The form of oaths in Christian countries varies great- \y, but in no country in the world are they worse con- trived, either to convey the meaning or impress the ob- ligation of an oath, than in Great Britain and America. The juror with us, after repeating the promise or afhrma- tion which the oath is intended to confirm, adds, "So hel]) me God;" or, more frequently, the substance of the oath is repeated to the juror by the magistrate, who adds in the conclusion, " So help you God." The en- ergy of this sentence resides in the particle so — that is, hdc lefie, upon condition of my speaking the truth or performing this promise, and not otherwise, may God help me ! The juror, while he hears or repeats the words of the oath, holds his right hand upon a Bible, or other book containing the Gospels, anil at the conclusion kisses the book. This obscure and elliptical form, together with the levity and frequency of oaths, has brought about a general inadvertency to the obligation of them, which, both in a religious and political view, is much to be la- mented; and it merits public consideration whether the requiring of oaths upon so many frivolous occasions, es- peciali)' in the customs and in the qualification of petty offices, has any other effect than to make such sanctions cheap in the minds of the people. A stranger among us would imagine it was a precept of our religion to swear always, at all times and on all occasions. Not an execu- tive officer, from the president to a marshal, from a gov- ernor to a constable ; not a judicial officer, from the chief justice to the lowest magistrate known to the law; not
a member of our numerous legislative assemblies ; not an officer of the army or navy ; not a soldier or sailor enlist- ing, but is sworn in certain set and prescribed formulas. A sworn assessor is required to assess our taxes, a sworn collector to collect, and a sworn treasurer to receive the money collected. Not a lot of land is levied upon with- out the intervention of oaths. The wdiole custom-house department is rife with them. As has been well said, " Not a poiuid of tea can travel regularly from the ship to the consumer without costing half a dozen oaths at least," Through all the innumerable gradations of life — official, civil, military, executive, and judicial — the oath is the established security by which, in their re- spective spheres, they are all bound to the performance of their several duties — and that, too, by a people, one of the clearest precepts of whose religion is " Swear not at all;" and when, in many of the above instances, the violation of the several duties sworn to be done and performed is not punishable as perjury. Nor are these the only cases in which the oath is used. No testimony is received in any judicial proceeding until after its administration. As a security for official faithfulness, or as a preventive of official delinquency, it is notori- ously worthless and inoperative. What may be its value in the preserving and promoting of trustworthi- ness of testimony we propose to consider. Those who advocate the use of oaths should bear in mind that for the purpose of justice it is perfectly immaterial whether the testimony uttered be sworn or unsworn, provided it be true. Before considering the supposed efficiency of an oath, it may be advisable to see what other and how powerful securities for testimonial veracity are attaina- ble without resort to this supernatural agency.
"Truth is the natural language of all — it is the general rule; falsehood the riire and occnsional exception. Even of those least regardful of veracity, truth is the ordinary and common language. The greatest liar, no matter how depraved he may be, usuidly speaks the truth. And why ? Invention is the work of labor. To narrate facts in the order of their occurrence, to tell what has been seen or henrd, is what obviouj-ly occurs to any one. To avoid doing this is a work of difficulty. Falsely to add to what has occurred, carefully to insert a dexterous lie, requires ingenuity, greater or less, according to the greater or less degree of skill with which the lie is dovetailed among the truths that surround it. No matter how cunning the ar- tificer, the web cannot be so woven that the stained and colored thread cannot lie seen. Love of ease, fear of la- bor, the physical sanction, are always seen co-operating with truth. Any motive, however slight and even infln- itesimal, is or may be sufficient to induce action in a right direction, except when overborne by other and superior motives in a sinister direction. By a sort of impulse, by the very course of nature, the usual tendency of speech is in the line oi truth. Kegaid for public opinion, the paiu and shame universally attendant upon the ignominy at- tached to falsehood detected, the disgrace of the liar— in other words, the moral and poiiular sanction, with but rare and accidental excejitions— is found tending in the same direction. Much the greater part of what is known, is known only from the testimony of otheis. Our neces- sities, the necessities <if others and of social intercourse, require that, for our own preservation as well as for that of otliers, the truth should be told. Hence among all nations, barbarous and civilized, and among civilized in proportion to their advancement, the term Liar has been one of deep reproach, never used without inflicting pain ou the |ierson to whom it is applied. However great the disgrace, it is immeasurably increased when the occasion upon which the falsehood is uttered is a judicial one. The more im- portant the occasion, the greater the public indignation and scorn attached to its viobition. The law regarding veracity, which is peculiarly desirable in jurlicial investi- gations, may impose severe penalties for false testimony — mendacity — penalties varying in de^iree of severity ac- cording to the ;iggravation of the offence, and thus may furnish additional sanction to and security for testimonial trustworthiness. It may hapi)en that the statement of a witness, while true in part, may be defective in detail, either by the omission of true or the utterance of false par- ticulars. Correctness and completeness are both included in perfect veracity. Incorrect in part, incomplete to any material extent, the evils of such incompleteness and in- correctness, when not the result of desi<,'n, may be as great as those of deliberate and intentional falsehood. How best to attain those indispensable requisites is the problem, the solution of which becomes so important in the practical administration of the law. How best to compel the reluctant and evasive witness ; how to quicken the careless and IndifTereut ; how to check and restrain