Notes for week of February 10

With Valentine's Day saturating almost every sense this week, let's consider another element of this week's program, the final pilot episode.

William Blackstone, a celebrated English judge (d. February 14, 1780), wrote "Commentaries on the Laws of England." This work consists of five sections: an introduction, plus four books (The Rights of Persons, The Rights of Things, Of Private Wrongs, Of Public Wrongs).

A few excerpts, as mentioned in the program--remember to read ' s ' for ' f ':

TAXES (P 307, The RIGHTS of PERSONS. Book I. Ch. 8.)

THERE is alfo another ill confequence attending high impofts on merchandize, not frequently confidered, but indifputably certain; that the earlier any tax is laid on a commodity, the heavier it falls upon the confumer in the end: for every trader, through whofe hands it paffes, muft have a profit, not only upon the raw material and his own labour and time in preparing it, but alfo upon the very tax itfelf, which he advances to the government; otherwife he lofes the ufe and intereft of the money which he fo advances. To inftance in the article of foreign paper. The merchant pays a duty upon importation, which he does not receive again till he fells the commodity, perhaps at the end of three months. He is therefore equally entitled to a profit upon that duty which he pays at the cuftomhoufe, as to a profit upon the original price which he pays to the manufacturer abroad; and confiders it accordingly in the price he demands of the ftationer. When the ftationer fells it again, he requires a profit of the printer or bookfeller upon the whole fum advanced by him to the merchant: and the bookfeller does not forget to charge the full proportion to the ftudent or ultimate confumer; who therefore does not only pay the original duty, but the profits of thefe three intermediate traders, who have fucceffively advanced it for him. This might be carried much farther in any mechanical, or more complicated, branch of trade.

IMMIGRATION (P 360, The RIGHTS of PERSONS. BOOK I. Ch. 10.)

AN alien born may purchafe lands, or other eftates: but not for his own ufe; for the king is thereupon entitled to thems. If an alien could acquire a permanent property in lands, he muft own an allegiance, equally permanent with that property, to the king of England; which would probably be inconfiftent with that, which he owes the his own natural liege lord: befides that thereby the nation might in time be fubject to foreign influence, and feel many other inconveniences. Wherefore by the civil law fuch contracts were alfo made voidt: but the prince had no fuch advantage of efcheat thereby, as with us in England. Among other reafons, which might be given for our conftitution, it feems to be intended by way of punifhment for the alien's prefumption, in attempting to acquire any landed property: for the vendor is not affected by it, he having refigned his right, and received an equivalent in exchange. Yet an alien may acquire a property in goods, money, and other perfonal eftate, or may hire a houfe for his habitationu: for perfonal eftate is of a tranfitory and moveable nature; and befides, this indulgence to ftrangers is neceffary for the advancement of trade.

TORTURE (P 320-321, PUBLIC WRONGS. BOOK IV.Ch. 25.)

THE rack, or queftion, to extort a confeffion from criminals, is a practice of a different nature : this being only ufed to compel a man to put himfelf upon his trial ; that being a fpecies of trial in itfelf. And the trial by rack is utterly unknown to the law of England ; though once when the dukes of Exeter and Suffolk, and other minifters of Henry VI, had laid a defign to introduce the civil law into this kingdom as the rule of govern-ment, for a beginning thereof they erected a rack for torture ; which was called in derifion the duke of Exeter's daughter, and ftill remains in the tower of London o : where it was occafionally ufed as an engine of ftate, not of law, more than once in the reign of queen Elizabeth p. but when, upon the affaffination of Villiers duke of Buckingham by Felton, it was propofed in the privy council to put the affaffin to the rack, in order to difcover his accomplices ; the judges, being confulted, declared unanimoufly, to their own honour and the honour of the Englifh law, that no fuch proceeding was allowable by the laws of England q. It feems aftonifhing that this ufage, of adminiftring the torture, fhould be faid to arife from a tendernefs to the lives of men : and yet this is the reafon given for it's introduction in the civil law, and it's fubfequent adoption by the French and other foreign nation r : viz. becaufe the laws cannot endure that any man fhould die upon the evidence of a falfe, or even a fingle, witnefs ; and therefore contrived this method that innocence fhould manifeft itfelf by a ftout denial, or guilt by a plain confeffion. Thus rating a man's virtue by the hardinefs of his conftitution, and his guilt by the fenfibility of his nerves !

(from The Avalon Project at Yale Law School: Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England)