of the same mind and rectifies his mistakes before they become dangerous to him or to others But then it must be with Knowing Men for no man can communicate to another that which he hath not he may mislead him or confirm him in Error and so make his mistake more fatal but other good he can expect little from him except it be the diversion of his Chat. When the Person with whom we converse hath not only a Speculative but a Practical Knowledge too of any thing if he appear honest and disinterested we may rely the better on his Judgment and the little Stories which he will be able to tell of things well or ill done will strangely dwell upon the memory and fix things and at the same time rectifie the Judgment too It was well said by the Lord Bacon Set before thee the best Examples for imitation is a Globe of Precepts and for that end were Histories written that one Generation might learn from another and take Example what to follow and what to avoid and Discourse is of the same Nature thô not so perfect I may then justly detest their ill nature and folly who when they meet with Men of Knowledge and Experience and willing to Communicate both to them envy and traduce them and when they have nothing else to say think to make them Odious by saying They love to talk and are conceited of their own Knowledge or Abilities and are Proud men why if all this were true it is better to be Proud of Something than of Nothing and yet the last happens oftenest solid Knowledge will make a man humble when there is nothing so conceited as Ignorance and a communicative Man is better company than a close churlish Nature who values himself upon the Ignorance of others which shall never be rectified by him And it is usual for these men too to learn from them whom they thus traduce Secondly I may justly reprehend them who spend all their time in tittle tattle about their Currs and their Kites their Debaucheries and Recreations or which is worse in defaming their Neighbours but if any useful Discourse is begun that may tend to the Publick Good or to make them wiser or better are ill at ease till it be ended turn sick and are ready to surrender their over-charged Stomachs 'T is true the Age in which we live is learned but if this humour prevail a little more the next will not only be debauched but barbarous and ignorant SECTION VIII THe End of all that knowledge I have been discoursing of in the foregoing Section is for Practice for that makes it truly beneficial a Man had better be totally Ignorant of all Laws than to Study them to find ways to defeat them that so he may at once avoid the Directive and Coercive Power of them But the Great design of a Good Magistrate is a Prudent Execution of them by observing a due Method according to Law 1. In calling the Parties 2. In hearing them 3. In determining the Cause It is an old and a just Complaint that no Nation hath better Laws than this nor hardly any that executes them worse and yet we are possest with an Hydropical thirst after more the cause of which is that every man would be free himself and have another bound but of what use are the best Laws without severe Execution If we design nothing but ostentation in my Judgment the Book of Statutes is big enough all ready We are almost in the same condition with the Ancient Romans Nec vitia nostra nec remedia eorum ferre possumus we can neither bear our great and manifold Vices nor the Remedies of them And it was the Observation of a Wise man Corruptissima Repub. plurimae Leges that most Laws were made in the most corrupted States But then never was any People amended with Ink and Paper and Laws are no more till they be put in Execution It was good Advice which Tiberius gave the Senate that they should not teach the World by ineffectual Laws what Vices were too strong for their Authority for which he gives this reason That when Men had once prevailed against that Remedy too Neque metus ultra neq pudor est there was neither Fear nor Modesty left to amend them If we think much to Execute those we already have to what end should we desire more If we think it burthensome to Obey our old Laws why should we desire to encrease the weight except it be to shew by the breach of more how much we despise them But as in the making so in the executing of Laws there will be occasion to make use of much Prudence and Discretion to make a dextrous Application of the General Rule to the particular instance and to order the Business so too if it be possible that the Offender may be Reformed and not Ruined it is impossible to give any General Rule or Advice in this Case but it must be left to the discretion of the Magistrate Only the Saying of the last Lord Chancellor will ever be found true Happy is that Government where men Complain of the strict Execution of the Laws And if I might presume to give the Reason it should be this Severity prevents Offences whereas too much lenity encreaseth them and makes the Offender by Custom and Time incorrigible When a Complaint is brought before a Justice of the Peace his first