L34864

AUG 11 1950

PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION.

The rapid sale of the first edition of this Abridgment has necessitated the issuing of a second edition. This edition has been put in more convenient form, but it embraces substantially the matter contained in the first edition with some revision.

DETROIT, MICH., March 1st, 1893.

WILLIAM C. SPRAGUE.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM BLACKSTONE.

Sir William Blackstone was born at Cheapside, Parish of St. Michael, le Querne, July 10, 1723. He died at Wallingford, February 14, 1780. His father, Charles Blackstone, a citizen and silk man of London, died before he was born, and he lost his mother at the early age of eleven. He was thus thrown upon the care of his maternal uncle, Dr. Thomas Bigg, an eminent surgeon of London.

In 1730, William, then about seven years old was put to school at the Charter House, and in 1735 was, by the nomination of Sir Robert Walpole, admitted as a scholar upon its foundation. He is said to have been studious and exemplary in his habits and to have gained the favor of his masters. At the age of fifteen he was at the head of the school, and was thought sufficiently advanced to be removed to the University; and he was accordingly entered a commoner at Pembroke College, in Oxford, on the 30th of November, 1738. He was, however, allowed to remain at school until after the 12th of December, the anniversary commemoration of the foundation of the Charter House, in order that he might deliver the customary oration in honor of Richard Sutton-by which he gained great applause.

Having chosen the profession of the law, he was, on the 20th of November, 1741, being then eighteen, entered in the Middle Temple. Blackstone had given considerable attention to literature, and had produced verses of some merit, but now, recognizing that "the law is a jealous mistress " he determined to become one of her most assiduous devotees, and wrote "A Lawyer's Farewell to His Muse," in which he gave utterance to the regret with which he abandoned the pleasing pursuits of youth for severer studies.

The course at the Temple was very loose and crude, and we are not told under whose advice or by whose direction Blackstone pursued his studies, but we may conjecture that he began with Finch, and then waded through the mazes of Coke upon Littleton, Bracton, Glanville, Fleta, and the Reports. Chief Justice Sharswood said: "The young student little thought that, in the design of Providence, he was the engineer selected to make a new road through this wild and almost impassable country, and that he would do so with so much skill and judgment, and at the same time adorn its sides and environs with so green and rich a

landscape, as to convert the journey from a wearisome toil to an attractive pleasure. For almost a century the Commentaries have been the first book of the student of law; and whatever criticisms have been, or may be made upon their learning or accuracy, the fact is, that no lawyer fails to make them a part of his course of study sooner or later."

Previous to his call to the bar, Blackstone had removed from Pembroke to All Souls, and in June, 1744, had become a fellow of the latter college. In 1745 he graduated Bachelor of Civil Law, and on November 28, 1746, he was called to the bar.

After his admission to the bar he was destined to undergo a long and trying novitiate. He was little known in Westminster Hall. As an advocate he was not a success. He had neither a graceful delivery; nor good flow of words; nor powerful friends-so necessary in those days. From 1746 to 1760 he only reports himself to have been engaged in two cases, and those are so unimportant that they are mentioned in no other report-book.

Blackstone attempted to improve this period of professional idleness by broader studies; but, at the same time, hope so long deferred, made his heart sick, and it was noticed that though from his call to the bar until Michaelmas' term, 1750, he regularly attended the Court of King's Bench and took notes of cases, his diligence relaxed, and latterly he noted only the cases concerning the universities, in whose affairs he was always deeply interested. This interest caused him to spend much time at Oxford, and he was elected bursar of his college, in which position he rendered great service. In May, 1749, as a small reward for these services, he was appointed steward of their manors; and in the same year he was elected Recorder of the Borough of Wallingford, in Berkshire. On the 26th of April, 1750, he commenced Doctor of Civil Law, and thereby became a member of the convocation.

