knowledge of technical principles and forms to enable them to hear and determine the various cases which came before them at the sessions, without professional aid; and accordingly, by the 27th of Geo. III., a barrister of six years' standing was appointed to act as a constant assistant to the justices constituting the court. This Act also contained the important provisions for enabling the Lord-Lieutenant, with the advice of the Privy Council, to divide the different counties into districts, where general sessions of the peace were directed to be held eight times in the year at the least, and to establish a constabulary force. After the appointment of assistant barristers to these courts, a new and concomitant jurisdiction was assigned to them, to be exercised by them exclusively, "for the recovery of small debts in a summary way." This had been originally exercised by the judges of assize in their several circuits; but as property and population increased, suits by civil bill, which these proceedings were called, increased to so great a degree that they constituted at length the chief part of the business of the judge presiding in the civil court. For this and other reasons the establishment of a new court for their trial became indispensable. The first step for bringing the process of civil bill into operation in the Assistant Barristers' Court is by the service of a summons, a copy of which was required to be left with each defendant, stating shortly the cause of action, the amount of claim, and time and place of appearance. Any person was competent to serve this process, and it was usually confided. to hired process-servers, upon whose affidavit of due service a decree was generally obtained. These were men of the worst description, and services were sworn to in many cases which were never made, and decrees obtained where no debt whatever existed. The instances were frequent of people in comfortable circumstances being reduced to beggary by this iniquitous practice. It led to the most frightful conflicts in the execution of decrees, which the peasantry declared to be legal robberies,-and the resistance they considered in such cases justifiable against the mal-administration of the law, unfortunately extended to the law itself. The sheriffs generally had but one panel for grand and petit jurors at the quarter-sessions, who were often persons of a low private influence prevailed with regard to the finding or ignoring of bills. The people were therefore constantly in the habit of making interest, as it was called, when they were before these courts. Major Bourke, from whose evidence we have already quoted, and who was a magistrate for the county and city of Limerick, declared on the occasion to which we have before alluded, that he believed the general opinion on this subject to have been well founded. He says, "I recollect to have heard a gentleman say that he was applied to (as gentlemen sometimes are in Ireland) by a person who was put upon trial at the Quarter Sessions begging to have a letter of recommendation to the Assistant Barrister; this the gentleman refused, saying the most he could do was to give him a letter to an officer of the Court, requesting him to take care that the bearer might have every facility afforded him in making his defence; the man returned within a day or two, with a letter from the officer of the Court, saying that he had settled the man's business; that he had spoken to the Grand Jury, and that they had thrown out the Bill*." There is no part of the ancient English statute-law more worthy of admiration than that which was devised to secure to suitors a fair and impartial jury. Similar provisions were, from time to time, adopted by the Irish Legislature; but they were for the most part temporary in their duration; the most useful of them were suffered to expiret; and it was left to the sub-sheriffs to place whomsoever they thought fit on juries of every description, and to exclude qualified persons at their pleasure. The Commissioners of Courts of Justice in Ireland, reported in 1826, that "The Sub-sheriff, according to the present practice, forms a grand panel at his own discretion; and when the Court of law grants an order for a special jury, and he is served with a rule to return the grand panel, he returns that which he has so formed, and which may be framed upon an improper principle, and not consist, as it ought, of the most respectable portion of the qualified freeholders of the county.” It is a remarkable fact, that there was only one statute, at that period, existing, which provided for the formation of the grand panel, and this provision was never acted on§. It will doubtless appear surprising to the English reader, that the boasted privilege of an impartial jury, which has been secured in this country by the most strict regulations, should, * Third Report from Select Committee of House of Commons on State of Ireland in 1825, p. 328. knowledge of technical principles and forms to enable them to hear and determine the various cases which came before them at the sessions, without professional aid; and accordingly, by the 27th of Geo. III., a barrister of six years' standing was appointed to act as a constant assistant to the justices constituting the court. This Act also contained the important provisions for enabling the Lord-Lieutenant, with the advice of the Privy Council, to divide the different counties into districts, where general sessions of the peace were directed to be held eight times in the year at the least, and to establish a constabulary force. After the appointment of assistant barristers to these courts, a new and concomitant jurisdiction was assigned to them, to be exercised by them exclusively, " for the recovery of small debts in a summary way." This had been originally exercised by the judges of assize in their several circuits; but as property and population increased, suits by civil bill, which these proceedings were called, increased to so great a degree that they constituted at length the chief part of the business