care must be to consider diligently whether the Case be within his Jurisdiction for it is no unusual thing for mean People to complain to them in Cases in which they can afford them no Relief and it is much better to consider this at first than when it is too late for then a Man hath betrayed his ignorance and indiscretion if there happen nothing worse Some Men have a custom to extend their Power beyond the just bounds of it that they may have the more Business and others will not do what they might and ought either out of fear or ignorance or unwillingness to be Troubled neither of these are good It is unsafe and often injurious too to stretch the Jurisdiction beyond its due bounds And it is unjust on the other side to deny Men the Benefit of the Laws when it is in Our Power to Right them And therefore a Good Magistrate will avoid both the Extremes and neither give his Neighbours Trouble to no purpose nor spare his own Pains when he can serve his Country And herein he will soon find the great Benefit of his Care to inform himself Exactly of his Duty without which it will be very difficult to determine whether he hath a right to meddle or no and if he thinks he hath it will not be amiss at first especially and afterwards in all doubtful Cases to consult his Books and so go on or desist as he finds Cause And the Safety will sufficiently Compensate for the Trouble When he is resolv'd to grant a Warrant it is an excellent
requires because this Affair is so different in one place from what it is in another that it can hardly be brought under one general Rule and it seems but reason to intrust such and so many Gentlemen with a Power which is granted to almost every petty Corporation So likewise the Statute concerning Lands given to Charitable uses 39. Eliz. 6. might be made much more useful by Communicating that Power to any 4 Justices of the Peace without a Commission out of the Chancery and allowing an Appeal to the Sessions 1 with a Tryal by Jury And indeed all Lands given to Charitable uses would be better imployed if accounts were given to the Justices of the Peace which is already given in relation to those that are given to the repair of †13 14. c. 2. c. 6. § 14. High-ways and the Relief of * 22 23. c. 2. c. 20. ⧠11. Goals and Prisoners and there is the same reason for the rest There is one thing of which no care was ever taken that I know of and that is for Guardians for such Children as are neither so poor as to be a Charge presently to the Parish and yet have not such Estates as to be able to bear an Application to the Chancery for that Purpose many of which become at length a Charge to the Parish when what was left them is consumed Which might be prevented by giving the Quarter Sessions power to appoint them Guardians and take security of them for a good Account altering and changing them as occasion serves and compelling them to account and make payment without Suits of Law which such poor Orphans Estates will not bear There are too many other things to be brought into a Preface to so small a Discourse as this and therefore I will omit them but there is one I cannot pass over I could never yet learn any power that was given to the Justices of the Peace to Summon or Compel Witnesses to appear in the Sessions except it were against Felons Now it is most certain no Case can be ended without them and that very often they will not appear without Compulsion and so many a good Cause must and doth miscarry And this a thing as worthy of a short Act of Parliament as any other I know of if it were but to make the Remedy more Authentick There are many Passages in the present Lord-Keeper's Speech which I have quoted above that would have been of great use to me if I had been so happy as to have seen it before I had finished this Piece but there is one which I had much rather misplace here then omit it altogether Pag. the 6th A private man is praised for shewing Humility and Deference to others in his Conversation and passing by Indignities But a Judg and so proportionably a Magistrate must take greatness upon him he must consider he represents the Kings Person in his Seat of Justice he must therefore be very careful to preserve the Dignity that belongs to it He must have passions but not of a private man that may disturb his Judgment but he must assume Passion to set off his Severity when the greatness of the Crime requires it but it must be so as it may appear that his Judgment governs his Passion and directs it against the offence and not against the Person A Judg must be covetous but not as a private man for his own profit but he must be very solicitous for the Kings profit knowing that the Kings Revenue is like Animal Spirits without which the Government would not be able to perform its ordinary Motions All which excellent Rules the last not excepted do belong as well to Justices of the Peace as to the Judges seeing so much of the Kings Revenue is committed to their care and it is the worst sort of Treason that can be starve our King And now if my Reader thinks