before it be certified to England, be approved by both the houses*. Bur the Irish nation, being excluded from the benefit of the English statutes, were deprived of many good and profitable laws, made for the improvement of the common law : and the measure of juftice in both kingdoms becoming, thence no longer uniform, it was therefore enacted by another of Poynings' laws, that all acts of parliament, before made in England, fhould be of force within the realm of Ireland. But, by the fame rule, that no laws made in England, between king John's time and Poynings' law, were then binding in Ireland, it follows that no acts of the English parliament made fince the 10 Hen. VII. do now bind the people of Ireland, unless specially named or included under general words. And on the other hand it is equally clear, that where Ireland is particularly named, or is included under general words, they are bound by fuch acts of parliament. For this follows from the very nature and constitution of a dependent state: dependence being very little elfe, but an obli gation to conform to the will or law of that fuperior person or state, upon which the inferior depends. The original and true ground of this fuperiority, in the prefent cafe, is what we ufually call, though fomewhat improperly, the right of conqueft: a right allowed by the law of nations, if not by that of nature; but which in reafon and civil policy can mean nothing more, than that, in order to put an end to hoftilities, a compact is either exprefsly or tacitly made between the conqueror and the conquered, that if they will acknowlege the victor for their master, he will treat them for the future as fubjects, and not as enemies. BUT this ftate of dependence being almoft forgotten, and ready to be difputed by the Irish nation, it became neceffary fome years ago to declare how that matter really stood: and therefore by ftatute 6 Geo. I. c. 5. it is declared, that the kingdom of Ireland ought to be fubordinate to, and depend * Irish Stat. 11 Eliz. ft. 3. c. 38. Y cap. 22. 2 4 Inft. 351. a 12 Rep. 112. b Puff. L. of N. viii. 6. 24 G 4 ent ent upon, the imperial crown of Great Britain, as being infeparably united thereto; and that the king's majesty, with the confent of the lords and commons of Great Britain in parliament, hath power to make laws to bind the people of Ireland, THUS We fee how extenfively the laws of Ireland communicate with thofe of England: and indeed such communication is highly neceffary, as the ultimate refort from the courts of justice in Ireland is, as in Wales, to thofe in England; a writ of error (in the nature of an appeal) lying from the king's bench in Ireland to the king's bench in England, as the appeal from the chancery in Ireland lies immediately to the house of lords here: it being exprefsly declared, by the fame ftatute 6 Geo. I. c. 5. that the peers of Ireland have no jurifdiction to affirm or reverfe any judgments or decrees whatsoever. The propriety, and even neceffity, in all inferior dominions, of this conftitution, "that, though juf"tice be in general adminiftered by courts of their own, yet "that the appeal in the last resort ought to be to the courts "of the fuperior ftate," is founded upon thefe two reafons. 1. Because otherwife the law, appointed or permitted to fuch inferior dominion, might be infenfibly changed within itself, without the affent of the fuperior. 2. Because otherwise judgments might be given to the disadvantage or diminution of the fuperiority; or to make the dependence to be only of the person of the king, and not of the crown of England". [a] c This was law in the time of Hen. entituled, diverfity of courts, c. bank lercy. VIII; as appears by the ancient book, d Vaugh. 402. [a] Thus ftood the matter till the 22d year of king George III. The faid ftatute of 6 Geo. I. c. 5. runs more at length thus: "Whereas the "houfe of lords of Ireland have of late, against law, affumed to them"selves a power and jurifdiction to examine, correct, and amend the "judgments and decrees of the courts of juftice in the kingdom of Ire"land: therefore, for the better fecuring of the dependency of Ireland 66 upon the crown of Great Britain, be it declared, that the said kingdom "of Ireland hath been, is, and of right ought to be, fubordinate unto "and dependent upon the imperial crown of Great Britain, as being in"feparably united and annexed thereunto; and that the king's majesty, by and with the advice and confent of the lords fpiritual and temporal and commons of Great Britain in parliament aflembled, had, hath, "and of right ought to have, full power and authority to make laws and "ftatutes of fufficient force and validity, to bind the kingdom and "people WITH regard to the other adjacent islands which are fubject to the crown of Great Britain, fome of them (as the isle of "people of Ireland.-And be it further declared and enacted, that the "houfe of lords of Ireland have not, nor of right ought to have, any "jurisdiction, to judge of, affirm, or reverfe any judgment, fentence, "or decree, given or made in any court within the faid kingdom; and "that all proceedings before the faid houfe of lords, upon any fuch "judgment, fentence, or decree are, and are hereby declared to be, "utterly null and void to all intents and purposes whatsoever," But by 22 Geo. III. c. 53. the said statute of 6 Geo. I. is repealed, in the words following: "Whereas an act was paffed in the fixth year of "the reign of his late majefty king Geo. I. entituled, "An act for the better fecuring the dependency of the kingdom of Ireland upon the "crown of Great Britain," may it pleafe your most excellent majesty "that it may be enacted, and be it enacted by the king's most excellent "majefty, by and with the advice and confent of the lords fpiritual and "temporal and commons in this prefent parliament affembled, and by "the authority of the fame, that from and after the paffing of this act, "the abovementioned act, and the several matters and things therein "contained, shall be, and is, and are hereby repealed." [And by 23 Geo. III. c. 28. it is ftill further enacted in the following words: "Whereas, by an act of the last feffion of this prefent parlia"ment (intituled, An act to repeal an act made in the fixth year of the "reign of his late majefty king George the first, intituled, An act for the "better fecuring the dependency of the kingdom of Ireland upon the " crown of Great Britain) it was enacted, that