COMMENTARIES, 6 DECEMBER 1787

treasury, out of which they can pay themselves what they please, without
asking any body, and I suppose they will make us sweat in taxes to keep
it full.
There is another thing, our Congress told the people of Canada, in
their letter, and I believe they were in earnest, "That the trial by jury,
was one of the best securities in the world, for the life, liberty and
property of the people."3-Now to be sure, I am very much of their
opinion in this; for I would rather trust my life, liberty and property to
a verdict of twelve of my honest neighbours, than to the opinion of any
great man in the world, for great men are not always honest men, and
they may be too proud, and not care to give themselves the trouble to
enquire very narrowly into common people's disputes; and if an honest
farmer should happen to say any thing against a great man, tho' it was
ever so true, it would be in the power of the Judge to punish him for
it very severely-and I don't doubt, but what he would do it; but I am
sure a good honest jury of his neighbours would never punish him for
speaking the truth; I know it is said that truth is not to be spoken at
all times, but the best of us may be guilty of little acts of imprudence,
for which however, we should not be too severely handled: I find the
writers disagree about this matter; the one says this right of trial by jury
is taken away by the new constitution, and the other says it is not.-
Now, as they differ, I have been trying to find out the truth myself,
and, it appears to me middling clear, that if it is not absolutely taken
away; yet that this new General Congress, that we read of, may take it
away whenever they please-now, if it is so good a thing that it never
ought to be taken away, I think we ought not to give them power to
do it; for I can't see the reason of giving them power, which they never
can make use of, without doing us a great deal of hurt: Now all parties
may mean what is honest at present, but notwithstanding, there may
be a time, when we have bad men to rule us, and I think it would be
imprudent to give power, which every one allows there is no necessity
for, and with which bad men, if so disposed, might do us a great deal
of harm, and I am more confirmed in this belief, when I think of what
the said Mr. Beccaria says about this desire, which has always prevailed
in men of increasing their power. This is all I can say about the matter
at present, having, as I mentioned before, little time to attend to it;
but, as my neighbour           , whom you know to be a sensible
thinking man, and has more learning than I have, has agreed with me
to spend some time together to read it more carefully over, now that
the evenings are growing long, and the hurry of business is pretty near
past, I will write to you again on the subject, if my letters do not prove
troublesome.

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