fit to go on and read the Book too let me conjure him to do it without Partiality or Prejudice and with a resolution to reform whatever he shall remark to be amiss in his own Person or Practice and when he hath so done I will ask him no favour let him think and speak what he pleases of me I care not how low I lie in his Esteem how impertinent or tedious unlearned or ignorant nay how confident or impudent I may seem to be so I may do him good and if nothing else will do even anger him into an Amendment And if he will consider seriously of it he must grant I can have no other end because I write neither for Money nor Preferment nor Glory nor any other worldly interest but merely for the publick good And if any man is pleased with this Tractate I only beg of him the favour of one hearty Prayer for me and mine and the good success of this Discourse that it may advance the Glory of God the Execution of Justice and Judgment and the Prosperity and Welfare of the best Church the best King and the best Civil Government in the whole World Living at a great distance these Errata's have been made which the Reader is desired to amend with his Pen and to Pardon the greater faults of the Author Errata Page 18. Line 7. dele then l. 9. for that r. then p. 31. l. 22. for easy r. rasy p. 32. for profit r. Prophet p. 48. l. 7. r. Ruined p. 61. Parag. 2. fine dele they find p. 102. l. 10. for have r. had p. 106. l. 10. for would r. will p. 110. l. 17. for has r. as P. 112. l. 18. for mean r. can p. 142. l. 7. for expect r. except p. 167. l. 19. for take r. give To the Making of a Good Justice of the Peace these Things are required 1. Natural Abilities A Competent Apprehension Judgment Memory 2. Civil Abilities A Competent Estate A Good Reputation A reasonable good Education and Learning 3. Religious Dispositions consisting in A due Veneration of God Love for his Service in himself and others A true Esteem of his Ministers An earnest Desire of the Salvation of all Under his Care and Charge 4. Moral Qualifications Prudence in all his Actions Patience Meekness Sobriety Chastity Industry Courage and Honesty in the Execution of his Duty And Humility 5. Politick Qualifications A competent Understanding of the Nature of our Government and Love to it Of the Nature of the English People Of the several Factions that we have amongst us and how 〈◊〉 govern them 6. Publick Qualifications A Great Love of Justice Impartiality in Executing it Aversion for those things that may hinder it Bribery Prejudice and Prepossession Favour and Hatred Covetousness Irregular Heats and Hopes Laziness 7. Knowledge in our Laws and Customs By Reading Observation and Practice Conversation and Discourse with knowing and Experienced Men. 8. Prudent Execution of our Laws by Observing a due Method according to Law 1. In calling the Parties 2. In hearing the
Cause And 3. In determining it Not denying or delaying or Perverting Justice Not Extending or Diminishing his Jurisdiction Not Proceeding upon his Own Opinion or Humour without Good Warrant 9. Abhorrence of Perjury In himself by considering carefully the Oaths which he hath taken In others to be Avoided by his care to Administer none but Lawful and Necessary Oaths 2. To give good Admonitions and sharp Reproof in cause of failure THE Justice of Peace HIS CALLING A Moral Essay AS all the Works of God are perfect The Introduction so are they full of Variety and Wonder whether we Consider the Works of his Hands the Fabrick of the World and all the Beings in it or the Works of his Providence in the Government and Conduct of them at once preserving what he has made and so disposing them as to produce those Effects for which they were Created without their Knowledg and sometimes against their Wills But tho this is true of all the Creatures yet it is most apparent and full of Wonder when it is applyed to the Government of Mankind for all the other Creatures do pay a blind and unerring obedience to the Laws of their Creation and do never transgress willingly but Man being endued with discursive Faculties and Corrupted by the Fall doth very often act against what he knows to be his Duty and as often mistake it But then if we consider the Mass of Mankind we shall find that there is nothing in the whole World more Uncertain and Unconstant than Men changing like the wind very often to the quite opposite Points of the Compass without any Reasonable and sometimes without any Sensible Cause Yet in this they seldom vary that they are almost always unwilling to obey envious against their Supâ—riours jealous of their Conduct and discontented with almost all Events they all think themselves wise and good enough to Command and because this is impossible affect a dispensation from all Obedience which they miscall Liberty And which is yet worse there never was nor ever will be wanting a Sort of Ambitious ill-natured men to instill into the heads of the Rabble a greater Aversion for their Governors and their Government be it never so Easy Gentle and Just and a love for a Liberty which they