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service? Although they have no money they may have money's worth. Cheap justice," said the illustrious speaker, "is a very good thing; but costly justice is much better than cheap injustice." Whether the office of magistrate be unremunerative or not, it clearly enables its possessor to put nice pecuniary things into the hands of clerks and other dependants. We often see a person fined sixpence for some very petty offence, and the Costs, which mean the clerk's perquisites, ten shillings. It may be questionable whether a large number of convictions for very trifling matters, do not take place quite as often for the sake of remunerating the clerk as for the benefit of the community; at any rate, a penalty of sixpence or a shilling, and expenses amounting to eight or ten shillings, are very disproportionate to each other. If the clerk finds the law, he does not supply the bench for nothing.

With respect to magistrates as the irresponsible imposers of county rates, and the unanswerable disposers of the impost, the power invested in them is utterly anomalous and indefensible. This topic was ably discussed some time ago in a pamphlet headed, "County Reform.-The Magistracy of England, its Abuses, and their Remedy in popular Election; by J. H. Palmer, Esq., Barrister at Law;" and also in a larger work, "On the Magistracy of England, and the Origin of Expenditure of County Rates; by Edward Mullins, Solicitor."

The new police has more than doubled the county expenditure; still this worst of tyranny-taxation without representation -is permitted to continue in this land of vaunted liberty!

However, the present article is only intended to discuss the magisterial system in reference to the administration of the law; and the main point meant to be insisted on has been, that every man invested with the power of acting as judge on the liberty and property of his fellow countrymen, ought, as a preliminary step, to give some proof that he knows the law which he has to administer. In the present state of things no such commonsense rule exists. The candidate for the bench is not only placed on it without the least inquiry as to his knowledge of the

law; but, in numerous cases, that knowledge is deemed an insuperable objection to its possessor's being made a Justice-ofpeace. Attorneys and barristers are carefully excluded, perhaps lest their fitness for their duties should damage the chance-work of the Dogberry decisions, or tend to diminish the all-important clerk's influence.

Almost every part of the law which formed the subject of comment and censure in the speech from which so much has been cited, has since been amended or abolished-a large number of them by the indefatigable Lord Brougham himself, to whom the nation is deeply indebted for legislative reforms of all descriptions. The noble lord's brilliant career is gemmed with legal measures of the highest importance to the community, which he has devised and carried into law, almost single-handed. His labours as a law reformer have been as immense as they have been publicly beneficial. Looking at them in all their comprehensive vastness, it seems almost a species of cruelty, which ought to make one amenable to the penalties of Martin's Act, even to wish his lordship still to do more. Nevertheless, there is yet remaining an enormous social evil which his lordship alone can eradicate. The magnitude of the evil is quite appalling. Almost every legislator, noble and not noble, is a Justice-of-peace, and prepared to battle for the system. Hundreds of consequential men may truly attribute their social importance to their being placed on the bench. The large purse of these created magnates will desperately contend on behalf of the system that has made them what they are. To overcome these obstacles, and to vanquish such force, would be a performance worthy of Lord Brougham's prowess.

Strange as it may appear to any one who duly considers the present state of the magistracy, scarcely a session passes without the legislature's conferring additional powers on Justices-ofpeace. For example, the Juvenile Offenders' Act handed over to Justices at petty sessions a very large number of the cases hitherto tried at quarter sessions. The general scope of that measure was praiseworthy; for clearly small offences, like small

debts, ought to be settled as nearly on the spot as may be, and with the least possible expense and trouble to the parties and the public. Up to the time of passing this act, youthful and petty offenders had to be sent to the county prison, sometimes forty or fifty miles; and at the sessions, prosecutors, witnesses, constables, &c., had to be taken that distance, and paid by the public, all for an offence, perhaps almost venial, at all events one that did not always deserve the defilement of the jail, much less the enduring stigma which imprisonment in a jail always leaves. Whether the Juvenile Offenders' Bill was intended to remedy this state of things, or merely to add more power to irresponsible Justices, is not quite clear. At any rate, the measure might have been made to act beneficially to the country, if care had been taken to have competent judges at petty sessions. As it is, nothing can be more monstrous than to vest such powers in the hands of a couple of country Justices-the usual tribunal at petty sessions-very often the parson and the squire of the parish, unrestrained by the bar or any other check whatever. Suppose a person, suspected of poaching, or of any other offence equally heinous in the sight of country Justices, happens to be brought for trial at such sessions, is he likely to be tried and punished simply for the offence of which he is accused? It is true, in many cases it is optional whether he will be tried by them or not; but what, under such circumstances, is a country bumpkin likely to do when confronted with such judges and their clerks? Bewildered, ashamed, and bamboozled, he pleads guilty, and a long reckoning is made up with him; he is made a jail bird for a lengthened period, and he leaves that contaminating academy duly qualified to become a distinguished member of the hulks, or a successful candidate for the gallows.

