THE Heinousness of Injustice Done under the Pretence of EQUITY: IN A SERMON Preached in the Cathedral Church of Lincoln, Before the Honourable BARON TURTON, At the ASSIZES holden for that County on Monday the Eighth of August, 1698.  
By LAURENCE ECHARD, A. M. Prebendary of Lincoln, and Chaplain to the Right Reverend James Lord Bishop of that Diocese.  
LONDON, Printed for M. Wotton at the Three Daggers in Fleetstreet. 1698.   

THE PREFACE.  
WHEN I preached this Sermon, I had no Thoughts of publishing it; nor was it the Advice or Importunity of Friends that occasioned it now. I was sensible that it was composed with too much Haste and Carelessness, to deserve a Public View, when so many correct Sermons were already extant. But immediately after, finding my Reputation in some Hazard by Means of the Misunderstandings of some, and the Misrepresentations of others, I thought I cou●d do no greater Justice to myself than to publish it, and so rectify Peoples Mistakes; especially such as arose from second and third Hand Stories. It seems several Tradesmen as well as Lawyers were not well pleased with some Passages; and therefore censured me as a Person too Reflecting and Unmannerly to my Superiors: And that these Censures might seem just, my Words and Sense were much misrepresented, and several Passages related and discoursed of that were never in my Sermon. In sum, this is the Reason for my publishing this Sermon, which I have done just as it was preached, without any material Alteration. And since it made such a sensible Impression upon some, as to take notice of it to my Disadvantage, I hope the Publication of it may occasion some others to take notice of it to their own Advantage.   

PROV. xi. 1. A false Balance is an Abomination to the Lord: but a just Weight is his Delight.  
AS the Proverbs and Say of the wise Author of this Book are generally remarkable for being distinct and independent of each other; so they are no less remarkable for being often figurative, and of a very strong and extensive Meaning. So the Words of this Text; tho' they can literally signify nothing but the Odiousness of a false Weight or Balance in particular, yet they have truly and naturally a more enlarged and diffusive Sense, and do imply the Odiousness not only of false Weights and Balances, but likewise of all Things of the like Nature and Consequence; of all unfair and unfaithful Actions, of all unequal and injurious Proceed, and of all false and irregular Distributions of Justice. In sum, this Text, according to the general Meaning of its Words, does enjoin that great Virtue and Duty of Justice; a Quality which is inseparable from, and essential to the Great Judge of Heaven and Earth, and is as indispensibly necessary for the Subsistence and Wellbeing of Mankind in this World, as for their eternal Felicity in the next.  
But tho' these Words do strictly prohibit all false and unequal Distributions of Justice both in Private as well as Public Persons, yet they are not so properly to be extended to all Kind's of Injustice whatsoever. They relate indeed to the most and worst Kind's of Injustice, but not so positively and directly to all. For, as it has been observed by many, there are Two several Kind's of Injustice; the One open and barefaced, without any Cover for its native Crookedness and Deformities; and the Other secret and disguised, so cunningly clothed and adorned, that it appears like Justice its self: The One depends chief upon Force and Power, and the Other upon Treachery and Infidelity: The Former carries no Pretence with it besides that of gratifying and profiting the Actor, and the Latter has always the plausible Appearance of doing Justice to the same Person it really injures. Now the Words of my Text are designed to manifest the Odiousness and Heinousness of this latter Kind; and do elegantly represent it under the Notion of a false Balance. For a false Balance is always made use of under the plausible Pretence of doing of Justice, tho' it has a contrary Effect; and whensoever it wants that Pretence, the Unfairness is detected, it loses its original Design, and consequently ceases to be injurious.  
To make a fuller and clearer Distinction between these two Kind's of Injustice, we may observe, That to the former Kind belong all Rapines and open Violence, all Robberies and Murders, and all unjust Plunderings and Devastations; to which we may add all those particular Acts of Injustice which our Laws call Thefts. These last indeed are generally transacted with the utmost Privacy and Secrecy, yet the Injustice is undisguised and barefaced, and they are not done with the Pretence of doing of Justice to those Persons they injure; nor have they the same treacherous and pernicious Circumstances as belong to the latter Kind of Injustice, of which I am principally to treat.  