It was about the year 1750 that Blackstone first began to plan his Lectures on the Laws of England. Despairing of success at the bar, he determined to confine himself to his fellowship and an academical life, continuing the practice of his profession as provincial counsel. In Michaelmas' term, 1753, he delivered his first course at Oxford, which was numerously attended. Nor did the interest flag. In 1754 he found it worth while, from the number attending, to publish his Analysis of the Laws of England, for the use of his hearers.

In July, 1755, he was appointed to another office, that of a delegate of the Clarenden Press. Here again he rendered valuable services. In 1757 he was elected into Queen's college.

Mr. Viner having bequeathed to the University of Oxford a considerable sum of money and the copyright of his Abridgment of Law, for the purpose of founding a professorship of Common Law, Blackstone was, on October 20th, 1758, unanimously elected first Vinerian Professor. On the 25th of that month he delivered his introductory lecture on the study of

law. His lectures soon became celebrated throughout the Kingdom, and he was requested to read them to the Prince of Wales, but declined the honor.

In 1756 he resumed his attendance at Westminster, showing himself in court at each Michaelmas and Hilary term, doubtless for the purpose of making himself known, but he does not record that he was engaged in any cause.

In June, 1759, he resigned his offices of Assessor in the Vice-Chancellor's Court and Steward of All-Souls' Manors, and came to reside in the Temple. But it does not seem that he ever acquired much celebrity as an advocate. His principal practice was as chamber counsel, and in that capacity he commanded the notice and regard of bench and bar, being invited by Lord Chief Justice Willes and Mr. Justice Bathrust to take the coif, which he declined.

In 1761 he was offered, but declined, the appointment of Chief Justice of the Common Pleas for Ireland. In March of the same year, he was returned to parliament for Hindon, and became a King's counsel. In May he was married to Sarah Clitherow, daughter of James Clitherow. This vacated his fellowship at All-Souls, and in July he was appointed Principal of New Inn Hall. In 1762 he collected and published several of his pieces under the title of "Law Tracts." In 1763 he was appointed Solicitor General to the Queen, and elected Bencher in the Middle Temple. In 1765 appeared the first volume of the Commentaries—twelve years after the first delivery of his lectures, and the other three volumes appeared in the course of the four succeeding years. In 1766 he resigned the Vinerian Professorship and also the Principality of New Inn Hall. In 1768 he was elected to Parliament for the borough at Westbury, and his part in the debates relative to the election of John Wilkes, drew upon him the caustic sarcasms of Junius.

In 1770 he was offered the Solicitor Generalship. He declined this, but accepted the position of a Judge of the Common Pleas. He exchanged places, however, with Mr. Justice Yates, taking that gentleman's seat as Judge of the King's Bench, and receiving the honor of Knighthood. On Sir Joseph Yates' death shortly after, Blackstone again became a Judge of the Common Pleas. Here he maintained the high reputation he had previously acquired by his performance of his duties on the bench. Several of his judgments are very elaborate and upon difficult and important questions, and they display to great advantage his ability and research. During Blackstone's time the Court of Common Pleas differed in opinion upon two cases only. In both he dissented, and in both he was sustained by the King's Bench and the House of Lords.

Shortly after his marriage, he purchased a villa, called Priory Place, near Wallingford, and became one of the most active and public spirited of citizens. He was associated with John Howard in his efforts for prison reform and in conjunction with him, exerted himself to procure an act of

Parliament for the establishment of Penitentiary Houses near London, in which they were successful. He also indulged in literary labors to some extent.

He was not, however, long permitted to enjoy this life of quiet usefulness and honor. Sedentary habits, never conducive to health, worked their natural results upon him, and after a short illness, he died, February 14th, 1780, and was buried in St. Peter's Church, Wallingford.

Probably no man has so thoroughly perpetuated his name in legal history. How great was his work we may conjecture, when we remember that, after the lapse of more than a century, the Commentaries is still the only book that is with entire confidence placed in the hands of the beginner. However, as said James Clitherow: "His professional abilities need not be dwelt upon. They will be universally acknowledged and admired as long as his works shall be read, or in other words, as long as the Municipal Laws of this country shall remain an object of study and practice."