promise â—â—em will Ensue upon the ruine of the â—â—rmer by which Means this Natural ill â—â—clination to Licentiousness is yet more â—â—flamed and inraged So that a man may wonder to see so â—any Hundred Thousands Obey one â—ingle Man whom they never saw and â—â—om whom they Expect no Extraordinary â—â—vour and as Seldom meet with it And if at any time their own natural â—â—clinations and the Cursed insinuations â—f their Tempters so far prevail as to tranâ—â—ort them into Tumults and War and â—â—ey prevail in that too so far as to destroy â—oth them and their Government yet then â—hey Constantly and Unavoidably fall â—nder some other Power as bad if not â—orse than the former and so do but toss â—hemselves from one supposed misery to â—â—other For since the Creation of the World was 〈◊〉 never known that any Number of men â—ived long without some Government or â—ther nor can the Multitude subsist withâ—ut it any more than the Individuals can â—ithout breath Some inquiring into the Cause of this â—ave ascribed it to Fate and the Influence 〈◊〉 the Stars and others to the Nature of â—ankind But I cannot conceive it proceeds from any of these Causes for taking Fate as it ought properly for a blind and Natural determination of things to their Events it cannot be supposed that there should be such an inclination to perfect and uncoâ—troulable Liberty in Man without any possibility of having it satisfied And as to the Stars their Influences and Aspects vary every moment and are different in one Country from what they are in Others But this inclination runs thro all Mankind tho it is sometimes restrained by External Accidents and is like the Seaever disposed to Motion tho sometimes quiet because no Winds Excite it And as to any Natural Inclination in Mankind to be governed and Acquiesce in the Wisdom of Others it is so contrary to the former of Living in perfect Liberty that they two are inconsistent and cannot stand together And therefore I have ever thought the reason lay higher and that it Must proceed from some Decree of God Almighty which is irresistable and uncontroulablâ— and that he in his Divine Providence hath set Bounds to this raging Sea saying to it Hither shalt thou come and no further For if it were otherwise those strange Revolutions that have hapned in the World would Certainly have left us some instances of a People that had attained and continued in a state of Natural freedom for some time without any Government or Governors For to speak the truth that is the thing they all seek On the other side were there not such an Inclination in Mankind why should they so restlessly pursue that airy Notion and for it venture the loss of Life and Limbs And what is the Multitude concern'd whether one or twenty or ten thousand command them to do what they would not or to suffer what they hate above all things But God is a cause strong enough to Over-rule this Ocean always the same ever Watching over the affairs of Mankind and making things fall insensibly and irresistibly into the Order he wills they should be in Accordingly he laid the foundations of humane Society in a Single Person and Made all the rest to spring from him like a Fountain and enured them from their infancy to obedience and made them sensible of the use and benefit of Government before they could consider what it was And as no Government was ever destroyed without force so that force like the Ashes of the Phenix being warmed by the Sun of the Divine Favour hath ever produced another to succeed it and left the Multitude repining and discontented at those Chains it never could nor ever shall break till Time shall be no more SECTION I. IT is no less a Wonder to see how God in every Age and Nation hath raised up Men to Govern and indued them with such a proportion of Abilities as fitted them more or less for that employment Man is not Naturally his Brothers Keeper and great is the number always of them who are perfectly unconcern'd for the Publick Prosperity or Misfortune of their own Times or Countries till they find the danger approach their own houses or persons and then for the most part 't is too late to prevent it And those few that are otherwise minded do as often mistake or but pretend the Publick Good and yet after all this there is very seldom Wanting a Sufficient Number so qualified as to Keep the Several Parts of the World in some tolerable order And the Wonder is the greater if we consider how often these men meet no other recompence than Death and Ruine from their Superiors or
