plan. On the 20th of July, 1803, the merchants, underwriters, and other fubfcribers to Lloyd's Coffee Houfe, met at that place for the purpose of fetting on foot a general fubfcription, on an extended fcale, for the encouragement and relief of those who might be engaged in the defence of the country, and who might fuffer in the common caufe, and of those who might fignalize themfelves during the prefent moft important conteft.

This patriotic and public-fpirited body adopted, at their firft meeting, refolutions in thefe terms.

"That, in a conjuncture when the vital interefts of our "country, when the peculiar bleffings which, under our beloved "fovereign and happy conftitution, endear our focial state, are

involved in the iffue of the prefent conteft; when we are "menaced by an enemy, whofe haughty prefumption is ground"ed only on the prefent unfortunate pofition of the continen "tal powers; and when we feem to be placed for the moment, as the last barrier against the total fubjugation of Europe, by "the overbearing influence of France, it behoves us to meet our fituation as men, as freemen, but above all, as Britons. "On this alone, with the divine aid, depends out exemption "from the yoke of Gallic defpotifm; on this alone depends, "under the fame protecting power, whether this empire fhall "remain, what it has for ages been, the ftrenuous fupporter of "religion and morals, the afferter of its own, and the guardian "of the liberties of mankind, the nurfe of industry, the pro"tector of the arts and fciences, the example and admiration "of the world; or whether it fhall become an obfequious tri"butary, an enflaved, a plundered, and degraded department "of a foreign nation.

"That, to give more effect and energy to the measures adopt"ed by government for the defence of our liberties, our lives, "and property; to add weight to thofe perfonal exertions which "we are all readily difpofed to contribute, it behoves us to hold "out every encouragment to our fellow fubjects, who may be in

any way inftrumental in repelling or annoying our implaca"ble foe; and to prove to them, that we are ready to drain "both our purfes and our veins, in the great caufe which im"periously calls on us to unite the duties of loyalty and pa"triotifm with the ftrongest efforts of zealous exertions.

"That, to animate the efforts of our defenders by fea and "land, it is expedient to raife, by the patriotifm of the com"munity at large, a fuitable fund for their comfort and relief; "for the purpose of afluaging the anguifh of their wounds, or "palliating in fome degree the more weighty misfortune of "the lofs of limbs; of alleviating the diftreffes of the widow "and orphan; of fmoothing the brow of forrow, for the fall VOL. II.

E e

of

"of dearest relatives, the props of unhappy indigence or help"lefs age; and of granting pecuniary rewards, or honourable "badges of diftinction, for fuccefsful exertions of valour or "merit.

"That a fubfcription, embracing all the objects in the fore"going refolution, be now opened; and, to fet an example to "the public bodies throughout the United Kingdom and its "dependencies, and to our fellow fubjects of every class and "denomination, that, independently of our individual contri"butions, the fum of twenty thousand pounds, 3 per cent. confolidated "annuities, part of the funded property of this fociety, shall be appropriated to this purpose."

66

They further refolved; " that fuch part of the fund as shall "not be used for the purpofes now intended, be returned in "proportion to the fums fubfcribed. And that all fums, how"ever small, which fhall be offered by the patriotism of the poorer claffes of our fellow fubjects, thall be accepted; the "cause affecting equally the liberties and lives of persons of every defcription."

At their next meeting, on the 29th of July, the first fifty perfons who had fubfcribed 100l. and upward, were formed into a committee, with power to add to their number, which they fubfequently did. The fubfcription, which was fpeedily very profperous, received the name of the Patriotic Fund, and feven members were appointed a committee of treasury, and three were nominated trustees for the purchafe and fale of stock, or other government fecurities, for the purposes of the in

ftitution.

The benevolence of the public did not difappoint the expectation of thofe who propofed the plan; the fubfcription was rapidly and extenfively fuccefsful. The rich and the poor were equally zealous in contributing; fome individuals gave 1000l. and thofe who could only offer a few fhillings, found their tribute received with kindnefs; public bodies gave portions of their funds, and convivial focieties contributed from their ftock purfes; the officers, non-commiffioned officers, and privates of feveral regiments carried in a fhare of their pay; and the theatres in the metropolis, and in various parts of the country, aided the general defign by benefit plays, which produced confiderable fums. As the war was not at firft diftinguished by many achievements which occafioned calls on the fund, it acquired a great amount and folid confiftency. On fuch occafions as first occurred, the committee felt that it was fometimes neceffary to grant annuities for lives, instead of fums for temporary relief, and they humanely ordered, that in all such cases a year should be paid in advance.

On the firft of March, 1804, the committee, for the fatiffaction of the fubfcribers, published a report of their proceedings, by which it appeared that no act of fignal bravery had paffed unnoticed, and that no fpecies of diftrefs occafioned by calamitous incidents in the war had been left unrelieved. Sums of money, pieces of plate, fwords, and other honorary memorials, had been given to thefe who difplayed confpicuous merit; the wounded obtained fums of money, according to their neceffities, which were not paid till they produced certificates of convalefcence; and on the furviving relatives of those who were flain annuities were settled of various amounts.

The mode of donation was not more judicious, than the progrefs of the collection was gratifying. The amount of the subfcription was, in 31. per cent. ftock, 21,200/. and in money, which had then been laid out in government fecurities, and was bearing intereft, 154,455/. 185. 5d.; and the dividends then actually received amounted to 37687.

