Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (4th ed, 1770, vol IV).djvu/227

Ch. 15. of the trial by jury is, that the jury are triors of the credit of the witnees, as well as of the truth of the fact.

“ is true, ays this learned judge, that rape is a mot detetable crime, and therefore ought everely and impartially to be punihed with death; but it mut be remembered, that it is an accuation eay to be made, hard to be proved, but harder to be defended by the party accued, though innocent.” He then relates two very extraordinary caes of malicious proecution for this crime, that had happened within his own obervation; and concludes thus: “I mention thee intances, that we may be the more cautious upon trials of offences of this nature, wherein the court and jury may with o much eae be impoed upon, without great care and vigilance; the heinounes of the offence many times tranporting the judge and jury with o much indignation, that they are overhatily carried to the conviction of the peron accued thereof, by the confident tetimony of ometimes fale and malicious witnees.”

IV. has been here oberved, epecially with regard to the manner of proof, which ought to be the more clear in proportion as the crime is the more detetable, may be applied to another offence, of a till deeper malignity; the infamous crime againt nature, committed either with man or beat. A crime, which ought to be trictly and impartially proved, and then as trictly and impartially punihed. But it is an offence of o dark a nature, o eaily charged, and the negative o difficult to be proved, that the accuation hould be clearly made out: for, if fale, it deerves a punihment inferior only to that of the crime itelf.

not act o diagreeable part, to my readers as well as myelf, as to dwell any longer upon a ubject, the very mention of which is a digrace to human nature. It will be more eligible to imitate in this repect the delicacy of our Englih law, which treats it, in it's very indictments, as a crime not fit to be named; Rh