Chap. VI.]

DUTIES OF PATRIOTISM.

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by jury has always been regarded as the chief glory of our sys-tem of jurisprudence, and it is made the duty, as it is also theprivilege of the citizen, in this way, personally to participate inthe practical administration of justice. The grand jury, more-over, besides being the grand inquest for the indictment of crim-inals, are the constituted guardians of the morals of the country,and in respect to this part of their functions, seem to correspondto the Roman censors,* to whom the cognizance and supervis-ion of the public morals were committed.

This institution, therefore, so venerable for its antiquity, itswisdom, and its practical value, evinced in the preservation andsecurity of estate, freedom, life, and character, wherever it hasflourished, has been esteemed too valuable to be intrusted to anydelegated body whatever ; — the people of this country, as well asof Great Britain, have wisely determined, by retaining it withintheir own keeping, to preserve, maintain, and defend it in itsoriginal integrity, and to hand it down unimpaired in value tocoming generations. It is an institution, then, in the undimin-ished purity of which, the people have a universal interest. Noone can foresee how soon his fortune, his reputation, his liberty,or his life may depend on the verdict of a jury ; and, howeverupright the jurors may be, it is still a valuable feature of thismode of trial, that their sense of justice is stimulated by antici-pating the possibility, that they may in turn, at some future time,be themselves placed in the situation of the accused.

But, after all the safeguards which this institution containswithin itself, and which can be thrown around it, many and greatas they are, its practical value must essentially depend on thevirtue and intelligence of the great body of the citizens,—onthe candor, integrity, sense of justice, knowledge, and sagacity,strength, and comprehension of mind, earnest and continued at-tention, impartiality, freedom from prejudice and passion, firm-ness, and personal independence of the individuals, who makeup the jury. Without candor, integrity, and a strong sense ofjustice, it may be a matter of indifference to the jury how they de-cide the causes which come before them ; without knowledge, and

* Oensores mores populi regunto. Cicero de Legibus, Lib. HI. c. 3.

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