B L A 



491 



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of lectures. This course opened in Michaelmas Term, 1 753, 

 and was so well received, that it was repeated with additions 

 for a number of years. The advantage of rendering such a 

 course of lectures permanent being fully demonstrated, a 

 gentleman named Viner left by will a provision for this 

 purpose. In J 758 Blackstone was appointed the first Vine- 

 rian professor ; and from the assiduity with which he dis- 

 charged the duties of the situation, he attracted a large class 

 of students. Among his hearers was Jeremy Bentham, 

 then sixteen years of age, and resident at Queen's College, 

 Oxford. According to his own account, even then Bentham 

 did not share in the almost universal applause bestowed 

 on the lectures. (See Bentham's Preface to the second 

 edition of the Fragment on Government, London, 1823.) 

 Having been requested to read his lectures to the Prince 

 of Wales, Blackstone declined the honour, as he did not 

 think himself at liberty to break his engagements with his 

 class at Oxford ; however, he sent copies of many of the 

 lectures to be read to the young prince. Bentham also 

 states, on the authority of Lord Shelburne, that ' the lord 

 introduced the lecturer (to the king), and made the mo- 

 narch sit to be lectured : so he himself told me.' To this 

 no doubt Blackstone mainly owed his future promotion. 



Having been engaged as counsel in a contested election 

 (for he occasionally practised), the right of copyholders to 

 vote came under his consideration, which circumstance led 

 him to publish his opinions on this question. He denied 

 their right, and the enemies of popular privileges being 

 fclad to find themselves thus supported, the consequence 

 was an act of parliament taking away the franchise from 

 this description of electors. 



The popularity of his lectures, together with the publica- 

 tion of a new edition of the ' Great Charter and Charter of 

 the Forest,' accompanied by an historical preface, prepared 

 the way for his return to the law courts in the metropolis, 

 where he was soon engaged in extensive practice. He 

 entered parliament in 1761, and sat for Hindon. The mi- 

 nistry of Lord Bute marked their approbation of his con- 

 duct, by granting him, in 1762, a patent of precedence to 

 rank as king's counsel, and by appointing him solicitor- 

 general to the queen in the following year. He had pre- 

 viously declined the office of chief justice of the Court of 

 Common Pleas in Ireland. About this time he married 

 Sarah, eldest daughter of James Clitheroe, Esq., of Boston- 

 house, Middlesex, by whom he had nine children, seven of 

 whom survived him. As he lost his fellowship by marriage, 

 the Earl of Westmoreland, then chancellor of the University 

 of Oxford, appointed him principal of New Inn Hall : a 

 year afterwards he resigned this appointment, as well as 

 the Vincrian professorship. 



The first volume of the ' Commentaries on the Laws of 

 England' was published at Oxford, in 1765. The other 

 three volumes appeared not long afterwards. The work 

 called forth an anonymous pamphlet, entitled ' A Frag- 

 ment on Government,' the author of which was the late 

 Jeremy Bentham. Dr. Priestley also made a fierce attack 

 on sonic of the opinions which the work contained, relative 

 to offences against the doctrines of the established church. 

 On the question ' whether a member expelled was or was 

 not eligible in the same parliament,' the opinions which 

 Blackstone expressed in the House of Commons being 

 deemed contradictory to his writings, he was attacked in 

 a pamphlet, understood to be written by one of the mem- 

 bi-rs. He defended himself in a pamphlet, which 'Junius' 

 noticed in his ' Letters.' With Priestley and ' Junius,' and 

 the author of the ' Fragment on Government,' as his oppo- 

 nents, the ministry of the day (Lord North's) naturally 

 became his protectors and continued their favours towards 

 him. In 1770 he was offered the situation of solicitor- 

 general, which he declined. He was then made one of 

 the justices of the Court of Common Pleas. The motto 

 which he chose for the rings distributed on such occasions 

 wag ' Secundis dubiisque rectus.' Previous however to his 

 patent being passed, Mr. Justice Yates expressed a wish 

 to retire from the Court of King's Bench into the Court 

 of Common Pleas, an arrangement to which Sir W. Black- 

 stone, from motives of personal regard, at once consented. 

 Four months afterwards, on the death of Mr. Justice Yates, 

 ho removed to the Court of Common Pleas ; a change 

 which Bentham says was very agreeable to Blackstone, who 

 found his position as puisne judge on the same bench with 

 his ' scorning and overpowering Chief (Lord Mansfield) 

 exceedingly uncomfortable. He sat in the Court of Com- 



mon Pleas till his death, which occurred Feb. 14th, 1780, 

 from a dropsical complaint. 



