EDITOR'S REVIEW.

THE just exultation with which our commentator reviewed the gradual improvement in the laws of England, which had continued to his own time, may well be felt by the English statesmen of the present day, when the legislation of the succeeding period is presented to his view. During no equal period in English history were the changes in the English constitution so great and manifest, nor the modifications in English law so radical or so beneficent. Indeed, the England of to-day is, in many particulars, so different from the England of Blackstone's time, and its system of law is pervaded by a spirit so much milder and more just, that, upon many points, our author seems to be writing of some far-off and barbarous realm, rather than of the England which we know, and the justice, humanity and equity of whose laws we admire, and are, for the most part, content to copy.

In notes to the preceding pages, we have endeavored to point out the changes in the law which have been introduced by statute, and the student will be enabled, as he progresses, to compare the past with the present, and to form some estimate of how the English system of laws which now prevails differs from that which was in force when our English ancestors colonized this country, bringing with them the common law to plant and acclimate upon our shores. But it may be desirable that, at the conclusion of our task, we refer briefly to some of the most striking and important of the changes which have been made, as we may thus, by bringing them together into one general summary, the better appreciate the general effect of all, than could possibly be done by the contemplation of each as a separate and distinct event.

The union of Ireland with England, and the abolition of the Irish parliament, was an act which promised at once strength to the empire and beneficence to Ireland, by incorporating it more intimately as a constituent part of the realm, and advancing its people from the condition of those of a conquered province, controlled and governed mainly in the interest of the conquerors, to that of freemen, entitled to a like voice with their fellows in the making of the laws, and to the like redress for all injuries. If the result of the union has not thus far answered the expectations of its advocates, it is, in part, because the difficulties were too deeply seated to be reached, except by long and patient probing and experiment; and we may reasonably hope that the more recent efforts in that direction-the abolition of the Irish church establishment, and the pending reform in the land laws-will do much to relieve the distress of that unhappy country, and to place it, in point of prosperity and contentment, on a level with other parts of the empire.

The most important statutes in the interests of our common humanity were those which made the foreign slave trade piracy, and which finally uprooted utterly the condition of servitude in all the territories subject to the crown of

Great Britain. In immediate prosperity to the countries directly concerned, this act also, has failed to answer expectation, but the general benefit to the world at large has been incalculable, and the effects are constantly spreading wider and farther, until the present generation may well hope to witness the utter extinction of human slavery among the nations professing the Christian religion, or entitled, by their civilization and intelligence, to claim the benefits and come under the obligations of the laws of nations.

The representation of the people in the house of commons was greatly changed by the reform act of 1832, and many boroughs which had ceased to be populous and invited corruption, were entirely disfranchised. Further changes were made by the reform acts of 1867, which increased very largely the number of electors, and established such liberality of qualification as to bring the elective franchise within the reach of all but the hopelessly poor and dependent. Since then, by the introduction of the secret ballot, the independence of electors has been secured so far as, in the nature of things, this was possible. Concurrent with the changes in public sentiment which have made these reforms possible, has gone on another change, perceptible only at considerable intervals of time, by which the house of lords has been shorn of a considerable portion of its former power and importance, and the authority of the government has been steadily concentrating in the house of commons. Hitherto this change has been beneficial; but how far it can continue without necessitating other and more radical changes, the future alone can tell. In alluding to the reforms in parliament we must not forget to mention the improvement of the laws for the punishment of bribery in elections, and the reference of contested elections to a judicial tribunal, by means of which party favoritism in their determination is rendered impossible, and the actual will of the electors is reasonably certain to prevail.

The advance in religious liberty has been so remarkable, that it seems impossible in the brief space we can allot to the subject here, fitly to characterize or indicate it. A century ago the law not only supported and encouraged the state church, but, from motives of state policy, it threatened severe penalties against the teachers of another prominent body of Christians, and it imposed burdens and disabilities upon all who were not connected with the establishment. Jews and Catholics, in particular, were made to feel the weight of governmental displeasure, but all classes of dissenters were, in various ways, discriminated against; and, so far as the laws could effectually do so, conformity with the established church was sought to be enforced. It cannot yet be said that religious equality is the law of England, nor can it be, so long as burdens are imposed upon the people for the support of a favored church; but religious toleration is now universal, and all classes may take part in the making of the laws which are to govern them. The corporation and test acts, which excluded Catholics and dissenters from petty offices, and even from some other employments, were at length swept away by an act passed in 1828, though with a proviso which excluded Jews from some of its benefits, and precluded their taking seats in parliament as representatives of the people for thirty years longer. The last obstacle was then removed by a statute, which

allowed the obnoxious words "on the faith of a Christian," to be omitted from the declaration made by a member on taking his seat. The marriage laws have been wholly reformed, so as to enable all parties to have this most important rite celebrated according to such form as will satisfy their own consciences; the scruples of Quakers and others, however singular or absurd they may seem to most people, are respected by law; and there is a steady and very rapid advance to that entire equality of sects, and perfect freedom of religious opinion and expression which now prevails in America. Catholic emancipation, after long resistance on the part of the crown and of a majority of the national church, was finally effected, under the leadership of Sir ROBERT PEEL, in 1829, and the penal legislation since aimed at that denomination, in order to defeat the supposed encroachments of the court of Rome, has been allowed to remain a dead letter, and will probably be repealed at any time when any considerable portion of the people shall express a desire to that end. And a crowning act of justice to the Catholics has been done in the abrogation of the state church in Ireland, where it was the church of a small fraction of the people only, so that its support was a grievous oppression.

