COMMENTARIES ON THE LAW OF NATIONS. BY WILLIAM OKE MANNING. A New Edition, REVISED THROUGHOUT, WITH SUPPLEMENTARY MATTER, BRINGING THE WORK DOWN TO THE PRESENT TIME, BY SHELDON AMOS, M.A., BARRISTER-AT-LAW; PROFESSOR OF JURISPRUDENCE, UNIVERSITY COLLEGE, LONDON; PROFESSOR OF JURISPRUDENCE (INCLUDING INTERNATIONAL LAW) TO THE COUNCIL OF LEGAL EDUCATION OF THE INNS OF COURT; EXAMINER IN THE UNIVERSITY OF LONDON, ETC., ETC. Author of “Lectures on International Law;” “A Systematic View of the Science of Jurisprudence;" "An English Code," &c., &c. LONDON: H. SWEET, 3, CHANCERY LANE, FLEET STREET, Law Publisher. CAMBRIDGE: MACMILLAN & CO. PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. PUBLISHED IN 1839. THE want which I have myself experienced of a work similar to the present, induces me to hope that I may assist the progress of other students engaged in the same pursuits, and so escape the blame of adding to the catalogue of useless books. It is indeed singular that, in the multiplicity of works which are published on almost every subject, we have never had a systematic treatise on the Law of Nations by an English writer. There are two productions on this subject in our language, both of which I should be proud to claim as belonging to our literature, but both are written by Americans. Of these works I shall speak further when examining the literature of the science, merely observing here that, though both excellent in their way, the scope of these writers has been too different from mine to accomplish the purpose which I have in view; Chancellor Kent merely giving a few chapters of his Commentaries on American Law, to the subject of the Law of Nations; and the recent work of Dr. Wheaton being professedly elementary, and certainly the best elementary book on the topic that exists.* We have in our literature several works on different subjects relating to the Law of Nations. Rutherforth, * It will appear subsequently that a much higher estimate is due to the recent editions of these works. |