the faid last mentioned "act, and all matters and things therein contained, fhould be repealed: " and whereas doubts have arifen whether the provifions of the laid act "are fufficient to fecure to the people of Ireland the rights claimed by "them to be bound only by laws enacted by his majesty and the parlia"ment of that kingdom, in all cafes whatever, and to have all actions "and fuits at law or in equity, which may be inftituted in that kingdom, "decided in his majesty's courts therein finally, and without appeal from "thence: therefore, for removing all doubts refpecting the fame, may "it please your majefty, that it may be declared and enacted; and be it "declared and enacted by the king's most excellent majesty, by and with "the advice and confent of the lords fpiritual and temporal and com"mons in this prefent parliament affembled, and by the authority of the "fame, That the faid right claimed by the people of Ireland to be "bound only by laws enacted by his majesty and the parliament of that "kingdom, in all cafes whatever, and to have all actions and fuits at "law or in equity, which may be inftituted in that kingdom, decided "in his majesty's courts therein finally, and without appeal from thence, "fhall be, and it is hereby declared to be established, and afcertained "for ever, and fhall, at no time hereafter, be questioned or question“able." Sect. 2. “And be it further enacted by the authority afore "faid, that no writ of error or appeal fhall be received or adjudged, or any other proceeding be had by or in any of his majesty's courts in "this kingdom, in any action or fuit at law or in equity inftituted "in any of his majesty's courts in the kingdom of Ireland; and that “all fuch writs, appeals, or proceedings fhall be, and they are hereby "declared null and void to all intents and purposes; and that all records, "tranfcripts of records, or proceedings, which have been tranfmitted from Ireland to Great Britain by virtue of any writ of error or ap “peal, Wight, of Portland, of Thanet, &c.) are comprized within fome neighbouring county, and are therefore to be looked upon as annexed to the mother island, and part of the kingdom of England. But there are others which require a more particular confideration. AND, first, the ifle of Man is a distinct territory from England, and is not governed by our laws: neither doth any act of parliament extend to it, unless it be particularly named therein; and then an act of parliament is binding there. It was formerly a fubordinate feudatory kingdom, fubject to the kings of Norway; then to king John and Henry III of England; afterward to the kings of Scotland; and then again to the crown of England: and at length we find king Henry IV claiming the island by right of conqueft, and difpofing of it to the earl of Northumberland; upon whose attainder it was granted (by the name of the lordship of Man) to fir John de Stanley by letters patent 7 Henry IV. In his lineal defcendants it continued for eight generations, till the death of Ferdinando earl of Derby, A. D. 1594: when a controversy arofe concerning the inheritance thereof, between his daughters and William his furviving brother: upon which, and a doubt that was started concerning the validity of the original patent, the island was feized into the queen's hands, and afterwards various grants were made of it by king James the first; all which being expired or furrendered, it was granted afresh in 7 Jac. I. to William earl of Derby, and the heirs male of his body, with remainder to his heirs general; which grant was the next year confirmed by act of parliament, with a restraint of the power of alienation by the faid earl and bis iffue male. On the death of James earl of Derby, A.D. 1735, the male line of earl William failing, the duke of Atholl fucceeded to the island as heir general by a female g Camden. Eliz. A. D. 1594. e 4 Inft. 284. 2 And. 116. f Selden. tit. hon. 1. 3. "peal, and upon which no judgment has been given or decree pro"nounced before the first day of June 1782, fhall, upon application "made by or in behalf of the party in whofe favour judgment was "given or decree pronounced in Ireland, be delivered to fuch party, or any perfon by him authorised to apply for and receive the fame."] ་་ branch. branch. In the mean time, though the title of king had long been disused, the earls of Derby, as lords of Man, had maintained a fort of royal authority therein; by affenting or diffenting to laws, and exercising an appellate jurisdiction. Yet, though no English writ, or procefs from the courts of Westminster, was of any authority in Man, an appeal lay from a decree of the lord of the island to the king of Great Britain in council". But the diftinct jurifdiction of this little fubordinate royalty being found inconvenient for the purposes of public justice, and for the revenue, (it affording a commodious afylum for debtors, outlaws, and fmugglers,) authority was given to the reafury by ftatute 12 Geo. I. c. 28. to purchase the intereft of the then proprietors for the use of the crown: which purchase was at length compleated in the year 1765, and confirmed by ftatutes 5 Geo. III. c. 26 and 39. whereby the whole island and all it's dependencies, fo granted as aforefaid, (except the landed property of the Atholl family, their manerial rights and emoluments, and the patronage of the bishoprick and other ecclefiaftical benefices,) are unalienably vefted in the crown, and subjected to the regulations of the British excife and customs, THE iflands of Jerfey, Guernsey, Sark, Alderney, and their appendages, were parcel of the duchy of Normandy, and were united to the crown of England by the first princes of the Norman line. They are governed by their own laws, which are for the most part the ducal cuftoms of Normandy, being collected in an antient book of very great authority, entituled, le grand conftumier. The king's writ, or process from the courts of Westminster, is there of no force; but his commiffion is. They are not bound by common acts of our parliaments, unless particularly named *. All causes are originally determined by their own officers, the bailiffs and jurats of the islands; but an appeal lies from them to the king and council, in the last resort. bi P. Wns. 329. i The bishoprick of Man, or Sodor, or Sodor and Man, was formerly within the province of Canterbury, but an nexed to that of York by statute 33 Hen. VIII. c. 31. k 4 Inft. 236. BESIDES |