Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol I).djvu/270

254 general exemption. For it has been held, both by our common lawyers and civilians, that an embaador is privileged by the law of nature and nations; and yet, if he commits any offence againt the law of reaon and nature, he hall loe his privilege : and that therefore, if an embaador conpires the death of the king in whoe land he is, he may be condemned and executed for treaon; but if he commits any other pecies of treaon, it is otherwie, and he mut be ent to his own kingdom. And thee poitions eem to be built upon good appearance of reaon. For ince, as we have formerly hewn, all municipal laws act in ubordination to the primary law of nature, and, where they annex a punihment to natural crimes, are only declaratory of and auxiliary to that law; therefore to this natural, univeral rule of jutice embaadors, as well as other men, are ubject in all countries; and of conequence it is reaonable that, wherever they trangres it, there they hall be liable to make atonement. But, however thee principles might formerly obtain, the general practice of this country, as well as of the ret of Europe, eems now to purue the entiments of the learned Grotius, that the ecurity of embaadors is of more importance than the punihment of a particular crime. And therefore few, if any, examples have happened within a century pat, where an embaador has been punihed for any offence, however atrocious in it’s nature.

repect to civil uits, all the foreign jurits agree, that neither an embaador, nor any of his train or comites, can be proecuted for any debt or contract in the courts of that kingdom wherein he is ent to reide. Yet ir Edward Coke maintains, that, if an embaador make a contract which is good , he hall anwer for it here. But the truth is, o few caes (if any) had arien, wherein the privilege was either claimed or diputed, even with regard to civil uits, that our law-books are ilent