of the judge presiding in the civil court. For this and other reasons the establishment of a new court for their trial became indispensable. The first step for bringing the process of civil bill into operation in the Assistant Barristers' Court is by the service of a summons, a copy of which was required to be left with each defendant, stating shortly the cause of action, the amount of claim, and time and place of appearance. Any person was competent to serve this process, and it was usually confided to hired process-servers, upon whose affidavit of due service a decree was generally obtained. These were men of the worst description, and services were sworn to in many cases which were never made, and decrees obtained where no debt whatever existed. The instances were frequent of people in comfortable circumstances being reduced to beggary by this iniquitous practice. It led to the most frightful conflicts in the execution of decrees, which the peasantry declared to be legal robberies,-—and the resistance they considered in such cases justifiable against the mal-administration of the law, unfortunately extended to the law itself. The sheriffs generally had but one panel for grand and petit jurors at the quarter-sessions, who were often persons of a low private influence prevailed with regard to the finding or ignoring of bills. The people were therefore constantly in the habit of making interest, as it was called, when they were before these courts. Major Bourke, from whose evidence we have already quoted, and who was a magistrate for the county and city of Limerick, declared on the occasion to which we have before alluded, that he believed the general opinion on this subject to have been well founded. He says, "I recollect to have heard a gentleman say that he was applied to (as gentlemen sometimes are in Ireland) by a person who was put upon trial at the Quarter Sessions begging to have a letter of recommendation to the Assistant Barrister; this the gentleman refused, saying the most he could do was to give him a letter to an officer of the Court, requesting him to take care that the bearer might have every facility afforded him in making his defence; the man returned within a day or two, with a letter from the officer of the Court, saying that he had settled the man's business; that he had spoken to the Grand Jury, and that they had thrown out the Bill*." There is no part of the ancient English statute-law more worthy of admiration than that which was devised to secure to suitors a fair and impartial jury. Similar provisions were, from time to time, adopted by the Irish Legislature; but they were for the most part temporary in their duration; the most useful of them were suffered to expiret; and it was left to the sub-sheriffs to place whomsoever they thought fit on juries of every description, and to exclude qualified persons at their pleasure. The Commissioners of Courts of Justice in Ireland, reported in 1826, that "The Sub-sheriff, according to the present practice, forms a grand panel at his own discretion; and when the Court of law grants an order for a special jury, and he is served with a rule to return the grand panel, he returns that which he has so formed, and which may be framed upon an improper principle, and not consist, as it ought, of the most respectable portion of the qualified freeholders of the county‡.” It is a remarkable fact, that there was only one statute, at that period, existing, which provided for the formation of the grand panel, and this provision was never acted on§. It will doubtless appear surprising to the English reader, that the boasted privilege of an impartial jury, which has been secured in this country by the most strict regulations, should, *Third Report from Select Committee of House of Commons on State of Ireland in 1825, p. 328. in Ireland, where parties and factions so much prevailed, have depended on the discretion of a public officer. We proceed to consider whether this functionary was above the suspicion of partiality, at the period when the rights of his fellow-subjects were so much at his mercy. The office of sheriff is of great antiquity. To sheriffs was confided the custody of the shires when this kingdom was first divided into counties. They were formerly chosen by popular election, and the reason assigned by the statute for this practice is a strong proof of the early democratic tendency of the Constitution, which was, "that the Commons might choose such as would not be a burden to them." By an act of Edward II., it was declared, that sheriffs should be thenceforth assigned by the chancellor, treasurer and judges, in consequence of these popular elections becoming tumultuous. One of Poyning's Acts provided, that the Treasurer of Ireland should have the same power concerning the election of sheriffs that the Treasurer of England had*; and several others were subsequently passed for the regulation of this office. The senior judge in each county selects three persons who have not already filled the office of high sheriff, and whom he considers best qualified for the situation. The lists of the judges are then submitted to the Chancellor, and finally laid before the Lord Lieutenant, by whom the high sheriffs are appointed. The duties of these officers being very extensive and laborious, it has been the custom to depute them to subsheriffs, for whose acts however they are answerable. The continuance in office of the high sheriff is limited to one year; and there was a similar limitation to that of the subsheriff; but the latter might have been re-appointed within three years. The act by which this regulation was made, imposed a penalty of 2001. for any breach of it: but Dalton states that this salutary regulation was evaded by putting in sham deputies, by way of nominal under-sheriffs; and these, with their clerks and bailiffs, "grew so cunning in their several "places, that they were able to deceive; and it may well be "feared, did deceive the king, the high sheriff, and the county." By several subsequent acts, all that heavy pe |