Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol I).djvu/432

 416 which others poes, and which they themelves are excluded from, are apt (like eunuchs in the eatern eraglios) to live in a tate of perpetual envy and hatred towards the ret of the community; and indulge a malignant pleaure in contributing to detroy thoe privileges, to which they can never be admitted. Hence have many free tates, by departing from this rule, been endangered by the revolt of their laves: while, in abolute and depotic governments where no real liberty exits, and conequently no invidious comparions can be formed, uch incidents are extremely rare. Two precautions are therefore advied to be oberved in all prudent and free governments: 1. To prevent the introduction of lavery at all: or, 2. If it be already introduced, not to intrut thoe laves with arms; who will then find themelves an overmatch for the freemen. Much les ought the oldiery to be an exception to the people in general, and the only tate of ervitude in the nation.

as oldiers, by this annual act, are thus put in a wore condition than any other ubjects, o, by the humanity of our tanding laws, they are in ome caes put in a much better. By tatute 43 Eliz. c. 3. a weekly allowance is to be raied in every county for the relief of oldiers that are ick, hurt, and maimed: not forgetting the royal hopital at Chelea for uch as are worn out in their duty. Officers and oldiers, that have been in the king's ervice, are by everal tatutes, enacted at the cloe of everal wars, at liberty to ue any trade or occupation they are fit for, in any town in the kingdom (except the two univerities) notwithtanding any tatute, cutom, or charter to the contrary. And oldiers in actual military ervice may make nuncupative wills, and dipoe of their goods, wages, and other peronal chattels, without thoe forms, olemnities, and expenes, which the law requires in other caes. Our law does not indeed extend this privilege o far as the civil law; which carried it to an extreme that borders upon the ridiculous. For if a oldier, in the article of death, wrote any thing in bloody letters on his hield, or in the dut of the field with his word, it was a very good military teta- Rh