Background
edit
Sir William Blackstone was a British jurist, judge and Tory politician. After an education at Charterhouse School and Pembroke College, Oxford, where he received Bachelor of Civil Law and Doctor of Civil Law degrees, he settled at Oxford and became heavily involved in university administration, becoming accountant, treasurer and bursar on 28 November 1746,[1] and Senior Bursar in 1750.[2] A member of the Middle Temple since 20 November 1741,[3] after his call to the Bar Blackstone's career as a barrister failed to take off,[4] encouraging him, on 3 July 1753, to formally suspend his legal career in favour of giving a series of lectures on English law,[5] the first of this type in history.[6] These were massively successful, earning him a total of £89,000 in 2024 terms,[7] and led to the publication of An Analysis of the Laws of England in 1756, which repeatedly sold out.[8] On 20 October 1758 Blackstone was confirmed as the first Vinerian Professor of English Law,[9] immediately embarking on another series of lectures and publishing a similarly successful second treatise, titled A Discourse on the Study of the Law.[10] With his growing fame, Blackstone successfully returned to the bar and maintained a good practice, continuing to give lectures.[11]
By the 1760s, Blackstone's lectures were "an established Oxford institution with a national, indeed international, reputation", attended by not only English students but also dons, such as Charles Godwyn, and students from Ireland such as Sir John Parnell, 2nd Baronet, later Chancellor of the Exchequer of Ireland, who attended Oxford for the sole purpose of hearing Blackstone.[12] Despite this, Blackstone had not published a scholarly work since 1759,[13] and the financial benefits of his lectures were shrinking. The reason for this is given as the circulation of copies of his lecture notes, which made actual attendance optional, and rumours of an illegal edition of the Analysis being published in Ireland. While he earned £340 in student subscriptions in 1762, this shrunk to £239 a year later and £203 for the final round of lectures in 1765-6.[14] In light of this,[15] and the demands his career as a barrister placed on him, Blackstone ended the lectures and instead began preparing the Commentaries on the Laws of England. Published by the Clarendon Press, the first volume was largely finished in April 1765, and published in November.[16] The second volume was published in October 1766, the third in June 1768,[17] and the fourth and final volume in 1770.[18]
Contents
editNovember 1765, October 1766, June 1876
Book 1: "The Absolute Rights of Persons, c1, said "this spirit of liberty is so deeply imported in our constitution...that a slave or a negro, the moment he lands in England, falls under the protection of the laws, and with regard to all natural rights, becomes from that instant a freeman" - first edition. second, "so far becomes a freeman; though the master's rights to his service may probably still continue". Somesret's Case - 250-1 Book 2: 539 pages "land law" - basic principles set down by Littleton Book 3: 455 pages, 27-page documentary appendix. "the redress of private wrongs, by suit or action in courts". Difficult to explain; medieval real actions no longer relevant, existing law complex, contract, tort etc still emerging. Complex assortmanet of procedural remedies. "Blackstone also found himself obliged to defend the common law at some lengtgh against standard criticisms of its intricacy, delays and uncertainty, in passages either entirely new or much expanded from the Oxforod originals". Warmly received, lacked the familiarity with the equity courts due to his King's Bench practice - 234. Book 4: criminal law, 1770. "a relatively enlightened and humane treatment of its subject matter" - started on discussing what principles the law should be based on - 246. A chapter on Protestant dissent, titled "Of offences against God and Religion", was particularly controversial; within a month Joseph Priestly rejected "the most injurious reflections on that part of the communit to which I belong", with Ruffhead writing of Blackstone's "narrow and somewhat illiberal turn of mind in regards to Protestant Dissenters"> Priestley's book went through 3 English and seven American editions - 247.
