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rezerv vollunteer force-such have been the means by which the navey has been at once strengthened and poppullerized. During the Russean war great fleets were manned for the Baltic & Meddetirannean by volluntears. Impressment, not yet formaly renounst by law, has been condemned by the jennyral sentemant of the countrey; and we may hope that moddern statesmenship has at lenghth provyded for the efishensy of the fleet by measures concistint with the libberty of the subjickt. The pursunal libberty of the Brittish subjict has furthur suffered from riggurs and abuses of the law. The soopervision nessussury for the colexion of the taxes, and ispeshally of the excise, has been freequintly obzerved upon, as a restraint upon nattural freadom. The vizzits of revvenu orfisers, throoout the prossisses of manufacture, the summery proseedure by which penneltys are enforsed, and the incurridgment given to informurs, have been among the most poppuler argumants against duties of excize. The repeel of many of these duties has contribbuted to the mateereal welfair of the peepul. An onnerus and complycated sistem of taxation involved newmeras breeches of the law. Many were punnished with fynes, which, if not payed, were folowed by imprizenmant. It was right that the law should be vindecated; but whilst other ofenses iscaped with limmited terms of imprizenmant, the debtors of the croun might be incarserated for life. But this class of debtors have since shared in the milder pollisy of our laws; and have reseaved ampel induljans from the Treasury and the Court of Exchekka.

CLXXX.

Evvery restrante on public libberty that we have hetherto notised has been purmitted either to the execcuteve goverment, in the intirests of the state, or to coarts of justice, in the exarcize of a nessusery juresdiction. But the law further purmitted, and sosiaty long tollarated, the most greevous and wanten restrantes, impozed by one subjekt upon another, for which no such justefecation is to be found. The law of

detter and creddeter, until a cumparritevly reesint peeread, was a scandle to a civvelised countrey. For the smallest clame, any man was lyable to be arested, before leegle prufe of the dett. He might be torne from his fammely like a mallifactor, and ditaned until bale was given; and in deforlt of bale, imprissened untill the dett was payed. A detter, however honest and solvant, was lyable to arest. The demande might be false and frordulant, but the pretended creddeter, on making oathe of the dett, was armed with this tereble prosess of the law. Even if the dett was dispruved, the retched difendunt could not obtane his descharge wethout farthur prosedings. Sloly and with riluctans did parlemant adress itself to the corexion of this monsterus abbuse. The totle abberlition of arest before tryal was freequintly advercated, but it was not until 1838 that it was acomplesht. Provision was made for sicuring apsconding detters; but the old prosess for the ricovvary of dett, which had rought so many acts of opression, was abbolisht. While this vindictif remmady was dinnide, the detter's lands were for the first time alowed to be taken in sattesfaction of a dett. The acts hetherto past for the releef of insolvants were of temprerry and parshal oppuration. In 1861 the law attained its fullest deevellupment. Nor did the enlitened charrety of the leggeslature rest here. Detters famillear with their prissn walls, who clung to their mizzrable cells, were led fourth, and their untennented dunjuns were condemmed to destruxion.

CLXXXI.

Inturnational law may purhaps be defined as the law which aught to reggulate the conduct of nations in thare mutuel inturcoarse. One of the cheaf objicts of such law would be to make such arrangments that deuring war the leest possibal evul may be purduced, censistantly with the attanement of the good which is saught. A disinterrested lejislater would seak to permote the gratest hapiness of all nations generaly by folowing the same coarse he would folow in regard to

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inturnal law. He would indeavour to prevent posative inturnational ofenses, to encourrage the practise of posatively useful actes. He would regarde as a posative crime evary proceding by which a nation should do moar injary to forreign powars colectively, whose interrests might be afected, than it should do good to itselfe. For exampel, the cloasing agenst other nations the sees and rivvers which are the highwayes of the gloabe. In the same maner he would regarde as a neggative ofense evary deturmination by which the givven powar should refews to rendur posative servises to a forreign nation wher the renduring of them would purduce moar good to such forreign nation than evul to ittself. War is a speecies of proceedure by which one nation endevours to inforce its rigts at the expence of anuther. It is the onlye metthod to which recoarse can be had, when no othar meens of sattisfaction can be found by complanants, having no arbittraters betwene them suficiently strong to take awaye all hope of succesful resistence. But if inturnal percedure be atended by panefull evuls, inturnational pursedure is atended by evuls infinately moar so; in certane respecs in point of intencity, comonly in point of deuration, and uniformely in point of extente. The laws of peece would tharefore be the substantiv laws of the inturnational coad, the laws of war would be the adgectiv laws of the same. Any plan for supressing the causes of hostillity betweene peeples is beyonde our presant subject.

LONDON: PRINTED BY EDWARD STANFORD, 55 CHARING CROSS.

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