This latter Kind, setting aside Murders and Violence offered to men's Bodies, is no less hurtful and injurious than the Other, and at the same time more deceitful and ungenerous; consisting of such particular Acts of Injustice as have always a fair, and very often a laudable Appearance. So that this is not bare and simple Injustice alone, but Injustice mixed with, or wrapped up in some Act of Dissimulation, Infidelity, and Villainy. Of this Kind are all false Weights and Measures, all Cheats and Over-reachings in Bargains, all Breaches of Trust and Infidelity, with an infinite Number of others of the like Nature; only we must not omit all unequal and false Distributions of Justice, especially by such to whom the Administration belongs, and where a general and public Good is concerned.  
Having thus distinguished between these two Kind's of Injustice, and shown that there is a manifest Difference, it will not be improper to my present Design to compare them together, and to examine which is the most heinous of the two, and the most detestable in the Eyes of God. And I question not but I may easily make it appear, that the Latter, which is the Subject of my Discourse, is of a far more criminal Nature than the Former, and is therefore emphatically said to be an Abomination to the Lord.  
This Kind is more abominable than the other, First in its Nature, and Secondly in its Consequences.  
First, It is more abominable in its Nature: And it will appear from the former Distinction, That this is a Complication of Crimes and Mischiefs, whilst the other is only Simple Injustice. This is a Mixture of many Impieties together, and those of the meanest and basest Kind; the Other is only one single Act of Wickedness, without any Concomitants of Treachery and Infidelity. Open Violence and Robberies have sometimes the Appearance of Courage and Bravery, and have some Resemblance of the Acts of Heroes; but the Other are always vile and ungenerous, and will ever be accounted the Acts of Villains. But to set the Comparison in a truer Light, and to give neither of them any specious Names, the Former resembles the Actions of a savage Beast, that cannot exceed the Bounds of its own Strength; but the Latter the Subtleties of the Devil, of whose Artifices we know no Limits.  
Smaller Thefts are indeed of a meaner and more ungenerous Nature than open Robberies, yet still they are generally as unmixed, and are bare Acts of Injustice without any Pretence of Fairness and Fidelity. He who privately steals my Goods, or picks my Pocket, does a great Act of Injustice, but he does me no other Injury than the Value of the Goods or Money amounts to, and adds no other Sin to this: But he who cheats me in his Shop by false Weights, false Stories, and false Representations, does the same Injustice and Injury to me as the other; but then, as an Addition to his Crime, he picks my Pocket more tightly and securely, imposes upon my Understanding and common Faculties, and joins Lying and other Sins to his Injustice. So that it is apparent, That this Kind of Injustice is far more criminal in its very Nature than the other; not only because it is viler and more base, but also because it has the Addition of many other Crimes and aggravating Circumstances from which the other is free. But,  
Secondly, This Kind is more abominable than the other in its Consequences; one of which is, That we have far less Security against these Kind of unjust Actors, than we have against the other; so that the Mischiefs of it are more certain and inevitable, which is always a Circumstance that makes a Crime more odious in the Presence of God. Force can repel Force, but it cannot repel Treachery. We have Arms to stop the Fury of Robbers, Locks to prevent the Pilfer of Thiefs, and strict Laws to secure us against the Inconveniencies of both; which, God be thanked, has been so effectual, that our Nation in general has not suffered any great and extraordinary Mischiefs from either: But no Arms, no Locks, nor no Laws can secure us from the various Mischiefs and Subtleties of a thoroughpaced Villain. Nay, Laws will give us no Relief in many common and notorious Acts of Injustice. If a poor Wretch steals a small Quantity of Goods, perhaps to cover his Nakedness, or to satisfy his Hunger, he shall certainly be punished for it: But another Person shall be permitted to steal what he pleases in his own Shop, in his Bargains, and after the like manner, without any Punishment or Censure from the Laws.  
Now what is the Reason of the Difference, but only this? One is accounted Theft according to Law, and the Other not. But this makes not the Crime the less, but the greater before God; who judgeth not as Man judgeth, but reserves such Cases as these for his peculiar Judgement and Punishment. I speak not this to extenuate the Actions of Thiefs, or to expose any Deficiencies in our Laws, which I grant cannot be made to reach all unjust Actions; but to show, That this Kind of Injustice is more heinous before God, not only in its Nature, but likewise in its Consequences; since the Mischiefs and Inconveniencies of the one are more unavoidable than those of the other. Upon which Account it is, that God, as I just now hinted, does in a great measure reserve Cases of this Nature for his own peculiar Tribunal in the last and dreadful Day; and therefore he has more frequently, and with greater Threaten manifested his Displeasure against this Kind of Injustice than the Other; and particularly in the Words of my Text, where we are told, That it is an Abomination to Him; a Word that implies an extraordinary Degree of Hatred and Detestation.  