Instead of investing two unqualified and untutored Justices with such powers over their countrymen's liberties, a properly qualified judge should have been appointed, free from personal bias or local prejudice; and in lieu of sending juvenile and petty offenders for their first transgression to jail, thus defiling them for life, a punishment which their small offence does not deserve

nor justify, some hours in the stocks, or a private whipping, would be a punishment quite sufficient and much more effective. There is generally a school attached to each union; why not have a room, purposely adapted for small offenders for the first time, made part of such school, in which they might, under proper discipline, for a time receive correction and punishment without being marked with the jail brand? The Juvenile Offenders' measure, if it had been devised and carried into operation in this manner, might have conferred great benefits on the public; at present it is no credit to the legislative Justices who passed it, and a sad disgrace to the country that suffers such a monstrosity to exist.

The county-police measure has also added immensely to the power of the Justices. This half-military army overspreads the whole country. In rural districts, almost every other man you meet is either a magistrate or a police-officer; if either numerous body be much more increased, they will be obliged to apprehend and commit each other. The county expenditure is more than doubled; and, as it has been remarked, this heavy and increasing tax is imposed and expended by irresponsible Justices-all that the payers have to do, is to stand and deliver when they are ordered to pay.

Magistrates' work is also palpably increased by this force. The force is drilled and made as military as possible. It is to be hoped that they will not be over-active in picking up very small matters, which, though not exactly right, may very often be, more advantageously to all sides, left alone than made the subject of prosecution. This new force, composed often of raw Irish and other rough materials, is apt harshly to interfere with sturdy yeomen and others who will not brook any thing of the kind; hence numerous cases of assaults of officers in the discharge of their duty, continually occur, and very much increase the duties of Justices at petty and quarter sessions. It is thought that a police, intended to be well drilled and tutored, should be under the guidance of a properly qualified magistracy, and that untutored Justices are not adapted to be judges between the

police force and the community, because it will be more easy for them to side with the police force than to interpret and apply the law of which they know nothing; the result will be, that a carefully drilled force will rule their untutored masters, the Justices, and the public will suffer from the anomaly.

To render the scheme of the county police of any value, or even endurable, we must have magistrates not only wishing to act justly, but possessing the legal and other knowledge—the necessary qualifications for independently standing between the police and the public, not partially siding with the one or the other. The main business of the police ought to be to prevent crime. When they see suspected persons, especially young ones, about to commit an offence, they should warn them that they are watched; but if, cat-like, they crouch in bye-places until the petty offence is committed, and then pounce on the small thief, they may assist to fill the jail, and increase the work of magistrates at sessions; but they will soon become an intolerable nuisance. For they will obviously increase an evil which is already an enormous one--namely, the number of petty offenders and juvenile jail birds. It is really questionable whether England, without this police army, did not expend too much time and money in detecting and punishing petty offenders. Safely locking, and a little more careful inspection, would in numerous cases have saved the public expense, and have prevented a great deal of moral degradation. There is often culpable carelessness on the one side, as well as dishonesty on the other. We do not want to maintain a costly force to watch over negligent people's affairs; if such a policy be carried much further, we shall expend so much under the plea of defending property, that tax-payers will have nothing left to defend. One fact is quite clear and indisputable-that every year adds to the county expenditure, which is imposed and spent by an irresponsible magistracy. This is a great evil, but it vanishes into nothing when compared with that of Justices administering complicated laws of which they are wholly ignorant. Their taxing their countrymen and spending the proceeds, entirely un

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