JB/028/127/002

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Unwritten Law. Custom and Maxim.

"Some† † p.68 have divided the Common Law into two
"principal grounds or foundations: 1. Established
customs; such as that where there are three brothers,
"the eldest brother shall be heir to the second, in
"exclusion of the youngest: and 2. Established
rules and Maxims; as "that the King can do
"no wrong: that no man shall be bound to accuse
"himself, and the like. But I take
"these to be one and the same thing. For the
"authority of these maxims rests entirely upon general
"reception and usage; and the only method
"of proving, that this or that maxim is a rule
"of the Common Law, is by shewing that it
"hath been always the custom to observe it".

Thus far certainly he is in the right: they have
one thing idea the two terms have in common between them: the which
is that of uniformity: an uniformity among the
transactions of which they are respectively predicated: he
sees this, and thence concludes that they have
every thing else in common. There would be no
such thing as a maxim (that is of Common Law), as he intimates
were there no such thing as custom. Thus far what he intimates is true. At
the same time there is a very intelligible distinction
between the ideas belonging to them: though
it a distinction that might not [always] perhaps be clearly apprehended upon

Identifier: | JB/028/127/002 "JB/" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 28.
Date_1		Marginal Summary Numbering
Box	028	Main Headings	comment on the commentaries
Folio number	127	Info in main headings field	unwritten law custom and maxim
Image	002	Titles
Category	text sheet	Number of Pages	4
Recto/Verso	recto	Page Numbering	/ b2 / f3 / b4
Penner	jeremy bentham	Watermarks	[[watermarks::[gr with crown motif] propatria [britannia motif]]]
Marginals		Paper Producer
Corrections		Paper Produced in Year
Notes public		ID Number	9392
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