Commentaries on the Laws of England, Vol. 3

by William Blackstone

A
. T the opening of there ccmmcntarics 11 munici-
. pal law was in general defined to be, "a rule of
. " civj~ conuucl, pre(crihed hy the lupreme power
H in a flate, commandintr what is ri!7~H, ;inti â 0 0
" prohibiting is wrong b." From hence therefore it
followed, that the primary ohjetls cf the are the etlabJiilimcnt
of rights, and the prohibition of wrongs. And
thjs occafioned [he diflribution of there into two general heads; under the former of whl.c h we ha' ve already
confidered the rights that were denJlco and efi-ab1ifhed, and
under the latter arc now to confider the 'lVrtr.gI that are fOf.
bidden and redFe{f~d, by the laws of England,
â In~rod. §. l. Bra&. I. r. r. 1.
b SI11Jfi;Q j,,(Z. juber.1 b~ et Iro- c Book 1. ch. J â
â i~tnt tllilrar;a. Cic. II Pbilipp. J Z.

Table of Contents

Boo K' III; Of PRIVATE WRONG'S; CHAP I; Of the REDRESS of ,PRIVATE 'VRON'GS by the; mereati of tbe PARTIES Page' J; C HAP IT; Of REDRESS by tblflzere uperati()n of LAW 18; CH AP III; Of C(, ~ in generill 22; CH~P IV; Of the PUBLIC COURTS ()f CO'MMON LAW and; EQYl TY â 30,; C HAP v; 01 COURTS ECCLESIASTICAL, MiLITARY, and; ""'MARITJME 61'; CON TEN T S ; C f{ A P VI; 0/ COUll TS of a SPECIAL JURISDICTION ,J ~; C HAP VII; Of the COGNIZANCE of PRIVATE WRONCS 86~; C HAP VIII; Of WRONGS and their REMEDIES, reJpefling the; RIGHTS of PERSONS l15; C HAP IX; Of INJlI'RIES to PERSONAL PROPERTY '44; C HAP X; Of INJUltlES to REAL PROPERTY, and firft if; DISPOSS£SSION, or OUSTER, of the FREE·; HOLD 167; C HAP JL; Of ,DISPOSSESSION or OUSTER- of CHATTELS; REAL 19ft; C HAP XII; Of~TRE~S PAS S; C HAP XIII; Of NUSANCE; C H A r XIV; 01 WASTE;; 216; CON 1? E N T S; CHA p xv;

Genres: Law, Politics, Reference, History

494 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1768

About the author

Sir William Blackstone was an English jurist, judge, and Tory politician. He served as the first Vinerian Professor of Common Law at the University of Oxford from 1758 until 1766. His series of lectures on English law, the first of their kind in any university, have endured since their publication as a definitive reference on the principles of Common Law. The first American edition was produced in 1772; prior to this, over 1,000 copies had already been sold in the Thirteen Colonies, and it was greatly influential among the Framers of the Constitution. Event today, Blackstone's Commentaries are cited in U.S. Supreme Court decisions 10-12 times a year. His plan for a dedicated School of Law, included in the Commentaries upon its rejection by Oxford, provided the foundation of the modern system of American law schools. A 9-foot statue of Blackstone stands on Constitution Avenue in Washington D.C.

Reviews

[Steven H · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE THIRD OF A FOUR-VOLUME "CLASSIC" SET OF THE LAW

Sir William Blackstone (1723-1780) was an English jurist, judge and Tory politician; these Commentaries were first published in four volumes (On the Rights of Persons; On the Rights of Things; Of Private Wrongs; Of Public Wrongs) between 1765-1769, and were very influential on the development of the American legal system.

He begins by saying, "Wrongs are divisible into two sorts of species: private wrongs, and public wrongs. The former are infringements or privation of the private or civil rights belonging to individuals considered as individuals... the latter are a breach and violation of public rights and duties, which affect the whole community... To investigate the first of these species of wrongs, with their legal remedies, will be our employment in the present book..." (Pg. 2)

He points out that the term "exchequer" (as in "court of the Exchequer") is so called "from the checqued cloth, resembling a chess-board, which covers the table there; and on which... the sums are marked and scored with counters." (Pg. 44)

He states that "With regard to the third absolute right of individuals, or that of private property, though the enjoyment of it, when acquired, is strictly a personal right; (but) it's nature and original, and the means of its acquisition or loss, fell more directly under our second general division, of the rights of things..." (Pg. 138) He argues, "the law gives no private remedy for anything for a private wrong. Therefore no action lies for a public or common nuisance, but an indictment only: because the damage being common to all the king's subjects, no one can assign his particular proportion of it." (Pg. 219)

He suggests, "the trial by jury ever has been, and I trust ever will be, looked upon as the glory of the English law. And, if it has so great an advantage over others in regulating civil property, how much must that advantage be heightened, when it is applied to criminal cases!" (Pg. 379)

Blackstone's commentaries will be of great interest to those studying the development of our law.