is Matter of just Enquiry, and has its just Weight in the Examination of particular Facts. The general Reputation of Witnesses, as well as their positive Teftimony in prefent Cafes, is of great Confequence, yea, and of the Accufers and the Accused too. You would not, upon the fame Evidence, believe a criminal Charge, of a Perfon of tried and approved Virtue, that You would, of One of a profligate, or but a doubtful Character. A Man who has never yet by any Falfhood in Word or Deed, forfeited a just Efteem, has a Right to a Degree of Credit that Another has not. If therefore You by wilful Mifrepresentation, or by being inftrumental in an inadvertent Propagation of real Misreprefentations, rob Him of that Advantage, You wrong Him very materially at all Times, and moft particularly when his Teftimony comes to be called for in Court, or his own Character or Conduct in fome important Inftance, is called in Question. Whilft therefore You are playing, perverfely or carelessly, in familiar Dif courfe, with that which cafts a Reflection on your Neighbours Reputation, You may, by injuring his Character, deprive Him of his best Defence in the Day of Need, and may hereby become acceffary to the Forfeiture of his Life or his Property. We may well apply that emphatical

phatical Emblem ufed by Solomon Prov. 26. 18, 19. As a Mad Man that cafteth Firebrands, Arrows and Death, fo is the Man that thus deceiveth his Neighbour, and faith, Am not Í in Sport?

It may even be added, that in one Respect these private Afperfions are worse, are more prejudicial than publick Accufations in open Court, because in these the Author is generally concealed, and thereby the lefs Opportunity given to the injured Party to clear Himself of the Crimes objected against Him. The ill Report foon circulates, and becomes general, and He is often Himself the very last Person that is acquainted with it, and is then at a Loss to trace out the Original, or to difprove the Circumftances of it, or, at least, to make the Evidence of its Falfhood as fatisfactory, as general and universal as the Report itself. Whereas in all publick Trials, by the Equity of our Laws, the Perfon accufed has his Accufer Face to Face, and having Licence to answer for Himself, does thereby often find Means of detecting the unfaithful Evidence, of doing Justice to his own Character and Reputation, and of bringing the FalfeWitness to exemplary Shame and Punishment. The Apprehenfion of fuch Detection and of legal Penalties, is probably a great Restrain on Thofe

C

Those who act not on higher Principles, from becoming false Evidences in Courts of Justice, but then These can with more Security to themfelves, and with equal Mischief often to Others, vent their falfe Slanders in private Companies, and gain Credit to fuch Reports, as if at first publickly afferted, would have received as publick a Confutation. But being thus communicated in private, they are readily credited by all uncharitable Difpofitions, nay and are received often, without Enquiry, even by those who are far from delighting in Cenfure, but who having no Opportunity of better Information, and having no particular Reason to suspect the Integrity of the Reporter, or not knowing the Original Author of the Report, are thus deluded by a Lie to the Prejudice of their Neighbour, and betrayed into an ill Opinion of Him without Foundation. The Confequence, however inconfiderable in Appearance at present, may prove fatal hereafter, when the Strength of a Mans Character may be his principal Security against the combined Arts of Those who lie in wait to deceive.

These Reflections may fhew that this Caution against Slander in common Conversation, here used as introductory to the Prohibition of corrupt Testimony in Courts of Judicature, is

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by no Means foreign to that important Cause. Let Us now proceed directly to the Illustration and Enforcement of the Prohibition itself. Put not thine Hand with the Wicked to be an unrigh teous Witness.

The Phrase here used may be, and has been, interpreted either of a formal Compact and Combination with the Wicked, to concert and execute a base Conspiracy, (a Mans having his Hand with Another being a common Expreffion in Scripture, to fignify his being his Counsellor and Affiftant;) or as relative to the Form of adminiftring an Oath at the Admiffion of a Witnefs in Courts of Judicature, obferved among the Jews and continued among Us, of laying the Hand on a Book acknowleged as the Rule of Faith and Practice and Foundation of all Hope, when an Appeal is made to Heaven for the Confirmation of Truth and for Judgments on Falfhood. According to either Interpretation, it relates immediately to the prefent Business of Teftimony in judicial Matters; but the latter is the more emphatical to this Purpose, Put not thine Hand, when Thou layeft it on the Bible, to call God to Witnefs, Put not then thine Hand with the Wicked to be an unrighteous Witnefs Thyself.

The Heinousness of the Iniquity here prohibited is hereby strongly reprefented to Us: and it deserves our most serious Review, on Account both of the Reafon and Authority on which it is founded. Our own impartial Reflections will open much of the former to Us, and This will obviate the Objection of implicit Affent, if We then proceed to lay fome Stress on the latter.

Indeed it is not eafy to calculate all the Degrees of this great Evil, and to compute how many Sins are here involved in one. The Iniquity of Falfhood, an heinous one in itself, is aggravated by the Injury which it is made to bring on our Neighbour, and the Injury hereby done to our Neighbour is heightened by perverting the very Method of Relief, and making the Law itself inftrumental to Oppreffion. The Sin of legal Oppreffion is made more exceeding finful by calling in the Author of all Holiness and Truth to obferve and bear Witness to this

prefumptuous Wickedness, and the very Form of an Oath as well as the Presence of a Court of Juftice excludes every Plea of Inattention, or other Alleviation of a known Offence. An open Appeal to the fupreme Dispenser of future Juftice, in order to prevert the present Course of it, to deceive the Hearers and ruin the accused

Perfon,