La plupart des affaires civiles font de la compétence des tribunaux de conciliation. Il n'eft cependant pas interdit aux cours de juftice de propofer des moyens conciliatoires dans les caufes qui auront été directement traduites devant elles. Les tribunaux de conciliation Gégent à huit clos, et une fois la femaine, excepté dans la capitale, où le féances font auffi fréquentes que les circonftances l'exigent. Au cas que les parties ne s'accordent point, la procédure eft regardée comme non avenue, et il n'eft point délivré de procès-verbal. Si la conciliation a lieu, elle eft enregistrée, et dès-lors elle équivaut à une fentence juridique. La procédure ne doit durer au delà de huit jours dans les villes, et de quinze à la campagne, à moins qu'il n'y ait confentement des deux parties à un plus ample délai. Les pièces peuvent être expédiées fur papier non timbré. Aucune affaire n'eft entamée en cour ordinaire, à moins que le demandeur ne puiffe prouver avoir eu recours à la conciliation. Les frais de la procédure font de 64 fchellings, qui ne fe paient que dans le cas, où l'accommodement a lieu. L'impuiffance où pourrait être une des parties d'acquitter les frais, ne doit point empêcher le tribunal de procéder. A Copenhague, où les juges du tribunal font des employés publics, ayant un falaire, et des citoyens aifés qui doivent s'honorer de remplir une fonction fi utile, les frais fe réduifent à 12 fchellings pour la citation. Tout citoyen qui, pendant huit années, fe fera acquitté avec zèle des devoirs de juge de conciliation, obtiendra des diftinctions honorables. Bornés d'abord en Norvège aux villes, les tribunaux dont il s'agit, ont été étendus dans ce royaume, aux campagnes, depuis l'année 1797, avec les modifications qu'exigent les localités.

Une courte expérience a fuffi pour convaincre le gouvernement de l'utilité de cette inftitution, Pendant les trois années qui précédèrent celle de fa création, il avait été porté, devant les cours en première inftance, 25,521 caufes; pendant les trois années fubféquentes, le nombre n'a été que de 9,653 ; différence par conféquent de 15,868.

No. III.

Report of the Jufticiary Clerk concerning Trials before inferior Courts without calling a Jury,-referred to in Vol. I, p. 194.

Edinburgh.-THE magistrates of the city of Edinburgh, by one of their clerks, report, that the conftant practice has been to try thieves and other offenders, on a complaint at the inftance of the procurator fifcal, de plano, without calling a jury; and in every cafe where the crime deferved it, to inflict corporal punifhment, by whipping, imprifonment, banifhment, pillory, and the like; and it does not appear from the records, that ever a jury was called to try culprits for leffer delicts, but the proceedings have been uniformly de plano as at present.

Glafgou-THE magiftrates of Glasgow report by their clerk, that they have been in the conftant and immemorial practice of inflicting corporal punishments, fuch as whipping, pillory, &c. on culprits who have been convicted of theft and other petty crimes, and this always without a jury; and they apprehend it would be impracticable to preferve the peace and police of the city without a power of that fort being lodged with the magistrates.

Aberdeen.-TAE magiftrates of Aberdeen, by their clerk, report, that it has been the immemorial and invariable practice of the magiftrates of that city to inflict corporal punishments, fuch as imprisonment, drumming, whipping, pillorying, &c. upon all culprits convicted of leffer crimes de plano, without calling or impanelling a jury; and it was never known or heard of their powers being once called in queftion: That there does not appear upon the records of the burrough-court a fingle inftance to the contrary of this practice, excepting in the cafe of a freeman-barber and heritor of the town, who was tried about the year 1758, for extreme oppreffion and cruelty committed against his apprentice: In which cafe, as the conclufions of the libel were for a very

high fine and damages, as well as for deprivation of the defender's freedom of the town, the magiftrates were advised to try him by a jury of his fellow citizens, which they accordingly did.

Perth.-THE magiftrates of Perth report, that it has been the immemorial practice there to try criminals, without juries, for all petty crimes, in actions at the instance of the procurator fifcal; and to inflict corporal punishments on fuch delinquents, by imprisonment, whipping, pillorying, or banishment; and juries are never called, but in trials where a capital punishment is intended, of which they have inftances. They further obferve, that if inferior judges were deprived of the power of punishing corporally, for leffer crimes, without juries, efpecially in towns, many defects would pafs with impunity, as it would be found extremely troublefome, and almost impracticable, to adopt the forms of a jury trial for every petty crime that occurs in a populous town.

