§ 3. Of Federal and State Law. American municipal law is, as to its object, of two kinds: Federal and State. Federal law is that rule of civil conduct, which is prescribed by the supreme power in the United States, and regulates, in matters of a national character, the intercourse of the federal government with the people, and of the people with each other or with citizens of foreign states. State law is that rule of civil conduct, which is prescribed by the supreme power in each individual State, and regulates, in all matters not of a national character, the intercourse of such State with its own people and of its people among themselves. Read Const. U. S., Art. i, Sec. 8, 10, Amend. ix, x. § 4. Of Unwritten and Written Law. American municipal law is, as to its origin, of two kinds: Unwritten and Written. Unwritten law (known also as customary law, or common law) is that rule of civil conduct, which originated in the common wisdom and experience of society, in time became an established custom, and has finally received judicial sanction and affirmance in the decision of the courts of last resort. Written law is that rule of civil conduct, which has been prescribed directly, in so many words, by the supreme power of the state itself. Read 1 Bl. Comm., pp. 62-67, 85. Austin Jur., Lect. xxviii, xxix, xxx. § 5. Of the Unwritten Law of the United States. The United States, as such, has no common, or unwritten, law; and when its courts are called upon to administer the principles of that law, they are guided by it as it exists in the State where the cause arose. In Lou isiana, the Roman or Civil law is the source and depository of unwritten law. In the other States, the courts have assumed, or the legislatures or constitutions have declared, the written and unwritten law of England, as it existed at the Revolution, to be the common law of such States, so far as it was applicable to the situation of their people. Read 1 Kent Comm., Lect. xxi, p. 473 and notes. Bishop First Book of Law, B. ii, ch. 6 and notes. § 6. Of the Development of the Unwritten Law. Unwritten law is constantly developing by the judicial recognition, as law, of customs hitherto unrecognized. That a custom may be so recognized it must be: (1) Immemorial; i. e. it must have existed for a sufficient period of time to have become established as a rule of action in that class of cases, of which it is henceforth to be regarded as the law; (2) Continued; i. e. it must not have been alternated with antagonistic customs, but must have been constantly applied whenever any of this class of cases has arisen; (3) Peaceable; i. e. it must not have been subject to contention or dispute, but have been acquiesced in by all the persons who were interested in such cases; (4) Reasonable, i. e. it must not be opposed to any fundamental principle of justice, nor, in its practical operation, be injurious to the public, or to that class of persons to whose conduct it relates; (5) Certain; i. e. it must not, either in the rights which it confers or in the duties it imposes, be indefinite or open to conjecture, but must furnish, to ali persons interested in such cases, a reliable and intelligible rule of action; (6) Compulsory; i. e. its observance must not have been optional with individuals, but it must have been regarded as obliging all those persons to whose actions it pertains; (7) Consistent with other customs; i. e. it must not contradict, or limit the observance of, any other judicially established custom by which this class of cases is already governed. Read 1 Bl. Comm., pp. 75-79. Austin Jur., Lect. xxviii, xxix, xxx. 1 Root, Preface, pp. xi-xiii. § 7. Of Maxims, Definitions, and Judicial Decisions, Unwritten law has been expressed in maxims, definitions, and the judgments of the courts. A maxim is the short and formal statement of an established principle of law. More than two thousand of these maxims now exist, many of which are of great antiquity, and most of which are of the highest authority and value. A definition is an enumeration of the distinguishing characteristics of the act, the object, or the right defined. The principal definitions of the common law are very ancient, and are regarded by the courts with great respect. A judicial decision is either the recognition or affirmance of a rule of law, or the application of a known rule to a certain state of facts. In either case, it is the promulgation of a law; the former being its simple statement as a rule; the latter indicating its practical scope and obligation. These maxims, definitions, and judicial decisions are now contained in the treatises and digests of the common law, and in those reports of adjudged cases, which, beginning with the Year Books in the reign of Edward II, have been continued to the present day. Read 1 Bl. Comm., pp. 68-73. 1 Kent Comm., Lect. xxi, pp. 473-475, Lect. xxii, Pomeroy Mun. Law, §§ 911-917. § 8. Of the Written Law of the United States. The written law of the United States consists of the Federal Constitution, the Acts of Congress, and the Treaties made by its authority. The written law of the individual State consists of its Constitution and its Statutes. Read 1 Kent Comm., Lect. xx, pp. 447–454. Cooley Const. Lim., pp. 2-4, 12. Pomeroy Mun. Law, § 36. Walker Am. Law, § 17. § 9. Of Statutes. A statute is a rule of civil conduct, established and promulgated by the legislature according to the forms prescribed by the Constitution. Unless otherwise provided, it takes effect from the date of its enactment. Read 1 Kent Comm., Lect. xx, pp. 447–459. Cooley Const. Lim., pp. 130-132, 156-158. § 10. Of Public and Private Statutes. Statutes, as to the objects to which they relate, are of two kinds: Public and Private. Public statutes are those which concern the government, or the public interest, or all persons, or the whole of any class of persons. Of all public statutes the courts of the same state take judicial notice, and, in a suit at law, the party claiming under them is not obliged to plead or prove them. All other statutes are private statutes, and, in a suit at law involving such statutes they must be both pleaded and proved. A statute, which is private in its nature, becomes a public statute in its effect, when so declared by the legislature. Read 1 Bl. Comm., p. 86. 1 Kent Comm., Lect. xx, pp. 459, 460. Bac. Abr., Statute F, L. Potter's Dwarris on Stat., pp. 52-57. ག § 11. Of Declaratory and Remedial Statutes. Statutes, as to their purpose, are of two kinds: Declaratory and Remedial. Declaratory statutes are those which are intended to remove a doubt as to the existence or effect of some rule of the unwritten law. Remedial statutes are those which are intended to extend or to restrain the operation of some existing rule of the unwritten law, or to establish a new rule of law. Read 1 Bl. Comm., pp. 86, 87. Potter's Dwarris on Stat., pp. 68-73. § 12. Of Affirmative and Negative Statutes. Statutes, as to their form, are of two kinds: Affirmative and Negative. Affirmative statutes are those which are expressed in affirmative terms. Such statutes do not change or abrogate the rules of the unwritten law. Acts which would have been valid under the unwritten law, before |