But now to approach a little nearer to this present Public Occasion.— If all Acts of Injustice be odious in God's Sight, even in the meanest and most private Person, and especially such as are wrought by secret Springs, and under the Pretence of doing of Justice; then certainly those must be exceedingly heinous before God that are done by Public Persons, and in a Public Capacity, whose Employment it is to establish all Things with the utmost Impartiality, and to see that no Injustice be done in a Nation. I hope I offend not, if I say, that I now mean the Judges of the Kingdom; Persons from whom we receive inestimable Benefits and Advantages, and such as keep up the vital Heat and Vigour of the State, purging it from all malignant and corrupted Humours. In these are reposed a vast and mighty Trust; and being placed in such exalted Stations, they never want Opportunities of doing of much Good or much Injury. But considering the innumerable Frailties of Humane Passions and Inclinations, they often meet with great Temptations to misled them: And though the Greatness of their Dignities, and the Plentifulness of their Revenues, may well be supposed to set them above all common Attacks, yet it must be their Virtues alone that can secure them against such as are Extraor dinary. Therefore the good King Jehoshaphat, when he set Judges over the Cities of Judah, gave this most remarkable Charge to them; Take heed what you do; for ye judge not for Man, but for the Lord, who is with you in the Judgement. Wherefore now, let the Fear of the Lord be upon you, take heed and do it: for there is no Iniquity with the Lord our God, nor Respect of Persons, nor taking of Gifts, 2 Chron. c. 19 v. 6, 7. There cannot be a greater Motive and stronger Argument than the Words of these two Verses: And were I to enter upon them, and insist upon all their Particulars, I should seem to deviate too much from my first Subject and Design, which was to say something of the Cares and Duties not only of Judges, but likewise of all such Officers and Persons who depend upon them, and are concerned in this present Public Occasion.  
And here I might not improperly insist upon those great Conveniencies and mighty Advantages which the Nation receives from these public Meetings and Administrations of Justice; and what Good the Judges and their Ministers are capable of doing. And more especially I might insist upon those several Acts of Injustice which are sometimes done by Judges themselves, but more frequently by Lawyers and Officers of the Court. These do most properly belong to my present Subject and Occasion: But to search and to dive into all these Particulars, as it is a Task exceeding tedious, and almost endless, so it is likewise an Office very ungrateful to some, and will be thought unmannerly by others. However, I crave leave to say something concerning two Particulars, both of which are exceeding Grievances; yet they are by many vindicated, and looked upon as Matters not in themselves unjust. They are,  
First, Delaying and deferring of Justice when it is really due: And,  
Secondly, Knowingly to undertake and manage an unjust Cause.  
The first Particular belongs principally to the Judges, and the second to the Lawyers and Officers; and the One is frequently the Cause of the Other.  
1. Delaying and deferring of Justice when it is really due. This, with Submission, I take to be a notorious Piece of Injustice. For, whensoever it is in the Power of the Judge and the Court to do a Man Justice that sues for his real Rights, and they wilfully defer and delay it, it is undoubtedly unjust, and an Abomination to the Lord. The detaining and keeping a Person from his Right, is a manifest Injury to him, and sometimes occasions the Loss of it at last; but very often it makes it so inconvenient and burdensome to him, that it would have been as well, or perhaps better for him to have lost it at first. Whether this growing Mischief has arose from the Number and Variety of our Laws and Cases, the native Liberty of our State and Constitution, the Methods and Practices of the Courts of Judicature, or from the unreasonable Compliance of the Judges themselves, or from all these together, I shall not pretend to determine. For my own Part, I shall only take the Freedom to say, That the Tediousness of many of our Law-Suits, and the frequent Difficulties of obtaining Justice, are become a Burden almost insupportable to this Nation; and a Burden from which many barbarous, and I may add, enslaved Nations are in a great measure free. These Regular Proceed are accounted the honourable Badges and Tokens of our Liberties; but as they are often managed, they are grown so heavy and grievous to us, that Fetters and Chains are almost as eligible.  