Stirling.-THE magiftrates of Stirling report, that they have been in ufe to try culprits for fmaller trefpaffes, and to inflict corporal punishments upon them, fuch as banifhment, imprisonment, and the like, de plano, without calling a jury; the fentence of banishment always containing a certification of imprisonment and whipping in cafe of a return; and inftances have occurred where thefe certifications have been put in execution.

Ayr.-THE magiftrates of Ayr report, that it has not been the practice there to inflict a corporal punishment upon culprits for fmaller trefpaffes further than imprisonment, without a trial by a jury.

Dumfries.-THE magiftrates of Dumfries report, that there has not been a trial of any crime by jury before them in the memory of man; that there have been fome trials of petty thefts, all without jury; but the magiftrates have not proceeded to any higher punishment than banishment from the town and liberties for a certain term of years; fometimes by way of addition to the punishment of banishment, the delinquent has been conducted from the one end of the town to the other by the common executioner, and by beat of drum; Vol. 11.

but no perfon for thefe many years has been by the magif trates fentenced to be whipt or pilloried. They further obferve, that if trials for petty thefts or leffer crimes, were not to proceed without a jury, fuch crimes would moft likely pass altogether unpunished.

Inverness.-THE magistrates of Inverness report, that they have, on different occafions, inflicted the corporal punish ments of whipping, pillory, &c. without the formality of a jury.

SHERIFFS.

Edinburgh.-THE fheriff of Edinburgh reports, that a fearch has been made into the records of that court for more than forty years back; and of all the numerous fentences of whipping, &c. pronounced and executed in that period, none of them have been inflicted by trial by jury, except one against Hood, a hecklemaker, in 1749, in whose cafe a capital indictment was laid; but upon pleadings, and before determining the relevancy, the libel was reftricted to an arbitrary punishment.

Aberdeen.-THE heriff-fubftitute of Aberdeen reports, that it has not been in the practice in that county to inflict corporal punishments for leffer crimes or trefpaffes without trying the perfons accused by a jury.

Argyle.-THE heriff of Argyle reports, that a thorough fearch has been made into the records of the sheriff court of that county, but from them it does not appear that the theriff was ever in ufe without a jury to inflict any other corporal punishment for petty crimes than a few days imprisonment, and that only in cafes of riot or battery, where a fine was awarded to compel payment; neither does it confist with the knowledge of the oldeft practitioners there, that the sheriff ever went further in difcuffing-criminal profecutions.

Roxburgh.-THE fheriff of Roxburghfhire reports, that the uniform practice in that fhire for feveral years paft has been to try by a jury wherever a corporal punishment might be

the confequence of guilt being proven, although from the records inftances appear of fetting on the crofs or pillory, and even whipping, when the trial was not made by a jury: all these are above twenty years ago.

Dumfries.-THE fheriff of Dumfriesshire reports, that it has always been understood where the punishment was to be extended beyond a fine and imprisonment, that the culprit was entitled to be tried by a jury. Only two culprits have been whipt within these twenty years, and both these had trials by jury.

Ayr.-THE fheriff-fubftitute of Ayr reports, that he has been above twenty years sheriff-substitute of this county, and never knew an inftance of any, even the fmalleft corporal punishment, (imprisonment always excepted), inflicted, but upon trial by jury, nor did he ever hear of any such thing happening there,"

Lanark. THE fheriff of Lanarkshire informs, that sheriff courts for that county are kept at Hamilton and Lanark as well as at Glafgow. That, at Hamilton, it does not appear from the criminal records there, from 1748, that any trial had proceeded but by jury: That one appears in the court books without a jury, at the inftance of the procurator fifcal against one Scott, who was fentenced to be imprisoned, whipt, through Hamilton, branded with a hot iron on the face, and banished the county for life in January 1773: That, at Lanark, neither from the records nor from the practioners has he been able to learn of any corporal punishment inflicted without a jury from the 1748: That, at Glasgow, the criminal record has been fearched from the year 1748, which contains an infinite number of trials, followed by corporal and fome of them even by capital punishment, but all of them were jury trials. That the court books or act books had also been looked over without meeting with any inftance of corporal punishments, except one of a perfon being pilloried, and another of a perfon being drummed through the town upon fentence within these three years; in both which cafes, the culprits had made ample confeffion, and were fatisfied the punishment was milder than they deferved.