THE BOSTON REVIEW, FOR JANUARY, 1805. 86 BY FAIR DISCUSSION TRUTHS IMMORTAL FIND. HUMPHREYS. Some, Spoiled through philosophy and vain deceit, have made changes in the divine inftitutions, and attempted improvements upon them fince the commencement of the gofpel day. This hath been a leading trait of character in the chiefs of the Romish church. Many of the heads of that communion have fignalized themselves in this way. And fome of their alterations have operated to imprefs what was thought to be religion, as hath been obferved. Another way in which they have manifefted the fame difpofition hath been the multiplying of holydays. Under various pretences, nearly half the days in the year have been confecrated to religion, by order of thofe gods on earth. Some real, and many fictitious faints, have days confecrated to their memory. zeal for God and his caufe in the world; Here is a great fhew of wisdom, and calling men fo often from their temporal concerns to attend to the duties of religion! Who can do other than approve it? Doubtless many have been deceived by appearances, and confidered thofe as wife and good who have done these things. But this is far from being their character. Thefe have been the doings of " Antichrift, the man of fin-the fon of perdition! Because of these things cometh the wrath of God, on the children of difobedience!" All thefe fpecious measures are no better than Saul's facrificing, Uzzah's fteadying the ark, and the ufe of images in divine worship! They are oppofition to the orders of the Most High, and rebellion against him. "Six days fhalt thou labour and do all thy work, but the seventh day is the fabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work"-Whoever takes it on himself to alter this appointment," thinks to change times and laws;" which was foretold of him who fhould " speak great words against the Moft High." The Lord's-day is the only day which God hath fanctified under the gospel difpenfation. This infinite wisdom judg ed fufficient. Had more been requifite, more would have been confecrated by divine order. But not a hint of any other holyday is to be found in the New Teftament. Occafional calls there may be to fasting and thanksgiving; and we have fcripture warrant for attending them in their seasons. But fixing on certain days of the year, or month, fatedly to call men from their fecular bufinefs to attend to religion, and requiring the confecration of them to religion is adding to the book of God. However well intended, it goes on mistaken principles, and however fpecious in appearance, is affronting the wisdom and authority of heaven. Most of the errours referred to above, are found among Pagans or Catholicks; but is nothing of the fame kind chargeable on Proteftants?" Are there not with us fins against the Lord our God?" And of the fame nature with those we have been contemplating? The knowledge of others' errours may be for our warning; but the knowledge of our own is requifite to our reformation. Where then are we directed of God religioufly to obferve Christmas, Lent, or Eafter? Where to attend the eucharift only twice or thrice a year; and never without one or more preparatory lectures? Where to add a third prayer at the administration of that ordinance, when our divine pattern only bleffed the bread, before he diftributed it to his difciples, and gave thanks to the Father, before he divided to them the cup? Where are we directed to attend quarterly feafons of prayer, or to hold weekly conferences for religious purposes? But these are well intended. So probably was Uzzah's fteadying the ask-But fome of thefe do help on the caufe of God, and even more than the stale attendance on Lord's-day duties. So thought thofe who introduced images and paintings into churches. [Some indeed attend those, who neglect Lord's day duties.] Have we then discovered defects in the divine plan! And do we feel ourfelves capable of making emendations in itOf" teaching eternal wifdom how to rule !"-How to effect its purpoles of mercy! Beware left any man Spoil you through philofophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Chrift. "Vain man would be wife"-He naturally thinks himfelf qualified, even to ameliorate divine in flitutions. Temptation to this fin coincides with a natural bias in depraved humanity. Many and very mifchiev ous errours have iffued from it. Would we escape the fnare we must liften to to the apoftle fpeaking in the text.The fum of his advice is to keep to the divine directions, especially in matters of religion. Thefe are contained and Vol. II. No. 1. F plainly taught in the holy feriptures, which we have in our hands, and of the fenfe of which we muft judge for our felves; remembering that we are accountable to God the judge of all. As fome are Spoiled through philofophy and vain deceit, others are corrupted by regard to the tradition of men and rudiments of the world. This endangered the Coloffians, and eventually ruined the church of Rome. The leading errours of paganifm were thereby introduced into that chriftian church, and rendered it completely antichriftian. Errours, which feemed to have been destroyed by chriftianity, were again revived, and the abominations, which they had occafioned, were acted over again with enlargements ! The traditions of men, and rudiments of the world, have still their seducing influence. Moft men fwim down with the current of the times-adopt the fentiments and conform to the ufages