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 The Classiﬁcation of Law greatly exaggerated. There are those who seem to suppose that we have ﬁfty distinct and conﬂicting systems of law, but such is not the case. We have one system of law, applied throughout ﬁfty jurisdictions with but slight devia

tion and comparatively few contradic tions in the rules of law, however much

variation in forms of procedure and variety of expression in the opinions

of the judges. There is in the main the same lawin all the states. As Pro fessor Beale has recently pointed out," only in a few instances are there more than two distinct rules on a given sub

ject applied by the courts of the different states.

This constitutes no obstacle

to the arrangement and statement of the law, while it does afford opportunity on the part of the revisers to throw into immediate contrast the reason under lying the contradictory rules and thereby point out the better reason in such

a way as to induce uniformity; Instances of confusion and variety, instead of being an argument against the attempt, is in fact the great argument compelling it.

575

corpus juris in order that we may possess a knowable deﬁnite body, similar to that with which our forefathers started a century ago. The common law was then one system, and so far

as applicable, was in the main the law as expressed by Blackstone, in proof of which one need but to turn to such treatises as Swift's System of Laws(] 795), Tucker's Commentary, and the several early American editions of Blackstone. The unwritten law is still the greatest in bulk of our law. Our Common Law is no longer the British Common Law, but a Common Law of our creation, an evolution from our conditions; and a re~statement of it in such a manner

that will display it as a deﬁnite system is imperatively demanded. With tacit sanction it will make conditions tolerable with legislative sanction it would make them ideal and will render a uniform code practicable.

Systematic consolidation is the ﬁrst great need, and whether the result shall be given legislative sanction by declara

tory acts constituting the Corpus juris

same reason which impelled Justinian to rid the Roman Law of confusion and uncertainty compels us to re-state the

Codex" which shall be created evidence of our common law and thus establish a new datum past, may safely be left for future determination.

"7 23 Harvard Law Review 194, see 22 Gram Bag 119.

“a To use the Roman expression for a code, i.e., books of the law.

The law will not organize itself.

New York City.

The