Character.—A lady, when asked about the character of a servant in whose favour she cannot say much, would do well in the first place to ascertain that the request is made at the suggestion of the person whose character is in question. If it is, and if the lady takes care to speak only of what she knows, she will be safe enough; she will be acting fairly by both the persons interested. Of course, if she has only pleasant things to say, there is no difficulty in answering such inquiries; but if she cannot give a favourable answer, a stranger could not complain if she replied that she did not feel at liberty to discuss a person’s character without that person’s knowledge. Some people never give a character. This is most unfair, and indeed cruel, in the case of a servant whose reputation and competency are above reproach, for silence always implies that there is something which one would rather not mention. Silence is the appropriate refuge in the case of one who has given a reference which he was not justified in using. It is easy to say, in such a case, that the writer is afraid she cannot write such a testimonial as would prove of service to the applicant; but in all other cases it is always, practically as well as theoretically, safe to give a character, if it is given fairly and honestly. A character when given is a privileged communication; and, even if it be incorrect, unless the servant who thinks herself aggrieved can show that it was given with actual malice—as with knowledge of its falsity—she cannot succeed in an action for defamation. To sustain such an action and deprive the communication of its ordinary privilege, a strong case of malicious and officious interference to the detriment of the servant would require to be made out. But there is no privilege attaching to information given to a neighbour of what is going on in her household, if it was given in an idle, gossiping and malicious spirit, rather than with the honest intention of giving important information.
It is best always to interview the late mistress rather than apply by letter, and a little shrewdness in studying the character of the mistress is very desirable, for personal feeling takes the place of impartial judgment in most, if not all, women.
Illness.—A master is not bound to provide medical attendance and medicine for even his menial servants; but if a servant falls ill, and the master voluntarily calls in his own medical man, he will not be allowed to deduct the charges for such attendance out of the servant’s wages unless the servant specially agrees that he may do so.
The Householder
The Householder. Parochial matters.—Parochial business is managed by a “vestry,” at which the parish clergyman has a right to preside. Public notice of vestry meetings must be given 3 days beforehand, and copies of the notice fixed to the principal doors of churches and chapels, signed by rector, vicar, churchwarden, or overseer. Every parishioner paying rates is entitled to votes. If assessed at or above 50l., he may give one vote for every 25l., but no individual can have more than 6 votes; no person can vote by proxy. The chairman has a casting vote. Churchwardens are chosen, in the first week after Easter, by joint consent of minister and parishioners, or one by the minister and another by the parishioners. Peers, members of Parliament, clergymen, dissenting ministers, medical men, and attorneys, are exempt from serving as churchwarden. Churchwardens are trustees of money given for the benefit of the church, and must attend to repairs of the church and fences of the churchyard. The pews in a parish church are the property of the parish; distribution rests with the bishop or the churchwardens. The churchwardens of a parish in which a dead body is cast ashore from the sea, must have it interred in the parish burial ground.
The local management of this country is far too elaborate to be even sketched here; for instance, the Public Health Act 1875 contains 343 sections, most of them of great length, and a variety of subsequent amendments further complicate things, while the metropolis has its own long series of enactments on the same part of the subject. The whole matter is one which requires special study of countless Acts of Parliament, based upon no theory in particular, and which will no doubt shortly be thoroughly revised and reformed. The householder desirous of information should have recourse to the officers of the local authority or some member of that body, and if he cannot thus get the satisfaction he wants he must recognise the inevitable result of the activity of his own representatives and consult his solicitor.
Juries.—All “good and lawful men” are eligible and liable to be called on to serve on a coroner’s jury at an inquest held in the neighbourhood, and non-attendance of a duly-summoned person is punished with a fine which may amount to 5l.
On juries at the assizes or sessions, or for the trial of causes in Middlesex, any person who holds a freehold or copyhold of an annual value of 10l., or a lease of 21 years or upwards at an annual rent of 20l., or who pays rates of 20l. per annum (30l. in Middlesex) is eligible and liable to serve, provided his age is between 21 and 60; when over 60, he remains liable till he has notified his age to the authorities. Peers, members of Parliament, judges, clergymen of every sect or faith, barristers, solicitors, notaries, officers of legal courts, coroners, gaolers, physicians, surgeons, dentists, apothecaries, chemists, officers of the army, navy, militia, and yeomanry on full pay, officers of the post-office, customs, inland revenue, or police, metropolitan police-court officials, and officers of the Houses of Lords and Commons, are exempted from serving; and members of the council of a municipal borough cannot be called on to serve in the county where the borough is situate, nor can burgesses of a borough having separate sessions be summoned to the county sessions. The churchwardens and overseers must make a list of the persons so liable to serve, and on the three first Sundays in September fix a copy on the door of every place of worship in the district, with a proper notification of the special sessions for hearing objections, at which sessions the justices may revise the list either by striking out the names of persons who are exempt or not qualified, or under permanent physical disability, or by adding other persons after due notice given to them. Jurors who are esquires by law, bankers, or merchants, or who occupy a farm rated at 300l., or other premises at 100l., or a private dwelling-house rated at 50l. elsewhere than in a town of 20,000 inhabitants and upwards, are to be distinguished, and are qualified and liable to serve on special juries, but they remain as liable as before to be summoned for a common jury. A juror must attend according to the tenor of his summons, which may be served either by being shown to him or by being left at his usual place of abode with some person there inhabiting, or by being sent by post to him; and if, the summons having been so served six days previously, he fails to attend, he is liable to such a fine as the court thinks fit to impose. The liability to serve on a grand jury is unlimited, but apart from this a juror cannot be summoned more than once a year for the assizes and sessions unless the list is exhausted.
A juror may also be compelled under a five pounds penalty to serve in the County Court of his district twice in the year, but is exempt if he has served at the assizes or at the Royal Courts or Central Criminal Court within six months previously. There is still a further liability in various districts in respect of the local courts, such as the Mayor’s Court, London, and the Salford Hundred Court; and the sheriff requires the attendance of a jury in cases of assessment of damages or compensation, or an inquiry as to the sanity of an alleged lunatic, or as to claims made by virtue of the prerogative of the Crown.
Aliens otherwise qualified, who have been domiciled in England or Wales for ten years or upwards, but no others, are qualified and liable to serve—since 1870, in which year was abolished the right of an alien prisoner to have half the jury aliens.