24 June 1807

(12) 17

Letter V

Letter V

II. Litigat.

§.6. 3. dissipatorious

3. If by the restlessness of the legislator or the people the performance of any operations tending to diminish the facility of embezzlement dissipation or destruction should happen to have been forced upon you, be it your care to render them as ineffective as possible to that and other purposes of justice, and at the same time as effective as possible, in respect of expence and delay with its lawyers' profit to the purposes of judicature. For example, instead of an effectual mode, as above, for ascertaining and securing against embezzlement and dissipation the effects of the defendant himself, whereby in case of solvency Bail would be rendered unnecessary, and in case of insolvency his friends would be saved from being cheated in the character of Bail, substitute the use of Bail altogether, taking care that the scruting into their sufficiency shall be performed in a mode ineffective to that purpose, effective to the purpose of the encouragement and increase of perjury: making it at the same time as effective as possible to persons of delicacy (in particular to the female sex) that the recourse to insolvent and perjured Bail may be the more necessary and the more frequent (a). See further on this head, Directions to the legislator:

Note

(a) In the clause introduced by Your Lordships learned Reformer for the introducing into Scotland the diversion of Bail-baiting in the English mode, he has succeeded extremely well in the above respects as I propose to shew.