I must confess, that these are Mischiefs and Misfortunes that do chief attend the most civilised and polite, as well as the most free and easy Governments. For in the Beginning and Infancy of Kingdoms and Commonwealths, the Laws are generally few and strict, the Suits easy and soon determined, so that Justice is continually done without any Trouble or Burden. Then Justice is a Lady free and generous, modest, yet easy of Access, and ready to assist all that sue to Her. But when Dominions and Policy, Laws and Ordinances, Arts and Sciences, and Riches and Vices increase, than Justice is disguised, and attended with such numerous Trains, and must be waited upon with such Variety of Formalities and pretended Regularities, that but few can be able to approach her Presence. The Poor cannot purchase their Way through her Attendants, but must be satisfied without her Assistance.  
Now it is generally acknowledged, That nothing so much enervates the Strength of a State, and relaxes the Sinews of a Government, as slow and dilatory Proceed in Matters of Justice. They fill the Body Politic with ill and unwholesome Humours for want of Exercise and Evacuation, and do in a great measure make the Blood and Spirits to stagnate. They make Way for all Kind's of Corruptions, and all Kind's of vile Practices; and have been the Cause of the Decay and Mortality of the greatest Empires and Commonwealths in the World.  
The Danger of these was soon discovered by the great Emperor Vespasian, who when he came to reform and revive a corrupted and sinking Empire, he found it absolutely necessary to regulate the Tediousness of Law Suits, and to retrench the innumerable Processes and Appeals in the Courts of Judicature; without which the State itself must have suffered. His Example was happily followed by his excellent Son Titus, and also by the renowned Trajan, who besides these Regulations, utterly exterminated all the Delators, Promoters, and Pettifoggers in Rome, and put them to all Kind's of ignominious Punishments, as the Pests of the City, and the Disturbers of the Public Peace. The Care and Wisdom of these Princes recovered the State, and kept it alive for some Ages longer than could have reasonably been expected. To descend to a more modern Instance, I might mention the present Turkish Empire, which is acknowledged by all to be overgrown with such notorious Corruptions and Briberies, and to abound with such Flaws in Policy, as are sufficient to sink that or any other State: Yet we are assured by the most skilful Politicians, That this Empire is kept up by almost one Thing alone; which is, The extraordinary quick Dispatch in all Matters of Justice. This does in a great measure set all Things right, and makes Amends for all the other Errors and false Steps in the Government.  
I do not pretend to propose any of these Examples for our own Imitation, but only mention them to show the fatal Mischiefs of dilatory Proceed in Justice, and the Advantages of the contrary Practices. And for that I might produce great Numbers of Instances; but I am satisfied that I need not appeal either to History or Example, to prove so manifest a Truth. It is sufficient for me to show, That these are real Acts of Injustice, and are never to be allowed when it is in the Power of Judges and Magistrates to prevent them. And I may add, That tho' Judges always act by a limited Power, which the Laws themselves do sometimes straighten to an inconvenient Degree; yet still they have a Power of Relieving, if not Remedying these Mischiefs in most Cases. I hope I reflect upon none here present, when I say, It is a Shame to good Men, and a Wonder to wise Men, That such frivolous Pleas, and such ridiculous Niceties should be urged and allowed in Courts of Judicature, as we often find; and all this to ward off a present Blow, and to hinder a Man as much as possible of his real Rights and Estate. This may truly be called a false Balance and an Abomination: For this is doing a Person an Injury, and then showing him Law for it; which is abusing him besides, and likewise scandalising and profaning our Laws, which were never made to do or countenance any Piece of Injustice. Now one great Cause of these tedious and unreasonable Processes in Law, is,  
2. The Other Particular which I proposed to treat of: Which is, Knowingly to undertake and manage an unjust Cause.  
Now this is a Matter that does not so properly belong to Judges of Courts, as to Pleaders and Advocates; and it is so frequently practised in all Courts, that by many it is not only thought to be no Sin, but a Thing very convenient and necessary. But I am satisfied that nothing is more easily proved than the Injustice and Sinfulness of such Practices. For he who knowingly promotes and willingly joins with a Person in an unjust Cause, is no less guilty than the Person himself, and very often more; for the Client is not so proper a Judge of the Justness of a Cause as the Counsellor is. How often does a just Cause and a just Man suffer by these Means? When a Pleader shall employ the utmost of his Eloquence, Wit, and Learning, to promote a manifest Piece of Injustice, and to ruin another Man's just Rights? A Thing which, God knows, has too frequently succeeded in this Nation. This is the more dangerous and fatal, because Quirks and Artifices are never wanting to disguise the Justice of the Matter, and to gild over the Blackness of the Crime, which are sometimes subtle enough to confound the greatest Lawyers and Judges themselves.  