self to reduce the Scales of Justice once sway'd down to an eqnal Ballance Wherefore it is the safest Course for a Judge that Nothing touching the proofs and merit of the cause be intimated before-hand untill both Parties be heard together Thus far this great Man who was once Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of England And a Justice of the Peace is in much more danger of being prepossessed than a Judge because the Complaint is made at first immediately to him and he may afterwards be more easily approached yea and deceived too than a Judge as being not so well versed in affairs or prepared for the Execution of his Office by his Education and therefore should be the more Wary and Jealous of himself Sometimes the prejudice is of an Ancienter date than the Complaint depending and is sometimes the fault and at others the misfortune of the Party if he have given just cause for it by his former misdemeanors and ill Life then he can blame no body but himself and yet the Justice ought not to condemn him in his very thoughts till he is clearly proved Guilty for the Worst of Men may be Wronged and every man is supposed at first innocent and afterwards penitent till the contrary be shown not by surmises but by proof But alass we live in so False and Slanderous an Age that the Fame of very Good men is often blasted behind their backs and it is become a common practice for men to blacken their Reputation whose Persons or Estates they design to Ruine and for the most part more mischief is done the Party by these Under-hand Accusations which he can never answer then by all the direct proof And therefore the Justice of the Peace ought to suspect all informations that are from the purpose as Slanders and designed for no other purpose than to prepossess him with an ill opinion of the party What I have said will in some degree discover the Mischief of Prejudice but there is this further in it Reason is the Light and Eye of the Soul Now if the Eye be simple the Whole shall be full of Light but if it be darkened with prepossession how great is that Darkness Matth. 6. 23. and I may add how incurable how inexcusable too It is certain we shall all stand before the Tribunal of Jesus Christ and whatever Judgment we here pass upon Things and Persons shall be there reviewed and therefore it befits us to be very exactly careful that we do not draw upon us a just Condemnation from that most Righteous and All-seeing Judge by condemning our fellow-Servants thro Prejudice and Prepossession Wrongfully Nor let us ever think that we shall escape the censure of men for they will certainly at one time or other discover the Cheat and esteem us according as they find cause tho perhaps they will not dare freely to tell us their minds and if they never should yet our Consciences will Accuse us for it and God in his Providence will take care to punish us for it and that it may be in the same way we have offended So that he that can be secure in the midst of so many dangers and open his Ears and expose himself to every secret Whisper against a Man is a Person disposed for ruine and doth neither deserve the Advice or Pity of any Man Bribery and Prepossession do for the most part spring from others Favour and Hatred Favour and Hatred take their Rise from our selves and are as great hinderances to Equal and Impartial Justice as the other two there is no man so mean but he may by Accident or upon Design oblige his Betters and beget in them a good opinion of him and most men are naturally apt to do it before hand and all the little Arts of Flattery Obsequiousness and Courtship are on such occasions made use of and many a man hath been drawn in by them who would have abhorred a Bribe Nor can any man on the other side live so innocently as at all times to avoid the displeasure of his Neighbours and a Justice of Peace is as capable of resentment as other Men and in some degree more because Pride and great Expectations of Submission and Regard do naturally follow Power in all its degrees and Circumstances and the least opposition or defeatexasperates such more then ten times as much would another so that the Natural Consequence is that a man in Authority and Power will have many pretending Friends and if he be not the more careful as many real or suspected Foes and if his Love and his Hatred have any room left for their Activity in the Execution of his Office they will betray him to many Inconveniences and Acts of Injustice which he would otherwise have avoided Whereas Justice should in this respect be blind and not see the Parties but the Fact on one side and the Law on the other and then with discretion and impartiality without Favour or Affection Hatred or ill Will give to every Man according to his Works But in the State man is this is so difficult that if Reason and Religion be not called in to our Assistance it will not be done the man hath injured me and therefore another is false Logick but yet so powerful that it is almost impossible to see the Fallacy especially whilest a Man is under the Dominion of Anger and Hatred which are powerful Passions and the Argument is as weak the other way the man is an honest man and therefore would not do amiss or complain without good Cause Why he is a man still and subject to all the Infirmities of Flesh and Blood and therefore I ought not to surrender my self blind-fold to his Conduct but diligently search out the truth And indeed if men would entertain low and humble thoughts of themselves they would seldom be mistaken but if I think my Smile my Nod my kind