COM 
officer of the British navy, commissioned 
))y the Lords of the Admiralty, or by an 
admiral, to command a squadron of men of 
war in chief ; during which time he bears 
the rank of brigadier-general in the army, 
and is distinguished from the inferior ships 
of his squadron by a broad red flag, or pen- 
dant, tapering towards the outer end, and 
sometimes forked. The title Commodore 
is given by courtesy to the senior captain 
where three or more ships of war are cruiz- 
ing in company. The word also is used to 
denote the convoy ship in a fleet of mer- 
chant-men ; who carries a light in his top lo 
conduct the rest, and keep them together. 
• COMMON, is a right of privilege which 
one or moiw persons claim to take or use, 
in some part or portion of that, which an- 
other man’s lands, waters, woods, &.C. na- 
turally produce ; without having an absolute 
property in such lands, woods, waters, &c. 
Common law, that body of rules received 
as law in England, before any statute was 
enacted in parliament to alter the same. 
The common law is grounded upon the 
general customs of the realm, including the 
law of nature, the law of God, and the prin- 
ciples and maxims of law ; it is also founded 
on reason, as said to be the perfection of 
reason acquired by long study, observation, 
and experience, and refined by the learned 
in all ages. It may likewise be said to be 
the common birthright that the subject has 
for the safeguard and defence not only of 
his goods, lands, and revenues, but of his 
wife, children, life, fame, &c. Our com- 
mon law, it is said, after the heptarchy, was 
collected together into a body by divers of 
our ancient kings, who commanded that it 
should be observed through the kingdom ; 
and it was therefore called common law 
because it was common to the whole na- 
tion, and before only affected certain parts 
thereof, being anciently called the sole- 
right, that is, the right of the people. 
The common law of England is, properly, 
the common customs of this kingdom; 
vtliich, by length of time, have obtained the 
force of laws. The goodness of a custom 
depends upon its having been used time out 
of mind ; or, in the solemnity of our legal 
phrase, time whereof the memory of man 
runneth not to the contrary. This gives it 
its weight and authority ; and of this nature 
are the maxims and customs which compose 
the common law, or lex non scripta, of this 
kingdom. This unwritten, or common law, 
is properly distinguished into three kinds ; 
1. General customs, which are the universal 
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rule of the whole kingdom, and form the 
common law in its stricter and more useful 
signification. 2. Particular customs, which 
for the most part affect only the inhabitants 
of particular districts. 3. Certain particu- 
lar laws, which by custom are adopted and 
used by some particular courts of pretty 
general and extensive jurisdiction. 
Common place book, among the learned, 
denotes a register of what things occur 
worthy to be noted in the course of a man’s 
study, so disposed as, that among a number 
of subjects, any one may be easily found. 
Several persons have their several methods 
of ordering them; but that which is best 
recommended is Mr. Locke’s method, 
which he has published in a letter to Mr. 
Toisnard, determined thereto by the great 
conveniency and advantage he had found 
from it in twenty years experience. The 
substance of this method is as follows : 
The first page of the book, or, for more 
room, the two first pages fronting each 
other are to serve for a kind of index to the 
whole, and contain references to every 
place or matter therein ; in the commodi- 
ous contrivance of this, so as it may admit 
of a sufficient variety of materials, without 
confusion, all the secret of the method con- 
sists. The manner of it, as laid dowm by 
Mr. Locke, will be conceived from the fol- 
lowing specimen, wherein what is to be 
done in the book for all the letters of the 
alphabet is here shewn in the first four. 
The index of the common place book be- 
