242 THE BRITISH APPROACH TO POLITICS

PROCEDURE IN THE HIGH COURT.

Criminal trials in the High Court, especially trials for murder,
are matters of great public interest; they are extensively reported
in all newspapers, and a large branch of fiction has sprung from
them. Part of this interest is no doubt unpleasant, a morbid
pleasure in reading of violent crimes and heavy penalties; but
this is not the whole truth of the matter. Although few people
are tried in the High Court—the very great majority of criminals
are punished by Courts of Summary Jurisdiction—anyone who
had the misfortune to be connected innocently and indirectly
with a serious crime, might be so tried; so it is in everyone's
interest that the procedure, by which death or long imprisonment
may be inflicted, should be subject to the closest scrutiny.

The indictable offences tried in the High Court fall into three
classes: treasons, felonies and[ misdemeanours. Treason, which
is the attempt to deprive the Sovereign of his life or his rights,
occurs rarely and is usually the symptom of grave social disorder.
The distinction between felonies and misdemeanours is of
historical origin, and while in general the more serious crimes are
felonies, there are important exceptions; e.g., perjury, the giving
of false evidence on oath, is only a misdemeanour. Rules of law
are based on this distinction; anyone who assists a felon to escape
justice may be charged as an accessory after the fact; anyone who
sees a crime being committed must try to stop it, but unless the
crime is a felony he should not use force to restrain the offender,
or the latter may bring an action for assault against him.

The person indicted will be tried "by God and his country",
that is to say, by a jury of twelve persons intended to represent
his countrymen. The Registration Officers who compile the
voting lists have to mark, as potential jurors, those who own
freehold property worth £10 or more per year, or leasehold £20
per year, or occupy bouses with a rateable value of £20 a year or
over—or in the London area £30. Any of these may be called
to serve on a jury, though most people regard it as an incon-
venience rather than a privilege. Judges occasionally excuse