4 July 1807

10

Letter V

II. Litigation promoted

Never object to this: say it makes no difference: the more[?] of this [...?] the better the more injustice the more[?] capital punishments the better: it makes [...?] [...?] to learning[?] and to reasonable men[?] [...?].

Referring to the party wronged, satisfaction for the intermediate damage, you thereby compliment the wrongdoer with correspondent intermediate profit /postium connetande[?]/. Do so to as great an extent as possible.

2. In the article of certainty you may keep down satisfaction, that is the value of it, with less resource[?].

Take any casualties choosing them of that sort which are sure to happen at some time or other, take of such casualties the more the better, and give to each of these the effect of putting an end to the plaintiff's right to satisfaction: death of the wrongdoer, and death of the party wronged may serve for example. The sort of persons fit for your purpose will note all these chances, calculate upon them, and committ the wrong as often as the calculation turns out favourable: the individuals marked out for victim will think no more of them, than hitherto the legislature has done. Burying the right to satisfaction for the wrong in the same grave with the author secures the profit of it to those who are most dear to them. When thinking whether to sue or no, the injured plaintiff will never suspect that his right may be thus killed; and his lawyers know better than to put any such notions into his head. Burying it in the same grave with the party wronged, and adds to the account of the murders not often suspected scarce ever discovered, never punished, and in the profit of which you enjoy your share, without any of the reproach.

In deposition of necessary evidence, you have an event by which as often as it takes place, whatever right depended on it is destroyed of course and without any thing done by you to kill it. What you have to do is to throw obstructions in the way of the collection of the evidence, make it as uncertain as possible when the production of it can be enforced and when not. For every thing else so the directions for the production of uncertainty in general, and of delay in general:- the longer the definitive productive[?] of the evidence can be staved off, the longer the time given to it to die in.