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209 
for them is necessary the process is similar to that described 
above. For interpretations thereof judicial precedents and 
lesser authorities must be searched. 
English Statutes. The British Constitution consists of acts 
of Parliament regulating the machinery of government, rules 
of the common law relative thereto, and usages sanctioned by 
custom. English statutes can be found in the Statutes at 
Large from Magna Charta, 9 Henry III, to 41 George III; 
Statutes at Large, United Kingdom, from 41 George III to 
32 Victoria; and the Law Report Statutes from 32 Victoria 
on. They can also be found in such compilations as Chitty's 
Statutes. A table of statutes construed can be found in the 
front part of each volume of Halsbury’s Laws of England. 
Many of the early English statutes have become a part of our 
common law, and many recent United States statutes (e.g. 
uniform laws) are based upon recent English statutes. 
Judicial Precedents. After statutes, the next most im- 
portant authorities for the student or lawyer to consult on 
any given point are the judicial precedents, and this is true 
whether or not he finds a constitutional or statutory provision 
in point, for if he finds such a provision he must search for 
its meaning in the judicial precedents, and if he finds no such 
provision he must search the judicial precedents for his 
primary authority. After the judicial precedents the next 
most important authorities are the books of secondary 
authority. It would seem, therefore, that the order in which 
the student or lawyer should proceed would be, first, to ex- 
amine the books containing statutes; second, to examine the 
books containing the judicial precedents; and third, to ex- 
amine the books of secondary authority; but this is not so. 
Books of secondary authority are key books opening the doors 
to the judicial precedents as well as books of secondary 
authority. For this reason the practical order for the student 
or lawyer, after an examination of the statutes, should prob- 
ably be: (1) textbooks, (2) encyclopedias, (3) digests, (4) 
selected cases, (5) citation books, (6) periodicals, and (7) 
tables of cases. 
Textbooks. In determining his legal problem by his analy- 
sis of his facts, the student or lawyer will have determined 
the general subject, as “contracts” or “property” as well as the 
specific subject, as “sales” or “wills”, for which he will need 