New additions in 1770, 1774, 1775, 1778, posthumous ninth edition in 1783
Volume 1: The Rights of Persons
editBlackstone's first volume of the Commentaries was an introduction to the theory of law, followed by a discourse on the constitutional law of England. Starting with a definition of law, and an explanation of the distinction between man-made and natural or divine law, the volume then goes on to discuss the sources and jurisdiction of English law, and the nature of government. With this explained, Blackstone continues by describing the constitution; the rights and powers of the monarch, Parliament, and the people of England, finishing with a brief explanation of the boundaries between civil and ecclesiastical law in England.[19] The first volume was largely based on the Analysis, both in terms of structure and contents. While the Analysis came to 14 chapters, the first volume of the commentaries came to 18, as well as four introductory passages including a copy of the Discourse. This was due to the splitting of some sections (for example, Chapter 14 of the Analysis, 'Of the private relations of Master and Servant and of Husband and Wife', is divided into two seperate chapters in the Commentaries). Other changes were made to make the text more palatable to the public and the government; where the Analysis noted that the first Hanoverian parliament had "voted itself in for 7 years, an Instance of that uncontroulable Power which before was observed to be lodged in them", the Commentaries include a note that this was "to prevent the great and continued expenses of frequent elections, and for the peace and security of the government then just recovering from the late rebellion".[20]
Volume 2: The Rights of Property
editThe second volume, running to just over 540 pages, was published in October 1766.[21] The central topic was land law, the basic principles of which had been set out in Thomas de Littleton's Treatise on Tenures 300 years before.[22] and the volume is considered "an accurate statement of the law of his time, and it is still a legal classic of the first rank".[23] The volume worked on the principle that objects are gifts from God, originally owned by all of humanity but, through occupancy and use, owned by individuals as property. conveyances and wills had been created by society in an effort to prevent property reverting to common ownership, and to allow the owner and his heirs to enjoy their property. With this established, Blackstone explained the concepts of freehold and leasehold, joint tenancy and title. The work was primarily focused on real property, with 382 pages devoted to the various concepts — during Blackstone's period, the law relating to personal property was not as dense or important.[24]
Volume 3: Of Private Wrongs
editPublished in June 1768, volume 3 dealt with "private wrongs", or torts. Coming to 455 pages, with a 27-page documentary appendix,[25]
Volume 4: Of Public Wrongs
editAssessment
editSignificance
editReferences
edit- ^ Lockmiller (1938) p.25
- ^ Lockmiller (1938) p.29
- ^ Odgers (1918) p.601
- ^ Prest (2008) p.73
- ^ Prest (2008) p.107
- ^ Holdsworth (1932) p.262
- ^ Prest (2008) p.112
- ^ Prest (2008) p.143
- ^ Prest (2008) p.150
- ^ Prest (2008) p.151
- ^ Prest (2008) p.176
- ^ Prest (2008) p.215
- ^ Prest (2008) p.214
- ^ Prest (2008) p.217
- ^ Lockmiller (1938) p.133
- ^ Prest (2008) p.219
- ^ Prest (2008) p.221
- ^ Prest (2008) p.246
- ^ Lockmiller (1938) p.137
- ^ Prest (2008) p.218
- ^ Prest (2008) p.219
- ^ Prest (2008) p.233
- ^ Lockmiller (1938) p.146
- ^ Lockmiller (1938) p.148
- ^ Prest (2008) p.234
Bibliography
edit- Allison, J.W.F. (2007). The English Historical Constitution: Continuity, Change and European Effects. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521702362.
- Holdsworth, W.S. (1932). "Some Aspects of Blackstone and His Commentaries". Cambridge Law Journal. 4 (3). Cambridge University Press. ISSN 0008-1973.
- Lockmiller, David A. (1938). Sir William Blackstone. University of North Carolina Press. OCLC 1097575.
- Odgers, William Blake (1918). "Sir William Blackstone". Yale Law Journal. 27 (1). The Yale Law Journal Company, Inc. ISSN 0044-0094.
- Prest, Wilfrid (2008). William Blackstone: Law and Letters in the Eighteenth Century. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199550296.