Word or Look a mighty Obligation and make a Muster of my Friends by the List of my Flatterers and Admirers I shall soon have a large Roll but they will in Adversity appear to be what they are like false Musters in Peace appear in their Ranks and Files a full Body but in time of necessity and need be like the gleaning after the Vintage thin and of no use and every Act of Injustice I do will diminish the number of my Friends even of those for whose sakes I did it and increase the number and fury of my Enemies But on the other side Exact and Impartial Justice is venerable and lovely in the sight of God and Men and even those that suffer by it will when the smart is over love and revere the man that Administred it to them so the upright Impartial Magistrate shall in the end have fewer Enemies and more hearty Friends then the other If there were nothing but this to be said for it there were reason enough to banish all our Affections and Passions when we sit
our Dissenters Gain by all their Perjuries between 40 and 60 what are they the better for all those they have procured or abetted since is not the hand of God against them in all they undertake defeating all their Projects and Designs and making them every day more Odious than others For my part I do not fear that perjurious Projects will ever prevail or do any body any good but the Crime being spread so vastly I fear a National Judgment a Calamity that shall be as general as the Sin and then no man will be free from suffering the sad Effects of it thô those that have procured it will smart most by it and this is enough to oblige every good Man that loves his Countrey especially all Magistrates to stand in the gap and to prevent the further Growth of it as much as is possible by discountenancing it and punishing it too as occasion serve Some are of Opinion this Sin might be stopped by a severe Law against it but I am of another mind and I heartily believe more innocent than guilty Men would suffer by it if we had such a Law because these wicked Wretches make Parties to uphold one another and will lay things so well together that it is almost impossible to discover the Cheat and then as for Oaths to prove them that they never want whereas good Men are not so vigilant suspecting as little ill as they mean and so would be more exposed to the force of such a Law But as for Publick Officers especially Constables and such like I wish together with their Oaths they might be compelled to enter a Recognizance of the same Condition with their Oaths which if it were but of small value as X or XX lib. it would work much upon them and in a great measure put a stop to this Impiety for some that do not reverence an Oath wou'd yet fear to forfeit their Recognizance and in time Religion would return and take away the necessity of such double Obligations As for Private Concerns there is excellent provision made by a late Statute 29 Car. 2. Cap. 3. and the extending it to a few more particulars might be very useful and till this can be done Men must commit as little as is possible to Verbal Testimonies by taking all things they can in Writing 2. Another of the best and most effectual means that is left to stop this inundation of Perjury is for Magistrates to express a great detestation of it not only by their words as Occasion serve but by their Actions too by shewing themselves to be exceeding Careful not to do any thing that is contrary to their Oaths and sometimes giving that for a reason of it for that makes a greater impression upon the Minds of Men than any words without it because it is at once a Verbal and a Practical Declaration and their Authority will make it the more taken Notice of and regarded The Oaths of Supremacy and Allegiance are so frequently Administred that I need not take any further notice of them here but that which more immediately concerns the Justices of the Peace is as followeth YE shall Swear that as Justice of the Peace in the County of C. in all Articles in the King's Commission to you directed you shall do Egal Right to the Poor and to the Rich after your Cunning Wit and Power and after the Laws and Customs of the Realm and Statutes thereof made and ye shall not be of Councel of any quarrel hanging before you and that ye shall hold your Sessions after the form of the Statutes thereof made And the Issues Fines and Amerciments that shall happen to be made and all Forfeitures which shall fall before you ye shall cause to be entered without any Concealment or imbefilling and truely send them to the King's Exchequer ye shall not let for Guift or other Cause but well and truly you shall do your Office of Justice of the Peace in that behalf And that you take nothing for your Office of Justice of the Peace to be done but of the King and Fees accustomed and Costs limited by the Statute And ye shall not direct nor cause to be directed any Warrant by you to be made to the Parties but ye shall direct to the Bailiffs of the said County or other the King's Officers or Ministers or other indifferent Persons to do