Page:United States Reports, Volume 1.djvu/82

 Rh  the tate out of the forfeiture, and the advocates for the plaintiffs initing that it was a  ale.

3d. Point. Many caes were cited, on behalf of the tate, to hew the right of the tate, ought to be preferred to that of an individual, when they both accrue at one and the ame time.

3. Rep. pro Quer. The contract was compleat, though liable to be defeated by a ubequent event; and the delivery of the alt was alo compleat by the delivery of the key of the tore in which it was depoited. The price to be paid, was, indeed, the object to be affected by the ubequent event, and not the alt itelf. The ditinction between a condition precedent, and a condition ubequent was taken to hew, that the property being once veted in the bargainee, could not be taken out of him, by any condition to be performed afterwards, which was impoible, repugnant, or illegal; and it was urged, that although the right of the tate would have attached firt, if the plaintiffs had not obtained a prior proeion by the actual delivery of the alt; yet, that having a poeion before the American army entered, and even before the evacuation of the Britih, no uch right could poibly attach.

The delivered a charge to the jury of the following purport.

, C. J. As the council oron [sic] both ides have quoted many caes, but have not appealed to the court for their opinion on the different points of law, the jury mut take the whole together, and form their own judgment upon the ubject.

When the Britih army evacuated Philadelphia, there was a debate in Congres, whether all the property found in the city, and belonging to the king of Great Britain, or any of his ubjects, hould appertain to the United States, or to the State of Pennylvania only. It was at length agreed, however, that all public property, uch as cannon, artillery, &c. hould belong to the United States, and the private property of individuals, hould belong to the State of Pennylvania.

An alien enemy has no right of action whatever during the war; but by the law of nations, confirmed by univeral uage, at the end of the war, all the rights and credits, which the ubjects of either power had againt the other, are revived; for, during the war, they are not extinguihed, but merely upended. If, alo, a conquered country is ceded, the old poeors are entitled to their etates; and when any country is conquered, the poeors are not deprived of their etates, but only change their maters. This is clearly the cae between two independent powers; but how will the cae be between this country and Great Britain at the cloe of the war? Why, had we been conquered, our lives and all our property would have been the forfeit; but even as the buines now tands, the ubjects of Great Britain may, perhaps, claim revival of the debts due to them from the Citizens of America, whilt we, by their acts of parliament, are debarred of the like privilege. It is hard that the people of America hould, during the war, re- ceive