DECLINE OF CRIMINAL JURISPRUDENCE. 467 



nor obeyed. Whenever this consonance is not found, human be- 

 lief in the dignity of the law and in the efficacy of justice ceases. 

 For, theoretically at least, law is so near ideal perfection that the 

 least defect destroys it entirely; and by this "ideal perfection" 

 is meant that laws must reflect the highest and soundest thought of 

 every age. Laws that fail in this cease to be a power for good; 

 they are then looked upon either as ridiculous or as oppressive. If 

 the former, they defeat their ends by becoming dead laws; if the 

 latter, they become a source of disorder and discontent. Hence we 

 see that jurisprudence is essentially evolutionary and progressive, 

 and that the majesty of the law does not lie in its age but in its 

 perennial youth, or, more correctly, in its successive rejuvenescence. 

 It is true that in China the antiquity of a law is its highest pres- 

 tige, but, as a consequence, Chinese justice is proverbially ineffi- 

 cient and barbarous. It therefore follows that the constant study 

 and improvement of what we have called the safeguards of our 

 fundamental rights should be our highest duty, and the object of 

 the care and solicitude of the State. It is not enough to rest con- 

 tentedly in the thought that a Magna Charta, a Petition of Eights, 

 and sundry written constitutions protect us. Their very exist- 

 ence is but an argument for our eternal vigilance. ]^3^ow, the 

 question to be here examined is whether we have exercised that 

 care and vigilance which are essential to the free enjoyment of 

 our rights. 



Let me premise the statement that the protection of the rights 

 of life, liberty, and property is peculiarly within the province of 

 the criminal law. What constitutes the right of life, Kberty, and 

 property can not be defined or described, except negatively by a 

 definition of what will be deemed its infringements. These we 

 call crimes. To declare what acts come within the definition of 

 such crimes is the function of the criminal courts. 



It is upon the criminal law, therefore, that we must rely for 

 the enunciation of what acts shall constitute a breach of the right 

 of life, liberty, and property, and it is to the criminal bench and 

 bar that we must turn for the correct interpretation and applica- 

 tion of such enunciations. Hence the more time and attention 

 we devote to the study of criminal legislation and to the enlight- 

 enment of the criminal bench and bar, the more will the safety of 

 our rights be increased and strengthened. Likewise, the more we 

 allow criminal legislation to be the product of hasty consideration 

 and the criminal bar to drift into disrepute, the more the safety 

 of our rights will be proportionally weakened. 



The first question that presents itself is, " What is done hy 

 our law schools for the study of criminal law?" The answer is 



