Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol I).djvu/71

§. 2., with regard to things in themelves indifferent, the cae is entirely altered. Thee become either right or wrong, jut or unjut, duties or midemenors, according as the municipal legilator ees proper, for promoting the welfare of the ociety, and more effectually carrying on the purpoes of civil life. Thus our own common law has declared, that the goods of the wife do intantly upon marriage become the property and right of the huband; and our tatute law has declared all monopolies a public offence: yet that right, and this offence, have no foundation in nature; but are merely created by the law, for the purpoes of civil ociety. And ometimes, where the thing itelf has it’s rie from the law of nature, the particular circumtances and mode of doing it become right or wrong, as the laws of the land hall direct. Thus, for intance, in civil duties; obedience to uperiors is the doctrine of revealed as well as natural religion: but who thoe uperiors hall be, and in what circumtances, or to what degrees they hall be obeyed, is the province of human laws to determine. And o, as to injuries or crimes, it mut be left to our own legilature to decide, in what caes the eiing another’s cattle hall amount to the crime of robbery; and where it hall be a jutifiable action, as when a landlord takes them by way of ditres for rent. much for the declaratory part of the municipal law: and the directory tands much upon the ame footing; for this virtually includes the former, the declaration being uually collected from the direction. The law that ays, “thou halt not teal,” implies a declaration that tealing is a crime. And we have een that, in things naturally indifferent, the very eence of right and wrong depends upon the direction of the laws to do or to omit them. remedial part of a law is o neceary a conequence of the former two, that laws mut be very vague and imperfect without