The Civil Code, Book the First, Of Persons, Translated from the French, with an Introduc

tion, and Notes Explanatory and Illustrative, by Theobald Mackenna, Esq., Barrister at law. London: Saunders and Benning. Royal Svo. 1833.

It has long been a subject of astonishment and reproach, that a country which has produced so many men of indisputably great talents and erudition, which has reared so many able and industrious lawyers, and has, from amongst that body, conferred, as well of late years, on the united senate of the nation, as in former times on its domestic legislature, as eminent and enlightened statesmen-as profound jurists as can, during the same time, be arrayed by the sister country.— It has been, we repeat it, a matter of astonishment and reproach, that, under such circumstances, so few legal writers are to be found in Ireland. The reasons for this apparent paradox, whether arising from any peculiarity in the education of our Irish barristers, from the laxity of legal practice, heretofore existing in this country, or the greater facilities which England affords for composition and publication, we shall not at present stop to investigate. Be they all or any of these, it is a fact too notorious to be controverted, that while the press of England has been for years we might almost say for ages-teeming with works of theoretical and practical jurisprudence, Ireland, during the same period, scarcely produced its tome in the century, but was contented to feed on the treasures of her more industrious neighbours. This fact will appear the more unaccountable when we take into consideration the discrepancy-diminished, it is true, of late years-between the enactments in the two Islands and the consequent inapplicability of English books to the state of the science in this country.

For the honour, however, of our native land, we trust that the time is fast approaching when this obloquy shall be removed from us. We have, within no very distant period of time, witnessed with pleasure, the rise of several legal authors amongst us, and we gladly hail their appearance as an indication of the encreasing energy of native talents, while we sanguinely anticipate that the preparatory course of practical instruction, of

which our law students now, almost universally, avail themselves; the early applied and increasing industry of the juniors of the profession; and, in addition, the facilities which a rapidly improving press in Ireland affords, will, ere long, multiply in number, and raise in character the legal writers of our own countrywill exalt them to, and sustain them in, that position in the literary world which their talents and erudition entitle them

to occupy.

The work which is at present under our consideration is, in our judgment, calculated to verify our predictions and encrease the gratification which we have not unfrequently experienced within a few years past.

Mr. Mackenna in undertaking the translation of a portion of that celebrated Code of Laws composed for France, under the auspices and direction of Napoleon, and in the formation of which, that illustrious individual displayed, in an eminent degree, the vigorous talent and industrious research of a mind that had already become the wonder of mankind-has not been content with merely exhibiting to the view of the English reader the laws of a nation in which, however they may excite his curiosity or interest his speculations, he can have comparatively little concernment. Such a performance would, indeed, be of little general utility, and be more likely to remain on the shelves of the bookseller than to find its way into the study of the practising lawyer. The author, however, has done much more:he has embodied in a translation, easy, perspicuous, and for the most part, free from those idiomatic expressions which so frequently disfigure such performances, numerous and copious notes illustrative of the text, and at the same time he has taken notice of the corresponding provisions and enactments in our own laws as well as the points in which the latter differ from the Code of the French.

Throughout this portion of the work— which, indeed, we consider by far the most valuable part of the volume-Mr. Mackenna has displayed a very credtiable acquaintance with the state of French law as it existed previous to the formation of the Code of Napoleon, in addition to much laborious research into the dif

ferent branches of legal science connected with his undertaking.

The mode of arrangement pursued by the author of exhibiting to our consideration concurrently the views which different nations have taken of the same subjects, is judicious, and possesses all the advantages, perspicuity, and order, which so peculiarly belong to a synopsis; and, by thus placing in juxta-position our own Code of Jurisprudence with that of France, the views of ethical jurists, the law of nature and nations, and the compilations of the Roman writers, he has enlarged the interest, extended the usefulness, and encreased the value of the whole work; while he has at the same time, impressed us with a very favourable opinion of his own attainments as a legal scholar.

One object, independent of its advantages to the profession, may, we think, be achieved by the comparison of the laws of the two nations, and, in the present times of feverish anxiety for changes -of rash and ill-advised tampering of political empyrics with the life-springs of a constitution, that for the lapse of ages has dispensed a vigorous and healthful tone throughout our empire, we deem the attainment of such an object incalculably important. It will enable the reader to rise up, as we have risen, from the perusal of this well-written work with a deep, and thankful conviction of the superior excellence and wisdom of our own admirable Code of Laws, and the more extensive spirit of rational liberty which pervades many of its enactments.

In support of the truth of this assertion we refer our readers, amongst other passages, to the fourth article of the preliminary title of the French Code, together with the author's full and very excellent remarks thereon, and the cases cited by him in the note.

