cnmitj of nation as laid dofmbvHabens; aoodChirf Justice T^aney. in tiie case of the Bank of Av^nsta r. £aadb, said: ~It is needk^ to ommaate heare 1^ instsocses in -wfaidi, by &e general piactioe of driliied coon- tri(e&, the lairs of coie viD, by ctmiti' of nations, he iMDgniiied and es^^ted in an»tha'jwhi»e tike i^i'^ (^individaak are eoncemed. The cases of contracts Bade in iw^a countries, are HamiliaT esaoop^tes; and cooits of justice hare ahrajs e^poonded and eseoited them aoomding to the laws of the place in \diich they were made : pnmded that law was not i^po^ nant to the laws or pdicj of thdr own coontxy.
The otHoity thus extended to o&i^ nations, is no impeachment <£ sof<eragnty. It is the vahmtaxy ai^ of the natiim by wUch it k olfeted, and is inadmk^fafe when contiaiy to its policy, or prejndi(»J. to its interests. But it contribotes so laxg^f to promote justice between individnak, ax^ to pndnce a frifflodly intercimrse betweoa the soverdgntieB to which they bekmg, that courts of justioe ha:ve continuafly acted upon it as a part of the lawdTnatioiK.
It is truly said, in Steins Conflk:! of Laws ^S7). that - In the dience ol any positive nde affirming or de-
REVENUE LAWS EXCEPTED. 99
nying, or restraining the operation of foreign laws, courts of justice presume the tacit adoption of them by their own government, unless they are repugnant to its policy or prejudicial to its interests. It is not the comity of courts, but the comity of the nation, which is administered and ascertained in the same way, and guided by the same reasoning, by which all other principles of municipal law are ascertained and guided.' "
Es un principio del common law, sin embargo, y opuesto a la doctrina recién enunciada, que ninguna nación tomará en cuenta ni hará cumplir las leyes fiscales de ningún otro país; y los contratos de sus propios ciudadanos celebrados para evadir o defraudar las leyes de naciones extranjeras