Commentaries on the Laws of England, Book the First

SHERIFFS were formerly chosen by the inhabitants of the several counties. In confirmation of which it was ordained by statute 28 Edw. I. c. 8. that the people should have electi...

XV. ESTRAYS are such valuable animals as are found wandering in any manor or lordship, and no man knoweth the owner of them; in which case the law gives them to the king as the...

WITH regard to foreign concerns, the king is the delegate or representative of his people. It is impossible that the individuals of a state, in their collective capacity, can tr...

AS to Ireland, that is still a distinct kingdom; though a dependent, subordinate kingdom. It was only entitled the dominion or lordship of Ireland[f], and the king's stile was n...

TO this branch of the prerogative may be referred the power vested in his majesty, by statutes 12 Car. II. c. 4. and 29 Geo. II. c. 16. of prohibiting the exportation of arms or...

BUT as soldiers, by this annual act, are thus put in a worse condition than any other subjects, so, by the humanity of our standing laws, they are in some cases put in a much be...

BUT to return to our qualifications; and first those of electors for knights of the shire. 1. By statute 8 Hen. VI. c. 7. and 10 Hen. VI. c. 2. The knights of the shires shall b...

THESE are the constituent parts of a parliament, the king, the lords spiritual and temporal, and the commons. Parts, of which each is so necessary, that the consent of all three...

VI. HITHER might have been referred the advantages which were used to arise to the king from the profits of his military tenures, to which most lands in the kingdom were subject...

II. I AM next to consider the manner in which marriages may be dissolved; and this is either by death, or divorce. There are two kinds of divorce, the one total, the other parti...

THIS is the last limitation of the crown that has been made by parliament: and these several actual limitations, from the time of Henry IV to the present, do clearly prove the p...

HAVING thus cursorily considered the three usual species of government, and our own singular constitution, selected and compounded from them all, I proceed to observe, that, as...

STATUTES also are either _declaratory_ of the common law, or _remedial_ of some defects therein. Declaratory, where the old custom of the kingdom is almost fallen into disuse, o...

AND indeed our antiquarians and first historians do all positively assure us, that our body of laws is of this compounded nature. For they tell us, that in the time of Alfred th...

WHEN I say, that an alien is one who is born out of the king's dominions, or allegiance, this also must be understood with some restrictions. The common law indeed stood absolut...

2. THE _power_ of parents over their children is derived from the former consideration, their duty; this authority being given them, partly to enable the parent more effectually...

HENRY the eighth, the issue of this marriage, succeeded to the crown by clear indisputable hereditary right, and transmitted it to his three children in successive order. But in...

THUS parishes were gradually formed, and parish churches endowed with the tithes that arose within the circuit assigned. But some lands, either because they were in the hands of...

A MASTER may by law correct his apprentice or servant for negligence or other misbehaviour, so it be done with moderation[u]: though, if the master's wife beats him, it is good...

THE advantages that might result to the science of the law itself, when a little more attended to in these seats of knowlege, perhaps would be very considerable. The leisure and...

THE king may grant to a subject the power of erecting corporations[s], though the contrary was formerly held[t]: that is, he may permit the subject to name the persons and power...

AFTER the restoration, a very different plan was adopted, which has rendered the employment of the poor more difficult, by authorizing the subdivision of parishes; has greatly i...

3. THE doctrine of _hereditary_ right does by no means imply an _indefeasible_ right to the throne. No man will, I think, assert this, that has considered our laws, constitution...

4. BUT the principal council belonging to the king is his privy council, which is generally called, by way of eminence, _the council_. And this, according to sir Edward Coke's d...

I. AND, first, the law ascribes to the king the attribute of _sovereignty_, or pre-eminence. "_Rex est vicarius_," says Bracton[l], "_et minister Dei in terra: omnis quidem sub...

II. DIRECTLY opposite in it's nature to this is the excise duty; which is an inland imposition, paid sometimes upon the consumption of the commodity, or frequently upon the reta...

ESQUIRES and gentlemen are confounded together by sir Edward Coke, who observes[s], that every esquire is a gentleman, and a gentleman is defined to be one _qui arma gerit_, who...

A NATURAL and regular consequence of this personal liberty, is, that every Englishman may claim a right to abide in his own country so long as he pleases; and not to be driven f...

AND, since the reformation, many causes have conspired to prevent it's becoming a part of academical education. As, first, long usage and established custom; which, as in every...

HENCE it indisputably appears, that parliaments, or general councils, are coeval with the kingdom itself. How those parliaments were constituted and composed, is another questio...

IT there passes through the same forms as in the other house, (except engrossing, which is already done) and, if rejected, no more notice is taken, but it passes _sub silentio_,...

THIS law of nature, being co-eval with mankind and dictated by God himself, is of course superior in obligation to any other. It is binding over all the globe, in all countries,...

A PARSON, _persona ecclesiae_, is one that hath full possession of all the rights of a parochial church. He is called parson, _persona_, because by his person the church, which...

THE power and reciprocal duty of a guardian and ward are the same, _pro tempore_, as that of a father and child; and therefore I shall not repeat them: but shall only add, that...

THESE justices are appointed by the king's special commission under the great seal, the form of which was settled by all the judges, _A.D._ 1590[i]. This appoints them all[k], j...

VII. CHURCHWARDENS are the guardians or keepers of the church, and representatives of the body of the parish[c]. They are sometimes appointed by the minister, sometimes by the p...

THE idea and practice of this political or civil liberty flourish in their highest vigour in these kingdoms, where it falls little short of perfection, and can only be lost or d...

WHAT is said of our gentlemen in general, and the propriety of their application to the study of the laws of their country, will hold equally strong or still stronger with regar...

AS to gavelkind, and borough-english, the law takes particular notice of them[b], and there is no occasion to prove that such customs actually exist, but only that the lands in...

Produced by The Bookworm, Linda Cantoni, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by th...

THIRDLY, as money is the medium of commerce, it is the king's prerogative, as the arbiter of domestic commerce, to give it authority or make it current. Money is an universal me...

THE produce of the several taxes beforementioned were originally separate and distinct funds; being securities for the sums advanced on each several tax, and for them only. But...

TENTHS, and fifteenths[a], were temporary aids issuing out of personal property, and granted to the king by parliament. They were formerly the real tenth or fifteenth part of al...

A CORPORATION may be dissolved, 1. By act of parliament, which is boundless in it's operations; 2. By the natural death of all it's members, in case of an aggregate corporation;...