Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol I).djvu/447

 Ch. 14. a ervant, latly, by his negligence does any damage to a tranger, the mater hall anwer for his neglect: if a mith's ervant lames a hore while he is hoing him, an action lies againt the mater, and not againt the ervant. But in thee caes the damage mut be done, while he is actually employed in the mater's ervice; otherwie the ervant hall anwer for his own mibehaviour. Upon this principle, by the common law, if a ervant kept his mater's fire negligently, o that his neighbour's houe was burned down thereby, an action lay againt the mater; becaue this negligence happened in his ervice: otherwie, if the ervant, going along the treet with a torch, by negligence ets fire to a houe; for there he is not in his mater's immediate ervice, and mut himelf anwer the damage peronally. But now the common law is, in the former cae, altered by tatute 6 Ann. c. 3. which ordains that no action hall be maintained againt any, in whoe houe or chamber any fire hall accidentally begin; for their own los is ufficient punihment for their own or their ervants' carelenes. But if uch fire happens through negligence of any ervant (whoe los is commonly very little) uch ervant hall forfeit 100𝑙, to be ditributed among the ufferers; and, in default of payment, hall be committed to ome workhoue and there kept to hard labour for eighteen months. A mater is, latly, chargeable if any of his family layeth or cateth any thing out of his houe into the treet or common highway, to the damage of any individual, or the common nuance of his majety's liege people : for the mater hath the uperintendance and charge of all his houhold. And this alo agrees with the civil law ; which holds, that the pater familias, in this and imilar caes, "ob alterius culpam tenetur, ive ervi, ive liberi." Rh