The Upper House. 35

By the Lower House of Assembly October the 24^th 1724
May it please Your Honours
In answer to your objections to the Supplementary Bill
to the Act for trying matters of Fact in the Counties We
desire your Honours to consider first that Bills of Exception
are only the reducing matters Given in Evidence to Writing
while they are fresh in the Memory of Judges which we
conceive cannot possibly be attended with any Inconvenience
but on the Contrary the Judges will have an Opportunity of
deliberately considering what the Law is upon such a fact
and by that means prevent the mischiefs that may happen
either by the Jurys mistaking the Weight and Effect of the
Evidence their taking upon them the determination of matters
of Law (which they are not Judges of) and mistaking the
Law and the precipitancy of the Judges themselves any of
which may be the ruin of an Innocent man and his family
or the means of a Guilty Persons escaping Just punishment
besides as it is the duty of the Judges to see that nothing but
Truth be incerted so it is the duty of the Attorney General
or other Council Concerned for his Lordship to see that the
Bills of Exception are Regularly drawn. Secondly that the
Allowing the Associates Voices in Criminal cases is so far
from being an Innovation in the British Constitution (which
ought to be our pattern) that it is exactly Agreable to it, as
appears by the forms of the Commissions and Writts of
Association Thirdly, that the motives inducing this House
to desire that the Justices of Oyer and terminer should not
try matters within the cognisance of the County Courts are
first to prevent the said Justices being hindered to proceed in
matters that must be determined before them and Secondly
to lessen the Expence of poor people that may be either Un-
justly Accused or ignorant Transgressors which We hope
may be Provided for by a clause in the Bill that nothing
triable in the County Courts should be triable elsewhere
except in cases of Necessity or doubt and that in all such Cases
the fees of all kinds before the Judges of Assize shall be no
more than those Allowed in the County Courts.

U. H. J.

And fourthly that Tryals at the Bar where the nature of
the case and the furtherance of Justice require them are the
undoubted right of the Lord Proprietary and of the [people]
by the Laws of England & consequently that the preventing
such a Trial in any case would be inconsistent with the Con-
stitution and we cant Apprehend the least danger of the
Provincial Courts allowing any such Trials but where they
are necessary & the Removalls proposed to the Provincial
Courts are not intended to bring frequent Trials of Matters

p. 124