from the punishment which, from a want of legal aid, they have
been compelled to submit to. In the answers of witnesses, I have
myself heard of "No" being substituted for
"Yes;" and what guarantee can there be for the
obtainment of justice, where a possibility exists of the
occurrence of such mistakes--mistakes on which the existence of a
fellow-creature might hinge!

If then the criminal court needs so strongly the introduction
of counsel, the court of civil judicature is equally in want of
similar aid, where subjects of the most complicated nature are
frequently brought for decision, and where the difficulty of
deciding correctly is almost, if not totally, insuperable.
Considerable sums here depend upon the issue of a question, of
the nature of which no one present is qualified to judge; and an
appeal from the decision which ensues is frequently made to the
governor, who is thus left singly to decide what has caused so
much difficulty to a whole court!

The utility, nay the necessity, then, of a professional
assistant in these cases, must surely be evident to every one,
and without such aid it is not possible that justice can be
impartially administered. The ignorance of many suitors, even men
of great opulence and respectability, is so deplorable that they
cannot make you comprehend their own case, when called upon to
state their grievance; but the possibility of having their cause
pleaded by a counsellor would not only save the court itself a
serious loss of time and a considerable degree of perplexity, but
must surely lead to a more correct decision in cases of
difficulty. By these means the discontent which now universally