of thofe with whom they live. The popular scheme of religion they confider as the orthodox fcheme, and the religion of the land the true religion. Therefore is one nation Papifts, another Protestants, one Calvinifts, another Lutherans. Thefe differences of fentiment do not arife from differences in the mental conftitutions of nations, but from the accidental difference of fituation. Few have fufficient independence of mind to " judge of themselves what is " right." Many, who "call Chrift "Lord, receive for doctrines the com"mandments of men." Therefore doth religion vary like the fashions of the world. Was the fashion of the world to be the rule of judgment it might be wife to follow it: But we must every "one give an account of himself to "God," and be judged by the rule which he hath given us. It becomes us therefore to call no man mater, becaufe one is our Mafter, even Chrift." To him we are accountable. At our peril do we neglect obedience to his commands. In another difcourfe, upon the fear which terminates in the fecond death, he obviates thofe difficulties which the text might feem to create, cfpecially in timid minds; and proves that the fear to which fuch punishment is annexed, is a fear of that kind, which precludes trust in God, and reliance on bis grace in Chrift; which operates to explain away the practical laws of God; which puts men upon daty in order to atone for fin, and which farinks from the hardships of religion. When fear has this effa, it drives the finner from the mercy, which alone can fave him. We can fpeak with equal commendation of many other difcourfes in this volume; of that upon divine impartiality; upon the aggravated guilt of him who delivered Chrift to Pilate; upon the trial of Peter's love to Chrift; upon human characters determined only by divine decifion, &c. : all of which difcover deep reflection, correct judgment, and catholick fentiments. But we have given fufficient fpecimens of the work to recommend it to the perufal of fuch, as are pleafed with found and rational theology. ART. 2. Obfervations on the trial by jury; with mifcellaneous remarks concerning legiflation and jurifprudence and the profeffors of the law. Alfo, ferving the dangerous confequences of innovations in the fundamental inflitutions of the civil polity of a fate. Illuftrated by authorities, and manifefled by examples. Addreffed to the citizens of Pennfylvania. By an American. [Continued from Vol. i. p. 665.] HAVING thus traced with much learning and minutenefs, she origin of the trial by jury; having proved by extracts from the belt English authors of law and history that, among all their popular inftitutions, there is none to which the people of England have adhered with greater firmnefs, none which they have guarded with more rigid jealoufy; that in this country it was the birthright of our American ancestors, and is fecured as a conftitutional right to every citizen of the United States; that it has always been confidered as the darling prerogative of the people, which they would not fuffer to be violated with impunity; that the depriving us in many cafes of the benefits cf a jury was one of the grievances stated in the declaration of independence, as a ground of our feparating from the gov ernment of Great-Britain, and an high charge of mifrule againft the British king; that the intervention of a jury is indifpenfable in every judicial tribunal of common law jurifdiction within the United States, our author indulges himself in expreffions of hon→ eft indignation against those wild infuriated men who, under the pretext of being the exclufive' friends of the people and the fole guardians of their rights, but in reality intent only on exalting themselves and promoting particulars interefts by "grinding the faces of the poor" and unwary, have, with infernal artifice, attack-ed this "bulwark of our perfonal and private rights, this fortrefs against petty and private oppreffion." Should any man appear among us, who fhould thus " dare," however cov ertly, in order to accomplish his own purposes, to feduce us out of our most invaluable rights, and thus violate the fitutions of the land; fuch man ought law; the fame men, fo zealous for profcribing the one, are equally defirous for abolishing 'the other; and traces the origin of these prepofterous and ungrounded prejudices, as the pious and learned Sir Mathew Hale had done before him, to ignorance, jealoufy, and envy. to be marked as our worst enemy.-Let the man with thofe views alfo beware! --Let him not, by schemes of avaricious Telfishness and perfonal ambition, attempt to impofe on a worthy, free, and magnanimous people! If he should, unfortunately, have intrigued himself into the confidence of any portion of his honeft, unfufpecting countrymen-and found his way into the councils of the nation, by his hypocrify, his avarice, or his ambition; let him remember, that the conflitution of his country-THE SUPREME LAW OF THE LAND-has interpofed barriers against his projects for Frting the rights of the people. But if be fhould fail to bear this in remembrance, he may be affured that an enlightened people, jealous of their privileges and the liberties of their country, will not forget it. They will readily afcertain the nature and extent of thofe boundaries, which limit the power and authority of all publick functionaries, by the anfwer which will fuggeft itfelf to the queftion, What is a conflitution? It will be found to be, in