exercise of power must be as gentle and agreeable as possible to those on whom it operates. This sentiment must always be preserved, and should never be weakened; for on it rests the powers and energies of government. Austere and forbidding as the administration of justice is, even in its mildest form, none but the excellent and liberal institution of which we have been speaking, would tend to cherish those sentiments or even exist among a people like those who constitute the citizens of this great republic. In the desultory observations I have had the honor to submit to you on this subject, I have not included the grand jury, which I conceive to be an essential improvement in the judiciary system of a free state. The more obstacles that are cast in the of accusation, the greater will be the people's security. The grand jury selected as it is out of the most respectable body of citizens, interposes a shield between the accused and the accuser, and the innocent are thus protected from the infamy and disgrace of public accusation. This institution, according to sir W. Blackstone, is peculiar to England, and of course to this country, to which it is singularly adapted, from the facility which it gives to the execution of criminal law, and the consciousness of security which

*

way

*I do not recollect any institution among the ancients similar to that of a grand jury, nor do I recollect to have met with it in any of the modern governments, that of the English excepted.— Black. Com. 4, 302.

it produces in the innocent. The framers of the American constitution, however, seem to have been in some degree influenced by the maxims laid down by De Lolme, from whom I shall quote a few observations before. I conclude my remarks on the judiciary of the United States. "The courts and their different forms," says he, "must be such as to inspire respect, but never terror, and the cases ought to be so accurately ascertained, the limits so clearly marked, as that neither the executive power nor the judges, may ever hope to transgress them with impunity. In short, since all judicial power is an evil, though a necessary one, no case should be omitted to reduce the dangers of it as far as possible."* It will appear from a careful examination of the instrument which we have been considering, that the courts of each state composing the union, have cognizance of all crimes committed within the territorial limits of the state, and that consequently the federal courts have no jurisdiction, but in those cases which are specified in the constitution, and for which the laws of the United States have made adequate provision. It has been asserted by one of the judges of the supreme court, and I think his opinion may be depended upon, as incontrovertible, that the United States, as a federal government, have no common law, and consequently no indictment can be main

*De Lolme on the Constitution, ch. 12, p. 168,

tained in their courts for offences merely at common law. The United States, he proceeds," must possess the law themselves before they can communicate it to their judicial agents. Now the United States did not bring it with them from England; the constitution does not create it, and no act of congress has assumed it."* His reasoning on this subject seems to my mind very correct and satisfactory, and I regret that I have not leisure, to cite more of this opinion for your information. I will now conclude, and endeavor to finish my remarks on the constitution at some future period.

* See Dallas's Reports, vol. 2, p. 394-United States vs. Worand Tucker's pamphlet on this question, in which the subject is ably handled.

rell;

LORD B.......

LETTER III.

WASHINGTON,

1818.

I had yesterday the honor of an introduction to Mr. Monroe, the present chief magistrate of the United States. "It is seldom, says Dr. Johnson, that we find men or places such as we expect to find them," and I must confess that in the present instance, the truth of this observation has been realized. I found Mr. Monroe a little different from what my fancy had pictured him, but neither a Lilleputian nor a Patagonian. He appears to be between fifty and sixty years of age, with a form above the middle size, compact, muscular, and indicating a constitution of considerable hardiness and vigor; his countenance exhibits lineaments of great severity, and seems as if it had been seldom irradiated by the rays of joy, or softened by the touch of sensibility; he does smile, however, but not like Shakespeare's Cassius,

"in such a sort

As if he mocked himself and scorned his spirit
That could be moved to smile at any thing."

At these moments, there is a benignity and suavity in him, that invite confidence and repel suspicion. He is rather awkward in his address for a man who has

mingled so much in polite society, and his manners and habiliments are more those of a plain country gentleman, than an accomplished statesman or a profound politician. Awkwardness of manners,

however, seems to be more common among the Americans, than I had conceived. Their most eminent men are, I think, deficient in that ease, elegance and grace, which distinguish the prominent political characters of France and England. The nature of their government, has a tendency to beget this, by preventing those sacrifices to the graces, which are made in the more refined and polished nations of Europe. The importance and magnitude of their pursuits, and their general association with what we call the lower ranks of society, preclude the acquisition of those exterior embelishments so industriously cultivated by our countrymen. A disciple of Chesterfield, with all his refinement and facination, would be regarded in this country as a mere petit maitre, calculated only to charm the eye and to fascinate the heart of female ignorance. But I have wandered from my subject. Mr. Monroe is attached to what was once denominated the republican party; for at present all party distinctions seem to be lost, and the parties themselves wholly amalgamated. In his political career, he has manifested the most unimpeachable and unbending integrity, and though long before the public, has seldom failed to meet the expectations and to gratify the wishes of the people.