LAWS. 
mentator defined to be “ a rule of civil 
conduct prescribed by the supreme power 
in a state ; commanding what is right, and 
prohibiting what is wrong.” The latter 
clause of this sentence seems to Mr. Chris- 
tian to be either superfluous or defective. 
If we attend to the learned judge’s exposi- 
tion, perhaps we may be inclined to use 
the words “ establishing and ascertaining 
what is right or wrong;” and all cavil or 
difficulty will vanish. 
Every law may be said to consist of seve- 
ral parts ; declaratory, whereby the rights to 
be observed, and the wrong, to be eschew- 
ed, are clearly defined and laid down : 
directory, whereby the subject of a state 
is instructed and enjoined to observe those 
rights, and to abstain from the commission 
of those wrongs : remedial, whereby a 
method is pointed out to recover a man’s 
private rights or redress his private vvrongs; 
vindicatory, which imposes the sanction 
whereby it is signified what evil or penalty 
shall be Incurred by such as commit any 
public wrongs, and transgress or neglect 
any duty. 
Laws are arbitrary or positive, and na- 
tural ; the last of which are essentially just 
and good, and bind every where and in all 
places where they are observed : arbitrary 
laws are either concerning such matter as 
is in itself morally indifferent, in which case 
both the law and the matter, and subject 
of it, are likewise indifferent, or concerning 
the natural law itself, and the regulating 
thereof; and all arbitrary laws are founded 
in convenience, and depend upon the au- 
thority of the legislative power which ap- 
points and makes them, and are for main- 
taining public order ; those which are na- 
tural laws are from God ; but those which 
are arbitrary, are properly human and posi- 
tive institutions. 
The laws of any country began, when 
there first began to be a state in the land ; 
and we may consider the world as one uni- 
versal society, and then that law by which 
nations where governed, is called jus gen- 
tium ; if we consider the world as made up 
of particular nations, the law which regu- 
lates the public order and right of them, is 
termed jus publicum ; and that law which 
determines the private rights of men, is 
calledjus civile. 
No law can oblige a people without their 
consent, this consent is either t'eriis or jhef is, 
i. e. it is expressed by writing, or implied 
by deeds and actions ; and where a law is 
grounded on an implied assent, rebus et 
factis, it is either common law or custom ; 
if it is universal, it is common law ; and if 
particular to this or that place, then it is 
custom. 
The law in tliis land hath been variable ; 
the Roman laws, were in use anciently in 
Britain, when the Romans had several 
colonies here, each of which was governed 
by the Roman laws : afterwards we had 
the laws called Merchenlage, West Saxon- 
lage, and Danelage; all reduced into a 
body, and made one by King Edward the 
Confessor. 
At present the laws of England are divid- 
ed into three parts : 1. The common law, 
which is the most ancient and general law 
of the realm, and common to the whole 
kingdom; being appropriate thereto, and 
having no dependence upon any foreign 
law, whatsoever. 
2. Statutes or acts of parliament, made 
and passed by the King, Lords, and Com- 
mons in Parliament; being a reserve for 
the government to provide against new 
mischiefs arising through the corruption of 
the times. And by this the common law is 
amended where defective, for the suppres- 
sion of public evils ; tliough where the com- 
mon law and statute law conrur or interfere, 
the common law shall be preferred. 
.5. Particular customs. These must be 
particular, for a general custom is part of 
the common law of the land. 
Blackstone divides the municipal law of 
England into two kinds, lex non scripta, the 
unwritten or common law; and the lex 
sa'ipta, the written, that is, the statute law. 
The lex non scripta, or unwritten law, 
includes not only general customs, or the 
common law properly so called ; but also 
the particular customs of certain parts of 
the kingdom ; and likewise those particular 
laws, that are by custom observed only in 
certain courts and jurisdictions. 
There is another division of our laws; 
more large and particular ; as into the pre- 
rogative or crown law, the law and cus- 
tom of parliament, the common law, the 
statute law, reasonable customs, the law of 
arms, war, and chivalry, ecclesiastical or 
canon law, civil law, in certain courts and 
cases, forest law, the law of marque and 
reprisal, the law of merchants, the law and 
privilege of the stannaries, &c. But this 
large division may be reduced to the com- 
mon division; and all is founded on the 
law of nature and reason, and the revealed 
law of God, as all otlier laws ought to be. 
The law of nature is that which God, at 