the emphatick words of judge Patterson, "The form of government, delineated by the mighty hand of the people; in which certain firf principles, or fundamental laws, are establified. The conftitution is certain and fixed: it contains the permanent will of the people, and is the fupreme law of the land; and can be revoked or altered, only, by the authority that made it.” And if it be asked-What are legiflatures? the aafwer occurs, in the words of the fame very respectable judge "Creatures of the conflitution-they owe their exiftence to the conftitution-they derive their powers from the conftitution: it is their commiffion; and therefore, all their acts must be conformable to iter elfe vOID. The conflitution is the work or will of the people themselves; in their original fovereign, and unlimit. ed capacity: Law is the will of the Legislature, in their derivative capacity." The writer obferves, that the fame men who have evinced their hoftility to jury trial have manifefted an unjuft, an illiberal antipathy to the profeflion of the He then proceeds to give some account of the introduction of attornies in England. Formerly, according to the old Gothick conftitution, as Sir William Blackftone remarks, every fuitor was compelled to appear in perfon to profecute or defend his fuit, unlefs he was otherwife permitted by special licence under the king's letters patent; and this is fill the law of England in criminal caufes, though as to matters of law arifing on trial for capital offences the prifoner is there entitled to counsel. The learned commentator further obferves, that in the Roman law, though it was anciently the practice that no perfon could act in the name of another, yet because this was attended with great inconveniences men began to conduct their judicial controverfy through the medium of lawyers; fo in the Englifh, and in our law, upon the fame principle of convenience, it is provided in general that attornies, conftituted by the parties, may profecute or defend any action. The right then is clear and definite both by our law and the Englifh in civil fuits, and the conftitution in this country has extended it in like manner to all criminal actions or profecutions; and this right has grown out of the neceffity of the measure, grounded on principles of reafon and juftice. 4 He alfo wifhed to reform the government," and "eafe the people"; he alfo abhorred the law, lawyers, and knowledge; and he, with twenty-fix of his affociates, by a moft righteous judgment, expiated their crimes on a gibbet. Qui eorum veftigiis infiftant, exitus perhorrefcant. Our author con cludes the work before us with fome judicious reflections on the dangerous confequences of a violent party fpirit in a free government. Our author next warns his farce were exhibited on the fame countrymen, against projects of theatre; the plot, the actors, and innovation on their ancient and the catastrophe were alfo of a like eftablished rights, however plau- nature. Cade was their chief. fible they may be made to appear; against being deluded by unreasonable prejudices against courts and officers of the law, fomented by interested, treacherous, difappointed, or defigning men. He reminds them of the dreadful confequences which flowed from this difpofition, and from thefe abfurd prejudices in England, in the reigns of Richard II. and Henry VI. In the former of thefe reigns, he obferves, hofts of poor deluded people, inftigated by a few crafty and mifchievous leaders, broke into open rebellion against the government, committing in their mad career most horrible crimes of every kind. The pretences of thefe mifcreants and their followers, according to Dr. Brady, were "liberty, changing the evil customs of the nation, and cutting off the heads of all the lawyers great and fmall wherever they could find them, for that the nation never could enjoy true liberty, till they were killed." Thefe wretched men all paid the forfeit of their lives for their crimes; fome were executed as traitors, others were killed at the /head of the rabble.* Seventy years afterwards, in the reign of Henry VI., the fame tragedy and Sir John Gower, who lived in the fourteenth century, and who is faid to have been one of the moft admired poets of the age, wrote a poem called "vox clamantis," which was a chronicle of this rebellion. The folemnity of the ftyle and lowness of the fubject give it in fome places a burlefque appearance, as in the following catalogue of the leaders of the infurgents, which we beg. The obfervations, which appeared in our Review for September laft, on the style, the candour, and the independence of the political fentiments of the writer of the Conftitutionalist, apply with equal propriety to the Author of the work before us, and, if we have not been misinformed, both productions were from the fame gentleman. At the clofe of this volume are inferted obfervations on the extenfion of the jurifdiction and powers of juftices of the peace, published in the Lancaster Intelligencer in December, 1802, and leave to introduce for the amusement of our readers. Watte vocat, cui Thome venit, neque Symme retardat, Bitteque, Gibbe, fimul Hykke, venire jubent, Colle furit, quem Gibbe juvat nocumenta parantes, Cum quibus ad damnum Wille coire vovit. Grigge rapit, dum Daive firepit, comès eft quibus Hobbe Lorkin, et in medio non minor effe putat. Hudde ferit quos Judde terit, dum Tibbe jus vatur Jakke domos que viros vellit,et enfenecat, Se |