But it is commonly alleged and objected in the Case, That Pleaders and Advocates need not concern themselves with the Justice of a Cause; but it is their sole Employment to assist their Clients, and do them what Service they can: So that if the Cause be bad, it is their Client's Fault, and not theirs, who only act according as their Business and Professions lead them.  
In answer to which Objection, I must take leave to assert, That no Man's lawful Business and Employment can necessarily lead him to commit an unjust Action: And to say, He is obliged to it by his Profession, is a notorious Reflection upon his Profession; which is to suppose that his Profession obliges him to do that which God himself has always prohibited. But to put this Matter beyond all Dispute, I would demand of Him who knowingly pleads and promotes an unjust Cause, Whether he enters upon it with an Expectation of carrying it, or not? If he expects and endeavours to carry the Cause, he than does Injustice to the contrary Party whom he opposes, by hindering or endeavouring to hinder him of his real Right: If he does not expect to carry it, he betrays and injures his own Client, which is no less unjust than the other. So that take it either Way, tho' it may sometimes be palliated and extenuated, it can never be vindicated. And it is a Surprise to good Men sometimes to see Persons of no common Parts and Learning standing up openly and before the World, to smooth over an odious Cause, and vindicate an Action in its self manifestly unjust. This indeed is sinning with Security, and without Shame; and acting wickedly without either Fear or Remorse. Certainly such Plead must prove mightily to their Disreputation, and be a great Hindrance to their Business and Professions. But I hope, and am fully persuaded, that this Audience is free from such Persons as I am condemning; therefore I would not be thought to reflect upon any here present.  
Having briefly gone through these two Particulars I proposed, I shall omit many other unjust Practices that are too frequent in Courts of Judicature, and shall only observe in general, That all such Acts of Injustice as are done in public Courts, and by public Persons, are of the blackest Dye, and the most odious before God; being always of a higher Concern, and of a more pernicious Consequence than the unjust Actions of private Men. Judges and Magistrates have the Stamp of Heaven upon them, and in their Distributions of Justice do in some measure represent the great Judge of all the Earth. Now if They, who are set up purposely to do Justice to others, shall commit any Errors, and make any false Steps, as they are most injurious to the Public, so they are most dangerous and fatal to themselves; and the greater and more exalted the Persons are, the more heinous are their Crimes.  
Tho the Actions of Judges and Magistrates are seldom publicly censured, and more rarely punished in this World, yet the Supreme Judge of all Men will remember them, and do them Justice too, by making them eternal Examples of his Wrath and Vengeance. When that terrible Judge shall at the last great Day do Justice to all Mankind; when all the Mysteries of Iniquity shall be unfolded, and all men's secret Thoughts and monstrous Imaginations be exposed in their native Deformity to the World; then shall the Actions of all unjust Judges, Magistrates, and Officers be laid open in the most public and exemplary Manner, and be punished, not as the Actions of Single Men, but as the Crimes of whole Societies. To whom much is given, much will be required; and a Man had a thousand times better be an Idiot, a Natural, and the most vile and despicable of all Humane Kind, than by his great Parts and Learning to raise himself to the highest Stations, and act contrary to his Trust. Parts and Learning are most dangerous Engines when misapplyed; and a Man had far better be without them, than to abuse them. To speak in the plainest Terms, A Man had much better be a Fool than a Knave; tho' the former is generally more despicable in the Eye of the World. For Folly is only a Misfortune, and the unhappy Effects of mere Nature; but Knavery is a Monster begotten by the Devil, which will certainly carry a Man to the black Place where it had its Birth.  
To conclude all, The Matters that I have insisted on are of the highest Importance, both to the Honour of God, and to the public Peace of the Nation; and as I have taken the Freedom to speak some Truths without Fear or Complaisance, so I hope I have spoken them without either Rudeness or Indecency.  
Now to God the Father, to God the Son, and to God the Holy-Ghost, be all Honour and Glory, now and for evermore. Amen.  
FINIS.