As a judge, Sir William Blackstone had a great respect 

 for the usagss and formalities which surround the bench, 

 and he strove to impress others with the same feeling. His 

 political sentiments were of the class called moderate. He 

 disliked the contentions of parties, and one of the conse- 

 quences of his elevation, on which he most congratulated 

 himself, was his removal from the House of Commons, 

 ' where,' as he used to observe, 'amidst the rage of contend- 

 ing parties, a man of moderation must expect to meet no 

 quarter from any side.' His talents for business were very 

 superior; and some offices which he had undertaken at the 

 University he discharged with great advantage to the in- 

 terests of those concerned. He kept his own accounts with 

 rigorous exactitude. His brother-in-law, who drew up a 

 memoir of his life, which is prefixed to the ' Reports ' pub- 

 lished after his death, says that ' he was an excellent ma- 

 nager of his time, and extremely rigid in observing the 

 liour and minute of an appointment.' It may be stated, on 

 the same authority, that in private life he was a cheerful 

 and facetious companion ; a faithful friend; an affectionate 

 husband and parent ; economical, but at the same time cha 

 ritable and generous. He was severe to those less strict 

 than himself in the observance of the ordinary duties of life ; 

 and as he advanced in years, his temper, which was some- 

 what irritable, was rendered worse by a nervous affection. 

 Bentham says, that he ' seems to have had something about 

 him which rendered breaches with him' not difficult.' This 

 ' something,' to judge from an anecdote (told in the preface 

 to the second edition of the ' Fragment'), was a very con- 

 siderable idea of his own importance. The university of 

 Oxford contains several memorials to his honour. In 1784, 

 a beautiful statue by Bacon was erected in All Souls Col- 

 lege, and in one of the windows of the chapel belonging to 

 this college are placed his arms. His portrait was presented 

 to the picture-gallery by the scholars on the Vinerian foun- 

 dation. 



The 'Commentaries' have been edited by Coleridge, 

 Archbold, Williams, Chitty, Christian, and Lee, each of the 

 six editions in four volumes 8vo. with notes. They have 

 been abridged by Curry, and also by Gifford, published in 

 the form of letters in one volume 8vo., and ' elucidated' by 

 Jones. With the exception of Burn's ' Justice,' perhaps no 

 law book, and few books of any kind, have had a sale equal 

 to that of the ' Commentaries.' 



(Life of Sir W. Blackstone, by Clitheroe ; Life, by Tho- 

 mas Lee, Esq.) 



On the appearance of the fourth volume of Blackstone's 

 ' Commentaries,' Dr. Priestley published some remarks on 

 those passages which related to the dissenters. The pam- 

 phlet is dated Leeds, July, 1769. The passages which 

 Priestley selected for his animadversions were in the 

 chapter entitled 'Of Offences against God and Religion,' 

 p. 50 ; ' These penalties were framed .... poison the minds 

 of the people;' and p. 52. . . 'Both papists and protestant 

 dissenters, &c. . . but have never yet been able to exe- 

 cute.' (See first edition.) The pamphlet of Priestley is 

 written with great acrimony and considerable vrgour. He 

 exposes in a pointed manner the slovenly style and illogical 

 language of Blackstone, and the singularly perverted view 

 which he gives of the historical origin of the difference 

 between the church and the dissenters. But Priestley's 

 views of religious obligation, as expressed in this pamphlet, 

 were hardly consistent with the duty of civil obedience, as 

 strictly and truly understood (see pp. 18, 19, of his pam- 

 phlet) ; and in his notions of what he calls ' the natural rights 

 of mankind,' ' the natural rights of man, when once he is 

 entered society,' and in his invectives against the Catholic 

 religion (p. 46.), he showed that he had not more enlarged 

 and correct views of the nature of civil society, and not 

 much more real tolerance than the author of the ' Commen- 

 taries.' ' The Reply' of Blackstone (dated Wallingford, 1769) 

 is in a calm and moderate, but feeble tone, and forms a 

 curious contrast with the vigorous argument and somewhat 

 scurrilous invective of Priestley. The commentator admits 

 that one of the passages animadverted upon is ' somewhat 

 incorrect and confused;' but declares that his views towards 

 the dissenters are very different from what Dr. Priestley im- 

 putes to him, first, by assuming that he (Blackstone) quoted 

 with approbation the statute of 9 and 10 Will. III. (directed 

 mainly against those who deny the doctrine of the Trinity), 

 which statute Blackstone quoted simply without either ap- 



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