date

[?] Feb y 1808 D + C on L d
[?] Feb y 1808

D + C

on L d Eldons Bill

Letter V

IV Reasons necessary

II. Uses subsequent to enactment

5. Use 5 th. Obviating doubts concerning the design and thence concerning the import of the law or article of law.

But for the light which under a skilful hand will be seen to radiate from this source, the meaning of the law will at every word be liable to be involved in obscurity, discoloured by false lights, productive of the fee-fed lawyers delight, uncertainty with its offspring litigation: litigation that well cultivated fruit, so sweet in the mouth of the lawyer, so bitter in the belly of the exhausted suitor.

Even under the dominion of lawyercraft, and its offspring jurisprudential law of lawyercraft and jurisprudence reasons such as they are, are hunted for and brought to view: but the reasons, and the only ones which the lawyer likes to see under that name, are reasons not contained /enclosed/ within the precincts of the law itself, but hunted for by his own imagination in its own wilds.

A well-fitted reason is not merely what it has been called a key to the import of the law; /between the impact of the law and the eye of the subject whose fate is disposed of by it,/ it is a much better implement: a key supposes a door, and that door is locked up. But under the light afforded by a well chosen reason or set of reasons, the text of the law from first to last is transparent, the import some know it and neither doors nor locks nor key are either seen /perceived/ or wanted.
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  • Title: [23 Oct r 1807 L d Eldon's Bill]
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    '. 1.

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    Non Lawyer. no: nor against it neither: I never thought anything about the matter: and will you have for the present occasion at least with[?] which it has nothing at all to do. I should be glad to save myself the trouble. If you have any thing to say about Parliamentary Reform, there's Major Cartwright made for you. That is[?] the way with you Lawyers, in that with every [...?], who he feels he has a bad [...?]. We had agreed to talk about one theory, and[/] in a term[?], you are for flying off to another. The question we /you and I/ are upon is - not who shall govern us?, but to whose benefit we shall be governed?

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