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Sioussat's The English Statutes in Maryland, 1903
Volume 195, Page 53   View pdf image (33K)
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517] The English Statutes in Maryland. 53
France, is met by emphasizing the fact that these countries
were already civilized and had laws of their own. The con-
sideration of the Earl of Derby's Case, and Calvin'sCase,leads
up to a long citation from Grotius on the wisdom of yielding
even to a conquered country its own laws. But Maryland,
argues Dulany, is not conquered, or, if so, only as against the
Indians. The English settlers have lost no rights.
This finishes the first task, the establishment of those rights
on the ground of English citizenship. To this is now added, by
way of reinforcement, a second line of argument based upon
the rights conferred by the royal charter. By the terms of
this grant, all rights of Englishmen are distinctly and incon-
testably bestowed on the freemen of Maryland. In this way
the former method of reasoning applies. The statutes of
England were necessary to the safe enjoyment of these rights
and continue to be their defense.
After condemning the adverse opinion of " an eminent
lawyer," Dulany clearly states that the charter does not really
give these rights, as new ones, but merely recognizes them as
existent, as was the case in Magna Charta in England. The
argument that, because Maryland has her own Legislature,
she cannot have English laws he considers futile; for the
different circumstances of the colony necessitate changes
which can only be decided by a local body. It does not follow
that the Legislature of Maryland can enact for that Province
all the English statutes.
The concluding paragraphs are in some ways the most
interesting of all; for here, deserting the argument from the
English law. he proposes a Lockeian theory of society, and
applies this to the settlers of Maryland. If these agreed to
make the law of their mother country their own law, and on
long experience are convinced of the equality and justice of
them, " Will anyone say that they are obliged to change those
laws, or to have them upon any other terms than they have
always had them, without their own consent, or the inter-
position of the supreme authority of their mother country."
The familiar and long-continued reception of the English

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Sioussat's The English Statutes in Maryland, 1903
Volume 195, Page 53   View pdf image (33K)
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