Lord Melvillerose, pursuant to notice, to introduce a bill for better regulating the mode of choosing Juries in Scotland. It would be in the recollection of their lordships, that, on more than one occasion, when a bill for altering the present manner of choosing Scotch juries was formerly before the House, he had objected to it, on account of the complexity and inefficiency of the proposed remedy. The machinery of the bill brought from the Commons was very inconvenient; even more inconvenient than the one now in use. At that time, he had stated that he would, with the concurrence and assistance of persons in the northern parts of the united kingdom, well informed on the subject, undertake to prepare a bill, having the same object as that which had been rejected. That bill he had now the honour to tender to their lordships. As to the alterations, in the first place, their lordships were aware that at the union the law of high treason was assimilated throughout Great Britain; but, though the law on this subject was the same in Scotland as in England, it had been found difficult to render the mode of choosing the jury exactly alike. In England, assizes were held in each county; but in Scotland the circuits were held for districts, consisting generally of four counties. He therefore meant to propose, that, in cases of high treason, the lists of grand and petty jurors should be returned from districts, and not from counties. In the second place, it was to be recollected, in regard to ordinary trials, that the assize in Scotland was not at all regulated in the same manner as in England. The prisoner received a list of the names from which his jury was struck, fifteen days before trial; and he proposed, in addition to this, to make the mode of selecting the jury more conformable to the practice of this country. These were the general principles of the bill; and he had only to add, that he proposed to alter the present mode of choosing juries, which was left to the judge, and make them be chosen by ballot, leaving both to the prisoner and the prosecutor an equal right of challenge.
§ The bill was read the first time.