Several of them were induced to plead guilty, and on this admission of their having committed the crime sentence was pronounced upon them.

But when others denied their guilt, and found that this denial produced no corresponding result in their favour, whilst at the same time they were not permitted to bring forward other natives to deny it also, and to explain the matter for them, they became perfectly confounded.

I was subsequently applied to by several intelligent natives to explain this mystery to them, but I failed in giving such an explanation as would satisfy them.
19.

The natives being ignorant of our laws, of the forms of our courts of justice, of the language in which the proceedings are conducted, and the sentence pronounced upon them, it would appear that but a very imperfect protection is afforded them by having present in the court merely an interpreter (very often an ignorant man) who knows nothing of legal proceedings and can be but very imperfectly acquainted with the native language: it must also be borne in mind that the natives are not tried by a jury of their peers, but by a jury having interests directly opposed to their own, and who can scarcely avoid being in some degree prejudiced against native offenders.

From these considerations I would suggest that it should be made binding upon the local government in all instances (or at least in such instances as affect life) to provide a counsel to defend native prisoners.
20.