Page:A History of the Knights of Malta, or the Order of St. John of Jerusalem.djvu/188

162 further appeal lay with a third, which was called the renfort of the renfort, in which there were three members of each langue. Should either of the litigants still continue dissatisfied, a court of ultimate appeal was appointed, of which the decision was final. This was called the bailiffs’ Egard, and was composed of the conventual bailiffs, or, in the absence of any of their number, of the lieutenants who were performing their duties. The Grand-Master selected whom he pleased from amongst their number to act as president. That functionary must have in no ease presided in either of the three preceding courts. The decision of this tribunal being final, its sentence was carried into execution immediately after its promulgation.

It would be difficult to conceive a court of equity more admirably calculated to administer justice without partiality. The doctrine that every man should be tried by his peers was recognized and acted on. The decision resting upon the votes of the members gave it all the leading features of a trial by jury. The possibility of favouritism was obviated by the selection of members from every langue. The right of appeal was most amply provided for, the constitution of the tribunal assuming in each case a broader basis until there remained no possibility of a wrong verdict. The proof of the estimation in which these courts were held lies in the fact that, throughout the Order’s existence, no important change was made in them. When the fraternity was expelled from Malta by the French, at the close of the eighteenth century, the courts of Egard were in principle what they had been four centuries earlier.

Next in importance to the Grand-Master in the governance of the Order ranked the bailiffs, or grand-crosses. These dignitaries were of three kinds: the conventual bailiffs, the capitular bailiffs, and the bailiffs ad honores, or honorary bailiffs. The first-named of these resided continuously at t.he convent, and were the immediate chiefs of their respective langues. There was consequently only one for each langue. His election lay, not with the Grand-Master, but with the members of the langue itself. The principle of seniority was generally recognized, but not universally applied in cases where great merit, or, as was sometimes the case, extreme popularity led to the selection of a junior knight. The capitular bailiffs