55 
chap, ii.] WEST INDIES. 
had precluded himself from the exercise of legisla¬ 
tive authority over Grenada, before the letters pa¬ 
tent were issued. ‘ s Through inattention, he said, 
of the king’s servants, in inverting the order in 
which the instruments should have passed, the last 
act was contradictory to, and a violation of the firsts 
and on that account null and void.” But, although 
the noble lord confined the mere legal question to 
a narrow compass, he judged it necessary, at the 
same time, to enter on a wide and extensive field 
of discussion, in support of the regal authority over 
conquered countries 5 maintaining, “ that it is left 
to the king to grant or refuse a capitulation;—if 
he refuses, and puts the inhabitants to the sword , 
or otherwise exterminates them , all the lands be¬ 
long to himself. If he receives the inhabitants un- 
der his protection, and grants them their property, 
he has a power to fix such terms and conditions 
as he thinks proper. He may (said the noble 
judge) yield up the conquest, or retain it, on zohat 
terms he pleases , and change part, or the whole 
of the law, or political form of its government, 
as he sees best” In reply to an observation, that 
no adjudged case, in point, had been adduced, the 
noble lord declared, that this was not to be won¬ 
dered at, “ inasmuch, as no question was ever 
started before but, that the king has a right to a le¬ 
gislative authority over a conquered country;” and 
he quoted an opinion of the crown lawyers in 1722, 
in respect of Jamaica. The assembly of that island 
being refractory, it was referred to Sir Philip Yorke 
and Sir Clement Wearge, to know <c what could be 
