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28 Aug 1804
1
exercise
A mistake in point
of law, which every
person of discretion not
only may, but is bound
& presumed to know,
is in criminal cases no
sort of defence. IV 27
2
Law unjust had favord ?
When a legislator established
iniquity by a law,
& commands the subject
to do an act contrary
to religion & sound morality
- how far this excuse
[the obligation of civil
subjection] will be admitted
in foro conscientio, or
whether in this case the
inferior is not bound to
obey the divine, rather
than the human law,
it is not my business
to decide. IV 28.
3
Law of Nature
Neither a son or a
servant are excused for
the commission of any
crime, whether capital
or otherwise, by the command
or coercion of the
parent or master; tho'
. . . . . if a woman comit
theft, burglary, or other
civil offences against the
laws of society, by the
coercion of her husband;
or merely by his comand
which the law constitutes
a coercion; or even in his
company, his example
being equivalent to a
command; she is not
guilty of any crime;
being considered as acting
by compulsion & not of
her own will. IV 28
. . . . . This rules admits
of an exception in crimes
that are mala in se, &
prohibited by the law
of nature, as murder
& the like: not only because
these are of a deeper
dige; but also, since in
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a state of nature no
one is in subjection to
another, it wod be unreasonsable
to screen an
offender from the punishment
to natural crimes
crimes, by the refinemts
& subordinatrs of civil
society. In treason also
. . . . . no plea of coverture
shall excuse the wife; no
presumptn of the husband's
coercion shall exterminate
her guilt: as well because
of the odiousness &
dangerous consequence of
the crime itself, as because
of the odiousness &
dangerous consequences of
the crime itself, as because
the husband, having
broken thro' the
most sacred tie of social
community by rebellion
agt the state, has no
right to that obedience
from a wife which
he himself has forgotten
to pay. In inferior
misdemesnors also, we
may remark another
exception; that a wife
may be indicted & set
in the pillory with her
husband, for keeping
a brothel: for this is
an offence touching the
domestic economy or
government of the house,
in which the wife has
a principal share; & is
also such an offence
as the law presumes
to be generally conducted
by the intrigues of the
female sex IV 29
4
Feeling bly adulatory
The law deems so
highly of his [the king's]
wisdom & virtue, as not
even to presume it
possible for him to do
any thing inconsistent
with his station & dignity.
IV 33.
5
Offences against this
law [the law of nations]
are principally incident
to whole states or
nations: in which case
recourse can only be
had to war; which is
an appeal to the God
of hosts to punish such
infractions of the public
faith, as are committed
by one independent
people against another.
IV 68.
6
To conspire to imprison
the king by force, and
move towards it by
assembling company,
is an overt act of
compassing the king's
death; for all force,
and to the person of
the king, in its consequence
may tend to
his death, & is a
strong presumption of
something worse intended
than the present
force, by such as have
so far thrown off
their bounden duty to
their sovereign. IV 79
7
It has been held that
writing is an overt
act of treason; fro scribere
est agere. But even
in this case the bare
words are not the
treason but the deliberate
act of writing
them. IV 80
8
Non demand-Injustice
from thence advocateby
Coke
Sir Edward Coke observes,
it is not lawful to
induce or excite any
man, even to a just
accusation of another.
IV 129.
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