( 3'* ) 



Normandy tho not purely German, was perhaps the 

 beft in France ; and it was particularly remarkable for the 

 due adminiftration of law. The delegation of all the 

 power? of juftice from the crown to the principal land- 

 holders within their refpe&ive territories, with the grants of 

 other prerogatives of the crown, and the right affumed by 

 the land-holders on the foundation of thofe ceffions to 

 wage private war, were the bane of the greateft part of 

 France, and (except England) of almoft all the countries 

 in the weftern parts of Europe. But the dukes of Nor- 

 mandy, governing with a fteady hand, fuffered no fuch 

 encroachments on their great duties of adminiftering the 

 law and preferving the public peace, attributed to them 

 era the ceflion of the French monarch, and which can 

 never with propriety be feparated from the executive 

 power in a ftate. The Normans therefore were accuf- 

 tomed to fubmit to order; but they were not flaves. 

 Their dukes could not execute the powers of government 

 without controul, and particularly had no power of raifing 

 taxes, or making laws, without the confent of the prin- 

 cipal land-holders, who were in thofe rude times almoft 

 the only perfons of property in weftern Europe. Many 

 of the eftablimments for the interior adminiftraton of 

 the Norman ftate bore a ftrong refemblance to thofe of 

 the Anglo-Saxons, and the whole fyftem of their govern- 

 ment, was not unfriendly to liberty, tho it did not 

 breathe the full fpirit of freedom which prevaded the 

 Saxon monarchy. 



To this country our Saxon anceftors brought the in- 

 ftitutions of their forefathers, pure and uncorrupted, from 

 their native forefts ; they conquered after a ftruggle of twc* 

 hundred years, during which all traces of the Roman 



government 



