Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol I).djvu/269

Ch. 7. tatute 20 Hen. VI. c. 11. o far as relates to the making this offence high treaon, yet till it remains a very great offence againt the law of nations, and punihable by our laws, either capitally or otherwie, according to the circumtances of the cae.

I.&ensp; king therefore, conidered as the repreentative of his people, has the ole power of ending embaadors to foreign tates, and receiving embaadors at home. This may lead us into a hort enquiry, how far the municipal laws of England intermeddle with or protect the rights of thee meengers from one potentate to another, whom we call embaadors.

rights, the powers, the duties, and the privileges of embaadors are determined by the law of nature and nations, and not by any municipal contitutions. For, as they repreent the perons of their repective maters, who owe no ubjection to any laws but thoe of their own country, their actions are not ubject to the control of the private law of that tate, wherein they are appointed to reide. He that is ubject to the coercion of laws is necearily dependent on that power by whom thoe laws were made: but an embaador ought to be independent of every power, except that by which he is ent; and of conequence ought not to be ubject to the mere municipal laws of that nation, wherein he is to exercie his functions. If he groly offends, or makes an ill ue of his character, he may be ent home and accued before his mater ; who is bound either to do jutice upon him, or avow himelf the accomplice of his crimes. But there is great dipute among the writers on the laws of nations, whether this exemption of embaadors extends to all crimes, as well natural as poitive; or whether it only extends to uch as are , as coining, and not to thoe that are , as murder. Our law eems to have formerly taken in the retriction, as well as the general