Execution thereof So help you God You shall do Egal right the very way of Writing which word Egal instead of Equal shews this Oath is of great Antiquity and that it hath been very carefully Transcribed when there have been so much scruple made of changing a G. into a Q. according to the Latin and our present Authography and it would be a burning shame to us if we that are Sworn should be less careful of the Articles in it than the Clerks have been of the Letters And that ye shall hold your Sessions how they can Answer it to God or Man I know not who reside in any County or act as Justices of the Peace in it and yet never appear at any Sessions by the space of many years together without any lawful excuse or hindrance or those who come and take the King's Wages and before half the Business is done betake themselves to the Tavern leaving two or three to finish and conclude the Business so that if any Controversie arise it must be left to another time or ended as it can rather than as it ought it is true neither of these Disorders can be Punished by the Court but then it is because the Law supposeth that Men of that Quality will not need it but will religiously observe their Oath so that the fault is so much the greater because it cannot be Punished but by God only I shall not make any more Reflections on this Oath because this whole Discourse is but a kind of Commentary upon it and whatever I have omitted is taken notice of by Lambard and other Writers But the Care of a Magistrate ends not in himself but is to extend to Others and therefore he ought to take great heed that he minister none but Lawful and Necessary Oaths Secondly That if he find Men ignorant he give them good Advice and sharp Reproofs in case of the least failure By Lawful Oaths I mean such as the Laws and Customs of England will allow him to give and therefore before he take an Oath he ought to consider whether he have Power to do it for thô he hath a great yet he hath not an unlimited Power as is manifest by that Parenthesis which is so frequent in our Statutes which Oath the said Justices are by this Act Authorized to Administer which is repeated almost as often as a new Power is given them and for the most part in these very words And yet I doubt not but when good Reason requires where ever they may Hear and Determine they may do it upon Oath thô the Statute doth not
so Express it for they are to take the best care they can that they be not deceived in what they do by false Information to which end an Oath may be sometimes absolutely necessary But Magistrates are not only to avoid Giving Oaths in all Cases where they have no Authority but also in as many of the rest as they can I have read that the Turkish Country-Magistrates which are like our Justices of the Peace Determine almost all Cases without Oaths and yet if they are not corrupted by neither Party will by Queries observing the looks of Men when they Answer Laying things together and comparing one thing with another and by making all the several Parties tell the Story one after another or so much of it as they know by these I say and such like Methods they will so pick out the Truth that no Oath could do it half so well Now I know this Way is troublesome and will take time but it will discover the Truth sometimes when Oaths would not and save the Perjury too and so is worth the while And I have observed also that Men who are in Passion one against another do little regard the Religion of an Oath and yet their very Passion will discover the Truth without one if a Magistrate will have but a little Patience and give them time and liberty of Speech but on the contrary Men do generally revere an Oath when they are quiet and undisturbed and a Magistrate may best give an Oath when they are in that temper and rely upon the truth of what they say Secondly Oaths would not be given in things that are not of some Moment It is good to hear what a Person can say before he is Sworn and if it be nothing to the purpose then not to Swear him at all but if it be then to Swear him and bid him tell the Story the second time and observe if he vary by which means the Truth may be often found out Thirdly It is good to bring things into as narrow a compass as is possible by observing wherein the Parties agree and wherein they differ before any Oath be given and this will determine many Cases without an Oath the Parties agreeing at last about the Matter of Fact and if it will not that only in which they differ is to be proved upon Oath which will be liable to less hazard of Perjury than the whole If the Justice of Peace observes the Party who is to take an Oath be ignorant or young it is good to shew him the Nature of it in short plain words and to tell him the Danger and great Sin of Perjury and how severe God is against it and for that purpose to Alledge the Third Commandment or some other such like short place of Scripture which will have great effect upon untainted minds If he finds at any time after an Oath given that any thing is spoken that is not truth