al of twelve men of their peers, or neighbourhood_,
which neither truly can be rightly done, as the subjects of England
are;" (yet slaves also are subjects of England, whilst they remain
within the British dominions, notwithstanding this insinuation to the
contrary) "nor is execution to be delayed towards them, in case of such
horrid crimes committed," &c.

A similar doctrine is taught in an act of Virginia, (9 Geo. I. ch. 4.
sect. 3. p. 339.) wherein it is ordained, "that every slave, committing
such offence as by the laws ought to be punished by death, or loss of
member, shall be forthwith committed to the common goal of the county,
&c. And the sheriff of such county, upon such commitment, shall
forthwith certify the same, with the cause thereof, to the governor or
commander in chief, &c. who is thereupon desired and impowered to issue
a commission of Oyer and Terminer, _To such persons as he shall think
fit_; which persons, forthwith after the receipt of such commission, are
impowered and required to cause the offender to be publicly arraigned
and tried, &c. without the solemnity of a jury," &c. Now let us consider
the dangerous tendency of those laws. As Englishmen, we strenuously
contend for this absolute and immutable necessity of trials by juries:
but is not the spirit and equity of this old English doctrine entirely
lost, if we partially confine that justice to ourselves alone, when we
have it in our power to extend it to others? The natural right of all
mankind, must principally justify our insisting upon this necessary
privilege in favour of ourselves in particular; and therefore if we do
not allow that the judgment of an impartial jury is indispensably
necessary in all cases whatsoever, wherein the life of man is depending,
we certainly undermine the equitable force and reason of those laws, by
which _we ourselves are protected_, and consequently are unworthy to be
esteemed either Christians or Englishmen.

Whatever right the members of a provincial assembly may have to enact
_bye laws_, for particular exigences among themselves, yet in so doing
they are certainly bound, in duty to their sovereign, to observe most
strictly the fundamental principles of that constitution, which his
Majesty is sworn to maintain; for wheresoever the bounds of the British
empire are extended, there the common law of England must of course take
place, and cannot be safely set aside by any _private law_ whatsoever,
because the int