In this manner the Patriotic Fund continued to be augmented and applied, till the latter part of the year 1805, when the glorious and difaftrous battle off Trafalgar, filled the nation at once with pride, gratitude, and affliction. The committee, on this occafion, felt the neceffity of diftributing large fums of money, and they appealed to the characteristic humanity of the nation to prevent their powers of doing good in future from being impaired by the prefent exertion. The appeal was attended with the happieft effect; the clergy, to their infinite honour, aided the caufe of humanity and patriotifm, by preaching fermons in honour of the departed Nelson, and at the fame time animating the public generally in favour of those who were fufferers by partaking in his glory. The subscription was revived with general ardour, and the donations of individuals, affifted by the collections made in churches and chapels, added more than 120,000l. to the fund.

To this truly noble and patriotic eftablishment, the wounded failor and foldier may look with confidence for a fupply which shall enable him to defy want and purfue honeft industry; the widow may find her heart relieved from thofe pangs which are occafioned by the profpect of immediate want, and by anxiety for unprotected orphans; and the public may contemplate with fatisfaction the numbers fnatched from vice and infamy by timely aid, and rendered, inftead of the difgrace and scourge, the honour and the fupport of the country. Above all, in times when union in fentiment and exertion are most effential to the nation, the poor have a vifible, fubftantial, and beneficial proof of the liberal gratitude with which the rich and the powerful confider their services, and pour forth a portion of their wealth

to encourage and reward thofe who have ftruggled for the general good, and fought for freedom and for fafety.

THE LAW.

In this divifion of the work, it is not prefumed that information will be afforded refpecting the law of England in general, or any particular head or defeription of law, fufficient to fuperfede the neceffity of further refearch; but the end generally aimed at will be to convey a clear notion of the law itfelf, of the various courts in which it is administered, and the principal perfons engaged in regulating and fixing the course of juftice.

LAW IN GENERAL. Law, by a common, but too diffuse, interpretation, is termed a rule of action, and applied indiscriminately to all kinds of action, whether animate or inanimate, rational or irrational, to motion, gravitation, optics, mechanics, and many other fubjects, as well as the government of man, the regulation of his conduct, and the prefervation of his rights. On this general definition it is well obferved, that when the word law is applied to motion, gravitation, or mechanics, it will be found, in every cafe, that with equal or greater propriety and perfpicuity, might have been used the words quality, property, or peculiarity. The ufe of the word in fpeaking of inanimate objects is only fanctioned by custom; and an extenfion of its application, beyond the precife points to which it has been limited by ufage, would be confidered an instance of affectation or pedantry, or perhaps cenfured as altogether improper. Thefe remarks would feem fuperfluous on the prefent occafion, had not moft writers who treat on law as a fcience begun with fuch an explanation; Mr. Chriftian, in his edition of Blackftone, furnishes the argument against its propriety.

In a more correct and limited, though yet fufficiently extenfive fenfe, municipal law is defcribed to be a rule of civil conduct, preferibed by the fupreme power in a state. Perhaps this may not, as a definition, ftand exempt from cenfure in the minds of thofe who fpeculate with great refinement on the nature and modes of government; ftill it enjoys the advantage of being known, explained, and enforced by refpectable authority, it is fufficiently abftract, for all practical purposes, and fufficiently eafy to be received into every underftanding.

THE LAW OF ENGLAND. By the act of fettlement, the laws of England are declared to be the birth-right of the people; and,

and, according to an ancient maxim of the common law, this our birth-right in the laws is to be esteemed our most valuable inheritance, fuperior to every other denomination of property. Major hæreditas unicuique venit à jure et legibus quam à parentibus. Lord Coke fays, it is the beft birth right the fubject hath; for thereby his goods, lands, wife, children, his body, "life, honour, and estimation, are protected from injury and "wrong."

The municipal law of England, by which these great purposes are better effected than in any other known community, is di vided into two kinds: the lex non fcripta, the unwritten, of common law; and the lex fcripta, the written, or ftatute law. The unwritten law includes not only general cufloms, or the common law properly fo called; but alfo the particular cuftems of certain parts of the kingdom; and likewife thofe particular. laws, that are by custom obferved only in certain courts and jurisdictions.

UNWRITTEN LAW. This law, although defcribed as not written, is not at this time purely oral, or communicated from former ages to the prefent folely by word of mouth. It is true indeed that, in the profound ignorance of letters which for merly overfpread the whole western world, all laws were entirely traditional, because the nations, among which they prevailed, had but little idea of writing. But, with us, at prefent, the monuments and evidences of our legal customs are contained in the records of the feveral courts of juftice, in books of reports and judicial decifions, and in the treatifes of learned fages of the profeffion, preferved and handed down to us from the times of highest antiquity. They are termed unwritten, because their original inftitution and authority are not fet down in writing, as acts of parliament are; but they receive their binding power, and the force of laws, by long and immemorial ufage, and by their univerfal reception throughout the kingdom. This unwritten, or common law, is properly distinguishable into three kinds: 1. General cuftoms; which are the universal rule of the whole kingdom, and form the common law, in its ftricter and more ufual fignification. 2. Particular cuftoms; which, for the most part, affect only the inhabitants of particular districts. 3. Certain particular laws; which by custom are adopted and ufed by fome particular courts of pretty general and extenfive jurifdiction.

GENERAL MAXIMS. The general maxims, or common law properly fo called, form that fyftem by which proceedings and determinations in the king's ordinary courts of juftice are guided and directed. This, for the moft part, feitles the courfe by which lands defcend by inheritance; the manner and

Ee3

form