by the Party Sworn it is good to give the Party a grave sharp reproof at least It is an usual thing not to grant a Warrant of the Peace but upon Oath that the Party who requires it doth not do it upon Malice but purely out of fear Yet if it be well observed there will be found many Instances of Perjury in that case And therefore I think it were much better to grant a Warrant to shew cause why the Surety of the Peace should not be granted and so Examine the pretended fear when both the Parties are face to face than to pursue the old Method of Swearing the Complainant and then making the Warrant absolute Especially if there be not a grievous hurt or some other apparent cause for it I have often found by this way of proceeding that I have prevented Perjury and delivered an Innocent and sometimes an Injured Person from Vexation for it is no unusual thing for ill Men to Swear the Peace against others by way of Prevention when they have given them too much cause to do it to themselves and at other times by way of revenge when they have for good cause been forced to find Sureties Now in such instances as these it is good to prevent men from being actually forsworn even when they are too much disposed to it And when all this care is taken there will be many Perjuries committed how much more when there is none of it But the Justice of the Peace when he hath done what he could to prevent it may comfort himself and believe that God will not lay another mans Sin which he could not hinder to his Charge but if he Swear men rashly and without due precaution he as well as they must without doubt bear a part of the blame in the sight of God The Conclusion AND now I have with the greatest brevity I could run thorough all those Particulars I thought fit to Discourse on in relation to my Subject and thô it might have been better done by an abler Person yet never did any man enter upon any thing with more sincere and candid intentions for the Publick good And all that remains is to perswade those that are or shall be Justices of the Peace to reflect seriously upon what I have Written and then if they do not approve of my thoughts they may yet give them occasion of others and in all likelihood much better and it may also possibly excite some other Person to do it better and so oblige the World and me in the first place But in the mean time I humbly beseech all Magistrates that they would seriously consider Three things First That they are the Ministers of God and that is so honorable a Title that Constantine the Great took much Pride in it but then it will become them that Wear it to act as such for God is a severe Judge of Unprofitable Servants and much more of slothful and wicked ones for whom he hath provided a Punishment equal to the greatness of their offence and the dishonour they do him And on the other hand none shall enjoy more happiness in Heaven than they who have not only been good themselves but have laboured to make others such by governing them with Prudence and Discretion here on Earth Secondly They are the Representatives of their King and it is the greatest Disloyalty and Infidelity imaginable to pretend to Serve him and then Dishonour him to his People and deceive him in the Trust reposed on them Thirdly The People whom they are to govern will certainly rise up in Judgment against them if they mislead or misuse them for thô perhaps they cannot help themselves for the present whatever injuries they suffer yet their Redeemer is mighty and with him is no respect of Persons And when all this is seriously thought of I do not fear that they will treat their Monitor unkindly who had no other design in this than to make them happy here and hereafter by exposing those Vices that prevail more in general upon Men for want of Precaution than out of any Affection they have to them A Prayer O Thou who art the Soveraign Judg of the World seeing it hath pleased thee to call me into the Number of the inferior Judges in it Grant that I may administer Justice truely and indifferently to the punishment of Wickedness and Vice and to the maintenance of thy true Religion and Virtue And to that end enlighten my Vnderstanding that I may choose what is Just and Right in thy sight without respect of Persons and pursue the same with Courage and Industry Quiet all Divisions amongst us that we may not hinder each other nor dishonour thee by our Contentions Set a Watch O Lord before my Mouth and a Door with a Guard about my Lips Give me a meek patient humble spirit that I do nothing through Strife or Vain-glory but that I may patiently hear and submit to the reasons of others And finally in all things direct thy Servant into those things which may tend most to thy Glory the good of thy Church the Service of our Soveraign and the Peace and Happiness of my Country that when I shall appear before thy Tribunal to receive an an Eternal Sentence I may not perish forever but that thou mayest Remember me for Good and spare me in that day Grant this O Blessed Judg and Saviour for thy own sake Amen FINIS