Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 62, January 6, 1872Various
General
Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 62, January 6, 1872
Various
English wit and humor -- Periodicals
THE AMERICAN PRESS admires the reticence which the British Press has
practised during the seventy odd days occupied in hearing one side of a
cause which will be celebrated. The English Press also takes credit to
itself for that reticence. It is, doubtless, exemplary. By not
interfering with, we know how much it furthers, the administration of
Justice. A trial such as the great lawsuit now pending, or any other in
a British Court of Law, is determined, we all know, simply by the weight
of evidence, in relation to which the minds of the jury are mere scales.
The Counsel on either side respectively confine themselves to the
production of true evidence each on behalf of his client, and the
refutation of false evidence advanced for the opposite party. The Judge
is the only person in Court who expresses any opinion on the case which
could possibly influence the jury; his opinion being expressed under the
obligation of strict impartiality. No barrister, whether counsel for the
plaintiff or the defendant, ever attempts to bias their decision either
by sophistry or appeals to their passions and prejudices. It is
therefore highly necessary that the Press should abstain as strictly as
it does from any explanation or argument with reference to a pending
suit which, how sincerely soever meant to instruct, might possibly have
the effect of misleading the jury sitting thereon.
If, indeed, Counsel were usually accustomed to employ the arts of
oratory, and the dodges of dialectics, in order to make the worst appear
the better cause in the eyes of twelve men more or less liable to be
deceived and deluded, then, indeed, the reticence of a respectable and
intelligent Press, in abstaining from any remarks capable of helping a
jury to deliver a righteous verdict, would not perhaps be quite so
purely advantageous as it is now.
* * * * *
Riddle for the Young Folks.
WHY are the two letters at the tail the most sensible of all the
Alphabet?--Because they are the _Wise Head_.
* * * * *
[Illustration: THE BIG CRACKER.]
MR. PUNCH. "PULL AWAY, MY DEAR! I'LL BET YOU A KISS IT CONTAINS
SOMETHING WE SHALL BOTH LIKE. PULL AWAY!"
* * * * *
MY HEALTH.
[Illustration: T]ALK over all these arrangements at dinner. Then, as we
have, PENDELL tells me, to be up early for otter-hunting, we determine
upon going to bed early.
_Process of Going to Bed Early._--MRS. PENDELL retires at nine, having
seen that "everything we want" is left out on the sideboard. PENDELL
observes that he shan't be half an hour at most before he's upstairs. I
yawn, to show how tired I am, and corroborate his statement as to the
time we intend to pass in front of the fire.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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