It has also done good service in the Courts of Law. In it were reported the State Trials of Lord George Gordon, Warren Hastings (already mentioned), Hardy, Horne Tooke, various Courts-Martial, such as those on Admiral Keppel and the Mutineers of the Nore, the Trial of Thistlewood and others for the Cato Street Conspiracy, the Impeachment of Lord Melville, the Trial of Queen Caroline, and many others which it is needless to mention, extending down to the present time. Such works as the "Continuation of Howell's State Trials" and the Speeches of Erskine and Brougham are largely indebted to it. It has, of course, been extensively used also for civil proceedings, and is written by many of the principal Shorthand Writers practising in the Courts of Law.* See list of London Shorthand Writers, with Systems, in Appendix to Anderson's "History of Shorthand." THE GURNEY SYSTEM OF SHORTHAND. INTRODUCTION. HORTHAND should be written with ease and SHOR read with certainty. The marks or characters should be short and simple, in order that they may be formed quickly; but they must be so definite and distinct that one of them may not be mistaken for another. The object is to give the hand no more work to do in forming the signs than is necessary to prevent confusion in reading them. The most distinct marks which can be used are a dot, a straight line, a circle, and a semi-circle. Their meanings may be varied by position. A dot cannot be distinctly joined to other characters, but various meanings may be expressed by it, according to its position with reference to other shorthand signs, or to the line on which they are written, e.g., above, below, to the right, or to the left. The only distinct positions for a straight line are horizontal, vertical, and diagonal, thus, and for a semi-circle, horizontal and vertical, thus, () To each of these characters a different meaning may be given in each of its positions. All systems of Shorthand must be substantially phonetic; and in order to make the best use of the materials, the most easily formed characters should be assigned to the sounds which most frequently recur in the language. It has been found by experience in almost all systems of Shorthand that it is best to use the lines and curves for the expression of the chief consonant sounds. Accordingly, the straight line and the semicircle, each in four dif ferent positions, are used for eight of the principal consonant sounds; the others are represented by the marks which come nearest to them in simplicity, and yet are proved by experience to be sufficiently distinct. The dot is appropriated to the vowels, but for fear of confusion it is never used for an initial vowel. A vowel sound at the beginning of a word, but never elsewhere, is expressed by the character which appears in the alphabet against that vowel. To avoid risks of error in transcribing, no distinction is made between thick and thin strokes in any part of the system. THE THE ALPHABET. HE beginner should learn the Alphabet perfectly by heart, and also the words which the several letters represent when written singly. He must copy the characters often, till he can write them well. Very rarely used at the beginning of a word and never did he if good, God }have 1, high, eye lord him in how, owe people question 8, Z r Used only when beginning a word, or following an Written downwards except when following a final "r," Always used when preceded or succeeded by another >her, are his, is nothing, and at conclusion of a word '-ing' and '-ong' Represented by a stroke drawn across the preceding it you which why that she, shall |