The last half of the reign of George III was characterized by exceedingly stringent measures to repress freedom of opinion and of expression, which, indeed, at one time threatened the most alarming disorders, and were well calculated to excite intense anxiety. The excesses of the French Revolution, and the spirit of independent inquiry which that great event made so active in England, alarmed the conservative government of the day, and led to coercive measures which tended to produce the very dangers which the government sought to preclude. The prosecutions for treason for engaging in organized, and sometimes, it must be confessed, in imprudent and threatening opposition to the existing authorities, were treated by British juries with an independence, a prudence and a wisdom which was something new in state prosecutions, and the liberties of the people found protection in the courts of law at a time when the parliament was lending itself to despotic measures. The parliament, however, is entitled to the credit of passing the libel act, under which juries were at liberty to pass upon the intent of publications prosecuted as libelous, and which, perhaps, has done more than anything else to make the press as free in fact as it was before in theory. Indeed, we may safely say, now, that the restraint upon the licentiousness of the press in its discussion of public affairs and of the conduct of public men, consists rather in a regard to a just and enlightened public opinion than in any penalties which the law threatens or would be likely to impose. And while the press of Great Britain is now much more free and much less subject to restraining laws than that of many other countries, it is gratifying to know that its freedom has not been productive of license, but that a gradual improvement in its tone and character is perceptible, and self-imposed restraints are generally found sufficient to prevent serious abuse.

The ameliorations in the criminal law have been so numerous and so great, that it would be impossible to enumerate them all in the compass of a note. Among the principal are, allowing a full defense by counsel in all cases; the entire abolition of trials by battle, appeals of murder and felony, and the ab

surd privilege of benefit of clergy, and the reduction of the list of capital offenses to the two-treason and murder-regarded as the most heinous; the discontinuance of the pillory, the burning and whipping of females, the hanging in chains, the horrible accompaniments of capital executions for treason, and the punishment of families of offenders by corruption of blood. And at length, by the statutes 24 and 25 Victoria, the body of the criminal law has been revised and methodized, and its punishments moderated and better proportioned. And, by extradition treaties with other nations, provision is made whereby one country no longer becomes an asylum for the desperate criminals of others.

Imprisonment for debt has at last been abolished in Great Britain. A clear idea of the barbarity of treating an unfortunate debtor as a criminal seems to have dawned slowly upon the minds of legislators in any country; but when once the public attention was fixed upon it, the inhuman laws which permitted it were not long suffered to disgrace the statute books. Only in cases of fraud or other wrong in contracting the debt, or in obstructing the creditor in obtaining satisfaction, can the body of the debtor be now seized, and even then he is relieved from imprisonment on making surrender of his property to be applied to the just demands against him. And while thus the good of the unfortunate debtor has been had in view, the interest of the creditor, also, has been consulted in various statutory changes which have improved his remedies. One of the principal of these-the subjecting of real estate to the payment of debts-is alluded to further on; but the creation of courts for small demands, in which justice could be had speedily and inexpensively, has also had an effect highly beneficial upon all the branches of small trade and commerce in which the middle and poorer classes of the people are most particularly interested, while it has aided the poor in giving confidence to credit, and protecting them against ruinous costs in cases of misfortune. The law of bankruptcy has also been wholly remodeled, and its barbarous penalties mitigated; many restraints upon trade and upon the freedom of artificers to employ their services in their discretion have been abolished, and the penalties for usury have been entirely done away with, without being followed by the evils which so many were ready to predict.

The same spirit of philanthropy which has secured the improvement of the criminal code, has also effected great reforms in prison management, and the law now endeavors to prevent parties who are accused of crime being punished as criminals before condemnation, or subjected to needless and inhuman barbarities afterwards. The care of insane persons is also better provided for, and asylums in which they are confined are not now, as formerly, mere prisons in which to restrain their excesses, but are retreats where, unless improper persons shall chance to obtain the management, the most, careful, patient and humane efforts are made for their cure, so long as cure is believed possible, and for their comfort afterwards.

No invention of either ancient or modern times has so sensibly affected the laws as the application of steam as a motive power, and especially for the conveyance of freight and passengers. Railroads have introduced many new questions in the law of eminent domain, of principal and agent, of bailments,