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Show «Rankiwec-"r ; ‘_ _ , A - ‘ [ ‘xxx ] ‘ The welfare and happinefs of So; -‘ ciety, indeed, require, that every indivi‘ dual, from the higheft to the lowefl, ‘ 6 ‘ ‘ {hould have fome general idea of Law; but more particularly is this requifite in England, where the People enjoy (as the molt valuable Heritage derived from. ‘ their anceflors) the natural and molt ‘ equitable Rig/9t of forming a part of [ xxxi" ] "Knowledge (f Good and Evil (17)," (beforementioned) ‘ by which, every "Man who is not an ideot, or madman, ‘ (that is, every Man oj'COMMON SENSE,) is naturally enabled to receive, difcern', "and approve, t/‘oe fir/l Elements or ‘leading principles of LAW and REA- ‘ SON, when fairly propofed to him in ‘ his ‘ the legg/laz‘z've Power. ‘ Law is indeed a very comprehenfive ‘ Term, which includes fuch a prodi' gious fund of abflrufe-learning, that a- " particular and accurate knowledge of it ‘ is fcarcely to be acquired with the ut‘ molt afliduity and labour even ofa man's ‘ whole life; and yet a general idea of ‘ Law (I mean that which is lmmutaéle " and eternal, and which forms the 4 ground and bafls of all other Laws) ‘ may neverthelefs be very eafily in" culcaz‘ed and as eafily retained ,5 becaufe " the great outolines, or rather the Ele- ‘ ments and .firfl Principles, of tloe LAW ‘ confifl of tbe moflobviou: aizdfilf-evideizz‘ -‘ cone/Mom of REASON, which are ‘ implanted in our very NATURE; fince "Ewe inherit from our firl't Parents the ~_‘ Knowledge (17) " Good and Evil are not- matters of Law or of " Logic. They are the molt, ifnot the only, efl‘cntial "‘circumflances of the world. They are what every " thing elfe refers to. They {lamp an eternal mark "and difference on all things, which even imagina- " tion cannot cancel or erafe. 'l'he enjoyment of the " one, and the- avoiding of the Dz‘lJer, is the very end of "- our being, and likewife of all the beings which do " or which even can be fuppofed to exilt, and which have " a fenfe and perception of them. Whatever therefore " relates zo IlJegeneral G00!) and EViL ofa People is of a "" pullie nature. It is that circumftance which makes it " la. The terms are as good asfynonimous. Whatever " concerns, on the contrary, only this or that indir- " vidual, is: of a private nature. It is confined to " his or their bappz'neyi- or revelfhre; to his or their " good and evil. There is again the true and unerring " criterion. Thefe things feein clear to the greatell dc" gree of intuitive certainty. It is flrange to be forced ‘ "‘ to reafon about them l" ' Conlidcrations on the Meafures carrying on with refpect to the Britifh Co- lonies in North America. 2d Edit. p. 156, 157. The " Confiderations" indeed of this {enlible Author, in every other part of his work, highly merit the molt ferious attention of all thole pcrfons (of what party toever) who defirc real information and good council concerning the preterit dilputes with our Brethren in America. |
