A History of English Law, Vol. 10 (Classic Reprint) - Tapa blanda

Excerpt from A History of English Law, Vol. 10

The Parliamentary history of this period, the history of the beginnings of the system of Cabinet government, the history and effects of the Act of Union with Scotland, the legislation as to Ireland, the beginnings of colonial constitutional law, and the legislation as to India, would not be intelligible without a full account of that background. In the third place, the growth of the colonies and the Indian Empire, the extension of the commerce and industry of Great Britain, and the demands of a more complex and a more civilized society, necessarily increase the complexity of the law both enacted and unenacted, and so make a more lengthy treatment of its history necessary. In the sphere of local government, for instance, and in the statutes relating to commerce and industry, the com plexity caused by these demands is very obvious. Lastly, at several points, for instance, in my treatment of beginnings of bodies of local government law, of the royal prerogative, of the departments of the executive government, of the machinery of legislation, of private Acts of Parliament, of the legal profession, of case law, - I have found it necessary to go beyond the eighteenth century and to carry down the history of these topics to the nineteenth century. For this reason I think it will be possible to relate the rest of the history of public law and of the sources and influences which shaped the development of the law m a single volume. I have to thank Dr. Hazel, the Principal of Jesus College, for his help in reading the proofs and for his suggestions and criticisms, and my son Mr. R. W. G. Holdsworth, Stowell Fellow and Tutor of University College, Oxford, for similar help. The indices and the lists of cases and statutes have been entrusted to the skilled hands of Mr. E. Potton, who prepared the con solidated index and the lists of cases and statutes to the preceding nine volumes.

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This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Excerpt from A History of English Law, Vol. 10

In the first and introductory volume, which contains Book I of this History, I have related the history of the Judicial System down to the passing of the Judicature Act in 1875. In the eight succeeding volumes, which contain Books II-IV, I have described the sources and influences which shaped the development of English law down to 1700, and I have related both the history of English public law during the same period, and also the history of the principal doctrines of English private law, in some cases to 1700 and in others down to the nineteenth century. These three succeeding volumes begin Book V, the last Book of this History, in which I propose to relate the history of English law from 1700 to 1875. They begin Part I of this Book, and they relate the history of public law, and of the sources and influences which shaped the development of English law, during the eighteenth century. If I continue to have sufficient health and leisure, I hope in a succeeding volume to complete Part I of this Book, and in Part II to complete the History in two more volumes by giving some account of the history of those doctrines of English law with which I have not fully dealt in the preceding volumes.

It may be thought that I have dealt with the legal history of the eighteenth century at too great a length. But there are several reasons why I have found it necessary to fill three bulky volumes. In the first place, this is the first complete legal history of the eighteenth century which has ever been written. In the second place, to make that history intelligible it has been necessary to deal somewhat more fully than in the preceding periods with the political background.

About the Publisher

Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com

This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.