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10
Statute Law.
subjected to that charge: [in the other] he will be fixed present
from it. escape it in the other.
"Statutes, he continues our Author "are either declaratory of the
"ancient Common Law: or remedial of some defects
"therein". [As if the Statute Law itself had no obscure passages
to declare the sense of, nor any defects to
remedy: and as if the Statute-Book were not
crowded with such patching declarations, employ'd instead
of the more simple expedient of substituting what was
thought right in the room of what was thought
amiss, or of that which was thought clear, of
that which was thought obscure.]
"Declaratory", continues he, "where the old custom
of the realm kingdom is almost fallen into disuse,
"or become disputable; in which case the Parliament
"has thought proper, in perpetuum rei testimonium,
"and for avoiding all doubts and difficulties, to declare
"what the common Law is and ever hath
"been".⊞ ⊞ Declaratory of some. It One thing here seems a little odd, and that is that the Parliament
not content with pronouncing what the Law
shall be shall be, are to declare a should be the only persons in the
Kingdom to know, and in consequence to declare
what the custom of the Kingdom, that is of the
rest of the people is and hath be been, while the said people
whose custom it is and ever hath been know nothing of the matter.
But let us hear attend to the example. "Thus the Statute
"of Treasons 25 Ed. 3. cap. 2. doth not make any new species of Treasons
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Identifier: | JB/028/102/002 "JB/" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 28.
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not numbered |
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028 |
comment on the commentaries |
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102 |
stat. law king's statutes |
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002 |
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text sheet |
4 |
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recto |
f9 / b10 / f11 / b12 |
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jeremy bentham |
[[watermarks::[gr with crown motif] propatria [britannia motif]]] |
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9367 |
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