The Vehmic judgments were, however, liable to be appealed against: the
accused might, at the sitting, appeal either to what was termed the
imperial chamber, a general chapter of the association, which assembled at
Dortmund, or (and this was the more frequent custom) to the emperor, or
ruler of the country, whether he were king, prince, duke, or bishop,
provided that these authorities belonged to the association. The revision
of the judgment could only be entrusted to members of the tribunal, who,
in their turn, could only act in Westphalia. The condemned might also
appeal to the lieutenant-general of the emperor, or to the grand master of
the Holy Vehme, a title which, from the remotest times, was given to the
Archbishop of Cologne. There are even instances of appeals having been
made to the councils and to the Popes, although the Vehmic association
never had any communication or intercourse with the court of Rome. We must
not forget a very curious privilege which, in certain cases, was left to
the culprit as a last resource; he might appeal to the emperor, and
solicit an order which required the execution of the sentence to be
applied after a delay _of one hundred years, six weeks, and one day_.

[Illustration: Figs. 329 and 330.--Execution of the Sentences of the
Secret Tribunal.--Fac-simile of Woodcuts in the "Cosmographie Universelle"
of Munster: in folio, Basle, 1552.]

The chapter-general of the association was generally summoned once a year
by the emperor or his lieutenant, and assembled either at Dortmund or
Arensberg, in order to receive the returns of causes judged by the various
Vehmic tribunals; to hear the changes which had taken place among the
members of the order; to receive the free judges; to hear appeals; and,
lastly, to decide upon reforms to be introduced into the rules. These
reforms usually had reference to the connection of imperial authority with
the members of the secret jurisdiction, and were generally suggested by
the emperors, who were jealous of the increasing power of the association.

From what we have shown, on the authority of authentic documents, we
understand how untrue is the tradition, or rather the popular idea, that
the _Secret Tribunal_ was an assembly of bloodthirsty judges, secretly
perpetrating acts of mere cruelty, without any but arbitrary laws. It is
clear, on the contrary, that it was a regular institution, having, it is
true, a most mysterious and complex organization