The first article of the same title we consider as illustrative of the same spirit, though, in doing so, we confess, that the view we have taken of the subject, is at variance with that of Mr. Mackenna.In his note on the above article, commenting on the plan adopted by the Civil Code of France for establishing the precise time at which the promulgation of any legislative enactment may be presumed to be fully known, the author proceeds to state the injustice which may result from the state of the law on the same subject in England, as remedied by the Statute, 33 Geo. III. Chap. 33, and continues thus-"It is plain, that notwithstanding that act of Parliament, the

injustice might still exist of an act of the legislature acquiring the force of law, by virtue of the Royal assent, at a period before its details could be possibly known to the bulk of the community, were it not for the practical remedy suggested by the last words of the passage above cited. By specially providing in the act itself the period from which it is to take effect, the legislature is able to accelerate or retard the execution of its enactments according as the subject matter on which they legislate—the distance of the persons to be affected by the law, or other circumstances may require. But, still, since even thus, the principle is not guarded by any positive law, and consequently depends on the discretion of the legisla ture; we may be, perhaps, inclined to concede the merit of superior perfection to the French system." We cannot pos sibly coincide with Mr. Mackenna in the view he has taken of this subject. The necessity of a simultaneous promulgation of any law throughout the whole extent of the sphere of its operations-the advantages that arise from its commencing to bind at one and the same instant of time, all persons whom it it is equally to affect, are too obvious and indispensable to be abandoned without very cogent reasons for doing so; while, on the other hand, the disadvantages and confusion that would unavoidably result from the adoption, in our country, of such a system as that of progressive promulgation would, in our opinion, far more than counter-balance the ill effects which can only happen where the legislature is singularly dishonest or grossly neglectful.

We shall not now enter farther into the examination of this work, but content ourselves at present with remarking, that the volume is extremely well got-up, and, in point of mechanical execution, may be placed beside the best printed law books of the English press, without in any degree suffering from the comparison. While we rejoice to exhibit its sheets as a complete refutation to the unjust opinion which our neighbours entertain with regard to the inferiority of our printing establishments, we cannot avoid expressing our regret, that the name of some of our own respectable publishers does not appear on the title page.

On the whole, we congratulate Mr. Mackenna on the manner in which he has performed this portion of his undertaking, and we take leave of him—we trust only for a short time-with a sincere desire, that the encouraging reception which, we doubt not, this, his

"Translation of the First Book of the Civil Code," will experience, may encourage him to the completion of his laudable task.

We shall give neither extract from, nor summary of O'Ruarc. Such a monotony of tame and trite nonsense pervades the flirting, and such gross and ignorant prejudice the fighting portion of

This is an abortive attempt on the part of some obscure writer to make a very bad tale the vehicle of much worse sedition.

We are not hostile to native genius heaven forefend that we should ever become our own enemies. But when assurance would command respect, as if it were equivalent to ability; when dulness, which should be contemptible, if it were not designed to be mischievous, is attempted to be passed for wit; when a manifest and malicious enmity against every thing that is excellent, merely because it is so, would assume the credit of patriotism; in fine, when the gander would play the golden eagle, or the ass of Cumde, the lion, we think it our bounden duty to evince the most unflinching opposition to such ill-wrought imposture, which from the very obtuseness of its edge is calculated to inflict the more serious and painful injury.

the one, nor the absurdity of the other, could excite any other feeling, than compassion for the writer and disgust at his production.

Suffice it to say that the Jet' of the work seems to be to prove that on any occasion upon which they may come in collision, the " English invaders" stand but a middling chance against the indigenous Irish; a whole army of Sassenachs, exempli gratia, being devoured or sunk in a bog, according to O'Ruarc, by the valorous Milesian phalanx of O'Somebody, auxiliared by a sacred band of pikemen under the command of Mac Any-one-else. These are not the genuine names, but they contain the essentials and will do well enough. It is well for us that this slaughter takes place only in the writer's imagination, but Fancy's sketch,' and that its terrible effects are only visible upon his own ill-used paper. Happy we! that we are alive to enjoy the joke of that sly dog Lord Grizzle:

The winding up of this notable wouldbe addition to our national literature, consists of lamentations and exhortations about absenteeism, liberty, and repeal, not of the union merely, but of all things existing. Scarcely has the writer brought the marriage to pass, with which, as might be expected, he concludes this ingenious and elegant story, when he celebrates the banns between himself, the Deucalion, and the New Education Board, the Pyrrha, who are to renew and remodel the creation at large. And he hugs, in sooth most enthusiastically, his spouse adored,' to his liberal heart, in exstacy at the unanimity of all enlightened and reasonable men' upon her transcendant merit; while he consigns to imprecation and eternal forgetfulness, that exclusive system, called, with cruel irony, "the former," for which Kildare-place that was, is under many posthumous compliments to this accomplished scribe.

But as we decline quoting the historical portion of the tale,' we shall not take any liberties with the political,

TOM THUMB, Sc. 3.

which is merely a common-place compilation from the discontented and factious effusions of the day; the thrice told tale" of vulgar journals and turbulent orators. All that precedes it, however, it is but fair to say, with the exception of one of the melodies, introduced we presume to shew how a diamond can shine on a dunghill, is the writer's own, his very own. He stole it from nobody but himself, and from the nature of the theft and the quality of the goods, we are led to decide that is equally foolish if not criminal, at times for a man to rob himself merely, as to kill himself outright. We wish the aforesaid author every happiness but that of seeing his curious historicopolitico-fabulous romance either bought or read; indeed we doubt if it would bring at the rate of a halfpenny per hundred at a lumber sale.

The ancient Romans had particular deities to preside over and sanctify the impurities, in the perpetration of which the worship of these gods consisted.

'O'Ruarc' is dedicated to Lady Morgan.