not return'd by the Sherriff of the County, but are chosen by the Inhabitants of the Town a convenient Time before the sitting of the Courts. And this Election is under the most exact Regulation, in Order to prevent Corruption, so far as Humane Prudence can do it. It mast be noted, that Sherriffs in the Plantations are comparatively but little Officers, and therefore not to be trusted as here, where they are Men of ample Fortunes. And yet even here such flagrant Corruptions have bin found in returning Juries by Sherriffs, that the House of Commons thought it necessary in their last Session to amend the Law in this Point, and pass d a Bill for choosing them by Ballot.
Redress in their Courts of Law is easy, quick, and cheap. All Processes are in English, and no special Pleadings or Demurrers are ad mitted, but the general Issue is always given, and special Matters brought in Evidence ; which saves Time and Expence ; and in this Case a Man is not liable to lose his Estate for a Defect in Form, nor is the Merit of the Cause made to depend on the Niceties of Clerkship. By a Law of the Country no Writ may be abated for a circumstantial Error, such as a slight Mis-nomer or any Informality. And by another Law, it is enacted, that every Attorney taking out a Writ from the Clerk's Office, shall indorse his Sirname upon it, and be liable to pay to the adverse Party his Costs and Charges in Case of Non- Prosecution or Discontinuance, or that the Plaintiff be Non-suit, or Judgment pass against him. And it is provided in the same Act, That if the Plaintiff shall suffer a Nonsuit by the Attorney's mis-laying the Action, he shall be oblig'd to draw a new Writ without a Fee, in case the Party shall see fit to revive the Suit. I can't but think that every Body, except Gentle men of the long Robe and the Attornies, will think this a wholesome Law, and well calculated for the Benefit of the Subject. For the quicker Dispatch of Causes, Declarations are made Parts of the Writ, in which the Case is fully and particularly set forth. If it be matter of Account, the Account is annex d to the Writ, and Copies of both left with the Defendant ; which being done Fourteen Days before the Sitting of the Court, he is oblig d to plead directly, and the Issue is then try'd. Whereas by the Practice of the Court of' King's Bench, Three or Four Months Time is often lost after the Writ is serv'd, before the Cause can be brought to Issue.
Nor are the People of New-England oppress'd with the infinite Delays and Expence that attend the Proceedings in Chancery, where both Parties are often ruin d by the Charge and Length of the Suit. But as
