Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol I).djvu/26

10 ary, ays he, for a enator to be thoroughly acquainted with the contitution; and this, he declares, is a knowlege of the mot extenive nature; a matter of cience, of diligence, of reflexion; without which no enator can poibly be fit for his office.”

michiefs that have arien to the public from inconiderate alterations in our laws, are too obvious to be called in quetion; and how far they have been owing to the defective education of our enators, is a point well worthy the public attention. The common law of England has fared like other venerable edifices of antiquity, which rah and unexperienced workmen have ventured to new-dres and refine, with all the rage of modern improvement. Hence frequently it’s ymmetry has been detroyed, it’s proportions ditorted, and it’s majetic implicity exchanged for pecious embellihments and fantatic novelties. For, to ay the truth, almot all the perplexed quetions, almot all the niceties, intricacies, and delays (which have ometimes digraced the Englih, as well as other, courts of jutice) owe their original not to the common law itelf, but to innovations that have been made in it by acts of parliament; “overladen (as ir Edward Coke exprees it ) with provioes and additions, and many times on a udden penned or corrected by men of none or very little judgment in law.” This great and well-experienced judge declares, that in all his time he never knew two quetions made upon rights merely depending upon the common law; and warmly laments the confuion introduced by ill-judging and unlearned legilators. “But if, he ubjoins, acts of parliament were after the old fahion penned, by uch only as perfectly knew what the common law was before the making of any act of parliament concerning that matter, as alo how far forth former tatutes had provided remedy for former michiefs, and defects dicovered by experience; then hould very few que- “tions