should be ordinarily published at intervals, exceeding one week, had offered to publish the said apology in any newspaper or periodical publication, to be selected by the plaintiff, in such action; and that every such defendant shall, upon filing such plea, be at liberty to pay into court a sum of money, by way of amends for the injury sustained by the publication of such libel. Sec. 6 enacts, that on the trial of any Indictment or Information for a Defamatory Libel, the defendant having pleaded such plea as hereinafter mentioned, the truth of the matters charged may be inquired into, but shall not amount to a defence, unless it was for the public benefit that the said matters charged should be published; and that to entitle the defendant to give evidence of the truth of such matter charged, as a defence to such indictment or information, it shall be necessary for the defendant, in pleading to the said indictment or information, to allege the truth of the said matters charged, in the manner now required in pleading a justification to an action for defamation, and further, to allege that it was for the public benefit that the said matters charged should be published, and the particular fact or facts by reason whereof it was for the public benefit that the said matters charged should be published, to which plca the prosecutor shall be at liberty to reply, generally denying the whole thereof; and that, if after such plea the defendant shall be convicted on such indictment or information, it shall be competent to the court, in pronouncing sentence, to consider whether the guilt of the defendant is aggravated or mitigated by the said plea, and by the evidence given to prove or disprove the same. Sec. 7 enacts, that whenever upon the Trial of any Indictment or Information for the Publication of a Libel, under the plea of not guilty, evidence shall have been given, which shall establish a presumptive case of publication against the defendant, by the act of any other person by his authority, it shall be competent to such defendant to prove that such publication was made without his authority, consent, or knowledge, and that the said publication did not arise from want of due care or caution on his part. In 1846, the repeal of the Corn Laws took place, and the era of free trade commenced. In 1861, the Criminal Law Consolidation Acts were passed. Numerous obsolete statutes have been repealed, and a revised set of statutes promised. The good work of law reform still proceeds, but much remains to be done ere the system of law or of procedure in this country will be attractive to the jurist for its simplicity. BOOKS OF REFERENCE ON CONSTITUTIONAL LAW & LEGAL HISTORY. Belsham's History. Blackstone's Commentaries, by Kerr. Brougham's Political Philosophy, Chaps. 26, 27, 28, 29, vol. 3. Burnett's History of His own Times. Coke upon Littleton, by Butler and Hargreave. The notes. Creasy on the Constitution. Fleury's Droit Ecclesiastique, or any other History of the Canon Law. Foster on the Crown Law. The Chapter on Treason. Gilbert on Uses, by Lord St. Leonards. The preface. Hallam's History of the Middle Ages. Chap. 10. Constitutional History. Hume's History, 8th edition, vol. 3. The close of the 23rd chapter, p. 296, beginning at the passage: "Thus far have we pursued the History of England." Mably. Droit Public de l' Europe. Macaulay's History of England. Mackintosh, Sir James. The fragment. May's History of Parliament. Millar on the Constitution. Millar's History. Rapin's History. Reeve's History of the English Law. State Trials. The preface. vol. 2. Statutes at Large. Temple's (Sir W.) Letters and Memoirs. QUESTIONS ON CONSTITUTIONAL LAW AND LEGAL HISTORY. Henry II. Q.-What was the constitution of England in the time of Henry II.? Q.-What was the policy and character of Henry II? Q.—In what did his dispute with Beckett originate? Give an account of its progress. State your opinion of the motives of Beckett, and the merits of the contest. Q.-By whom was the "Assiza" first substituted for trial by Battle? Q.-Mention the name of any man conspicuous in our history, who refused obedience to the Constitutions of Clarendon. Q.-What French kings were cotemporary with Henry II.? Q.-What was the date and purport of the Constitutions of Clarendon? Q.-What were the original functions of juries, and at what time and how did they become what they now are? John. Q.-Is there any clause in the Great Charter, which shows that commercial relations were increasing among us? Q.-What limits were fixed to the fines imposed on Freemen in the Great Charter. Q.-Mention any instances in which this provision was disregarded. Q.-Can you give any proof that it was necessary for the king to take the advice of parliament, from Magna Charta? Q. When were justices of Assize first instituted? Q.-Give an account of the events which led to the signing of Magna Charta. Q.-What was the most remarkable provision of Magna Charta? Q.-What decisive battle was fought on the Continent during the reign of John, and what was its effect on our domestic institutions? Q.-Who was pope when Magna Charta was signed? What was his character? How far did he succeed in his undertakings? Q.-Who were the members of the Great Council from the Conquest to Magna Charta? Q. What distinctions as to the great barons, and the less powerful tenants, holding immediately of the crown, do you find in the Magna Charta? Q. How can a freeman be lawfully punished according to Magna Charta? and what interpretation do you give to the expressions limiting the mode of punishment? Q.-State any instances from our history in which this clause has been violated. Q. If the king order Titius to arrest Caius, and the arrest cannot be justified, has Caius a right of action against Titius? Q.-When and by whom was the rule on this subject made? Q.-At what period of our history is the right of every person detained in prison to a trial, a clear principle of our constitution? Q.—To whom was England particularly indebted for the Great Charter? Q. What are the essential clauses of the Great Charter? Henry III. Q.-What is Bracton's view of the prerogative? |