THE ABOLITION OF ROMAN-DUTCH LAW IN 
BRITISH GUIANA. 
By L. C. Datron. 
It is more than twelve months now since the President of the Royal Agri- 
cultural and Commercial Society delivered his first inaugural address to the 
members of the Society. Amongst the subjects referred to in that address 
which was remarkable not only for the thoruughness with which the several 
topics were dealt with, but also for its literary ability, the subject of Roman- 
Dutch Law may be said to take the chief place. It is intended, therefore, in 
this paper, tu set down a few remarks on that subject, remarks which will have 
some reference te some of the statements made in the addiess and which, I 
hope, may he read by those interested at the present time when the adequacy 
ov otherwise of the law, as it exists in this colony, is vnder consideration. 
Some peisons are apt to rely upon to a great extent and to read only the 
headlines of their newspapers when matters are dealt with in which they are 
not greatly interested. There is also a class in every community which regards 
a statement in print to be necessarily true ana correct. It may, therefore, 
possibly be that many persons who received their “Argosy” containing the Pre- 
sident’s address, in so far as it referred to the subject now under discussion, a 
dry subject to most at any time, preferred to rely on the headlines of the report, 
instead of reading it for themselves. If that is so, they could not obtain there- 
by a true impression of what was really contained therein. Such startling 
expressions as “ Vigorous attack on the Roman-Dutch Law,” “ Inadequacy 
of the Roman-Dutch Law,” “ An anachronism,” “* Superfluous and antiquated” 
and so forth, would lead one to expect much more than follows. Whether or 
not the President of the Society intended to attack “ Roman-Datch Law ” as 
might possibly be inferred from these additions to his address, I am unable to 
state, but he certainly does not deal with the subject as a whole. Reference 
to the report will show that the part in question opens with the words : “ For the 
Commercial Committee no more serious or pressing subject could present itself 
than the consideration of the suitability of our present Common law for existing 
requirements and possible developments of trade”; that is, the proposition 
raised is whether the Common Law of the colony is adequate to its trade and 
commercial requirements. It may here be pointed out, however, that at a 
later period in his address when he is showing how the Common law has been 
encroached upon by statute and by the introduction of English law, he calls 
attention to the fact that Ordinances dealing with Companies, Insurances, 
Merchant Shipping, Bills of Exchange and other kindred matters on the English 
model have succeeded one another in this colony. In experience, it will be 
found that the greatest changes that have been made in amplification of or in 
the place uf Roman-Dutch Law here have been made in the law as it affects 
and deals with trade and commerce, If, therefore, the law as it now exists is 
insufficient for the purpose for which it was introduced, it seems somewhat 
