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their laws from that source. Amongst the Saxons, the 

 individual was the unit, the aggregate of which constituted 

 the community. Amongst the Romans, the commonwealth 

 was the integer, of which each individual was a fraction. 

 In the one case, society exists for the benefit of the indi- 

 viduals composing it ; in the other, individuals and their 

 interest are altogether subordinated to the society of 

 which they form a part. It is easy to perceive that, 

 starting from such opposite points, the results arrived at 

 in the two cases, must be essentially different. In the 

 Saxon race, self-government, and the wholesome controlling 

 power of a healthy public opinion, has rooted itself beyond 

 the possibility of being pulled up. Elsewhere, we see the 

 good of society aimed at by a series of spasmodic efforts 

 fatal to the welfare and security of the very individuals 

 who compose the society. 



With such robust, healthy instincts, the Saxons landed 

 in Britain, in the 5th and 6th centuries. To ascertain the 

 mode in which these principles were applied — and the 

 country became gradually covered with a myriad of com- 

 munities, comparatively independent and self-governing, 

 sometimes coalescing and again separating, until they 

 became fused into a mighty whole — though very interest- 

 ing, is by no means an easy task. The direct sources of 

 information are few and meagre ; and the indirect sources 

 derived from laws, customs, tenure of land, charters, lan- 

 guage, nomenclature, etc., though extremely valuable, are 

 attended with considerable difficulties. The exploration is, 

 however, well worth the trouble attending it, if the results 

 add to our interest in our native land, and our attachment 

 to our time-honoured institutions. Indeed, the very diffi- 

 culties and perplexities which we meet with in the pursuit 

 are in themselves interesting, arising, as many of them do, 

 from changes introduced by successive conquests, alteration 

 in the language, obsolete and technical terras, no longer 



