these two species of colonies, there is a great difference in respect to the laws by which they are to be governed. Of the first, it has been said, that if an uninhabited country be discovered and planted by British subjects, the English laws then in being, which are the unalienable right of every sub- ject, are immediately there in force .-^ But this must not be understood to mean that such colonists carry with them the whole body of the English laws ; for many of them must necessarily be wholly inappli- cable to the nature, character, and circumstances of the new colony. Therefore, those laws which they carry with them are only such as are properly appli- cable to their situation, and are not repugnant to, or inconsistent with, the local and political circum- stances in which they are placed.^ Thus the English rules of inheritance, and of protection from personal injuries, the .rights secured by Magna Charta, and the remedial course in the administration of justice, are examples of the laws which are presumed to be ■ 2 Sallc, 411 ; 2 p. Will, 75; 1 Blk. Com., 107. ° Chittj/ on Perog., ch. 3., p. 29. A statute passed in England, after the establishment, will not affect it, unless it be particularly named — (See cases collected in Chit. Com. Law, 638.)
THE COMMON LAW OF ENGLAND, 65 adoptada como aplicable en primer lugar, mientras que otras leyes solo se adoptan según lo dicten el crecimiento o los intereses de la colonia.^ La regla es diferente, sin embargo, con respecto a las colonias conquistadas o cedidas, que ya tienen sus propias leyes. En tales casos, la corona tiene derecho a abrogar las leyes existentes e instituir unas nuevas; pero hasta que esto se haga, las antiguas leyes y costumbres del país permanecen y deben ser administradas.
Somos tan minuciosos al exponer estas diferentes reglas porque de ellas depende la cuestión de si el derecho consuetudinario inglés (common law) fue alguna vez adoptado o tuvo autoridad en los Estados Unidos. Blackstone dice: