fpecial f.éls are
oot libelle~, the jury, if they returo a general ,etdiét,
are iodeed judges, not only of rhe !ruth. bUl of the rele–
vaneyof the raéls that ale fworo 10by the witnefl'es. A
general verdiél. is thal whieh fiods, in general terms,
th.l the paonel is guillyor oot guilty, or that thelibel or
defeoees are proved or 001 proved. lo a fpecial verdiél.
lhe jury fiod, f.éls proved, lbe imp0r! of which is .
to beaftcrward, conr,dered by the coort.
5). Crimioal jlld~es muO now furpeod for fome time
the executioo of fuchrenten es as a!f,a life or limb, tha!
fo condcOloed erilllinals, whofe ea res deler'e favoor, may
have acctfs tO apply to the kiog for merey. N~ reotence
of any eoun of judieatore, fOUlh of the river Fonh, im–
p"ning . ithet dea'hor demcmbrarion, can beexecuted ia
Id, than tr.irtydays ; and, ifnortb ofit, in lefs lhaofor–
ty days, after lhe dale of th~ fentenee. Bur corporal
puninrlll~nts, lefs thaoJeathor rlifembering, f K whip–
pingo pdlory, &c. be iuR,Ned tighl days after feo–
tence 00 this r,de Fonh, and twelve days after kotcoee
beyunJ it.
54 Crimes are extio¡;ui!hed, I By the dealh of the
el iminal ; both bccaufe a de,d perfon can m.lkc 00 de–
fen'_!', fo lltal his lrial is truly a judging hm ing
of