FAMILIAR SKETCHES OF ENGLISH LAW.
BY AN EXPERIENCED PRACTITIONER.
It is not necessary for the writer of these sketches to declare which branch of the legal profession he belongs to, but it appears desirable to explain the purpose for which they are written. The laws of our land are so numerous and complicated, and derived from so many sources, that it is impossible for any human mind to make itself thoroughly acquainted with all their multifarious details, however familiar the general principles of the law may have become. And yet every one of the Queen’s subjects is responsible for any breach of the law which he or she may commit. The reason of this is obvious: a law which might be broken with impunity on the excuse that the law-breaker was ignorant of its existence, would be an absurdity. If laws are to be of any use, they must be universally binding, on the learned and unlearned, within the sphere of their operation. In the course of a long, extensive, and varied professional experience, we have often been astonished to find profound ignorance of legal principles and responsibilities in unexpected quarters; and it has occurred to us that a few familiar articles on the laws which affect the different relationships of social life might be both interesting and useful. Many of the principles which affect persons in the characters of husband and wife, parent and child, master and servant, and so forth, are easily understood, if explained in simple language and free from technicalities.
In so doing, we have no intention to interfere with the proper province of the solicitor or the barrister. The law has in many respects been much simplified during the present century; but still the proverb remains true, ‘He who is his own lawyer has a fool for his client.’ In buying a house, the title must be investigated by one who has acquired an accurate knowledge of the law of real property, or a fatal flaw in the title may deprive the purchaser of that for which he has paid. Home-made wills, unless of the very simplest description, lead in many cases to costly and vexatious litigation after the death of the testator. And in actions and other legal proceedings, where the rights of the parties depend upon the application of established legal principles to new combinations of facts which are themselves doubtful and capable of being considered from opposite points of view, the necessity for professional assistance is too obvious to require comment.