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A
LAW DICTIONARY
ADAPTED TO THE CONSTITUTION AND LAWS OF
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
AND OF THE
SEVERAL STATES OF THE AMERICAN UNION

With References to the Civil and Other Systems of Foreign Law

by
John Bouvier

Ignoratis terminis ignoratur et ars. - Co. Litt. 2 a.

Je sais que chaque science et chaque art a ses termes

propres, inconnu au commun des hommes. - Fleury

SIXTH EDITION, REVISED, IMPROVED, AND GREATLY ENLARGED.
VOL. I.

___________________________

PHILADELPHIA

CHILDS & PETERSON, 124 ARCH STREET

1856

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year one thousand eight hundred
and thirty-nine, BY JOHN BOUVIER, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court
for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
____________________________
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year one thousand eight
hundred and forty-three, BY JOHN BOUVIER, In the Clerk's Office of the
District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
_____________________________
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year one thousand eight
hundred and forty-eight, BY JOHN BOUVIER, In the Clerk's Office of the
District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
_____________________________
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year one thousand eight hundred
and fifty-two, BY ELIZA BOUVIER and ROBERT E. PETERSON, Trustees, In the
Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Eastern District of
Pennsylvania.

Deacon & Peterson, Printers
66 South Third Street.

TO THE HONORABLE

JOSEPH STORY, L L.D.,

One of the Judges of the Supreme Court of the United States

THIS WORK is WITH HIS PERMISSION MOST RESPECTFULLY

DEDICATED

AS A TOKEN OF

GREAT REGARD ENTERTAINED FOR HIS TALENTS, LEARNING,

AND CHARACTER,

BY

THE AUTHOR.

ADVERTISEMENT

TO THE THIRD EDITION

Encouraged by the success of this work, the author has endeavored to
render this edition as perfect as it was possible for him to make it. He has
remoulded very many of the articles contained in the former editions,
and added upwards of twelve hundred new ones.
To render the work as useful as possible, he has added a very copius
index to the whole, which, at the same time that it will assist the inquirer,
will exhibit the great number of subjects treated in these volumes.
As Kelham's Law Dictionary has been published in this city, and can be
had by those who desire to possess it, that work has not been added as an
appendix to this edition.
Philadelphia, November, 1848.

ADVERTISEMENT

TO THE FOUTH EDITION,

Since the publication of the last edition of this work, its author,
sincerely devvoted to the advancement of his profession, has given to the
world his Institutes of American Law, in 4 vols. Svo. Always endeavoring to
render his Dictionary as perfect as possible, he was constantly revising
it; and whenever he met with an article which he had omitted, he immediately
prepared it for a new edition. After the completion of his Institutes, in
September last, laboring to severely, he fell a victim to his zeal, and died
on the 18th of November, 1851, at the age of sixty-four.
In preparing this edition, not only has the matter left by its author
been made use of, but additional matter has been added, so that the present
will contain nearly one-third more than the last edition. Under one head,
that of Maxims, nearly thriteen hundred new articles have been added. The
book has been carefully examined, a great portion of it by two members of the
bar, in order that it mught be purged, as far as possible, from all errors of
every description. The various changes in the constitutions of the states
made since the last edition, have been noticed, so far as was compatible with
this work; and every effort made to render it as perfect as a work of the
kind would permit, in order that it might still sustain the reputation given
to it by a Dublin barrister, "of being a work of a most elaborate character,
as compared with English works of a similar nature, and one which should be
in every library."
That it may still continue to receive the approbation of the Bench and
Bar of the United States, is the sincere desire of the widow and daughter of
its author.


PREFACE

To the difficulties which the author experienced on his admission to the bar,
the present publication is to be attributed. His endeavours to get forward in
his profession were constantly obstructed, and his efforts for a long time
frustrated, for want of that knowledge which his elder brethren of the bar
seemed to possess. To find among the reports and the various treatises on the
law the object of his inquiry, was a difficult task; he was in a labyrinth
without a guide: and much of the time which was spent in finding his way out,
might, with the friendly assistance of one who was acquainted with the
construction of the edifice, have been saved, and more profitably employed.
He applied to law dictionaries and digests within his reach, in the hope of
being directed to the source whence they derived their learning, but be was
too often disappointed; they seldom pointed out the authorities where the
object of his inquiry might be found. It is true such works contain a great
mass of information, but from the manner in which they have been compiled,
they sometimes embarrassed him more than if he had not consulted them. They
were written for another country, possessing laws different from our own, and
it became a question how far they were or were not applicable here. Besides,
most of the matter in the English law dictionaries will be found to have been
written while the feudal law was in its full vigor, and not fitted to the
present times, nor calculated for present use, even in England. And there is
a great portion which, though useful to an [vii] English lawyer, is almost
useless to the American student. What, for example, have we to do with those
laws of Great Britain which relate to the person of their king, their
nobility, their clergy, their navy, their army; with their game laws; their
local statutes, such as regulate their banks, their canals, their exchequer,
their marriages, their births, their burials, their beer and ale houses, and
a variety of similar subjects ?
The most modern law dictionaries are compilations from the more ancient,
with some modifications and alterations and, in many instances, they are
servile copies, without the slightest alteration. In the mean time the law
has undergone a great change. Formerly the principal object of the law seemed
to be to regulate real property, in all its various artificial modifications,
while little or no attention was bestowed upon the rules which govern
personal property and rights. The mercantile law has since arisen, like a
bright pyramid, amid the gloom of the feudal law, and is now far more
important in practice, than that which refers to real estate. The law of real
property, too, has changed, particularly in this country.
The English law dictionaries would be very unsatisfactory guides, even
in pointing out where the laws relating to the acquisition and transfer of
real estate, or the laws of descent in the United States, are to be found.
And the student who seeks to find in the Dictionaries of Cowel, Manly,
Jacobs, Tomlins, Cunningham, Burn, Montefiore, Pott, Whishaw, Williams, the
Termes de Ley, or any similar compilation, any satisfactory account in
relation to international law, to trade and commerce, to maritime law, to
medical jurisprudence, or to natural law, will probably not be fully
gratified. He cannot, of course, expect to find in them anything in relation
to our government, our constitutions, or our political or civil
institutions.[viii]
It occurred to the author that a law dictioinary, written entirely
anew, and calculated to remedy those defects, would be useful to the
profession. Probably overrating his strength, he resolved to undertake the
task, and if he should not fully succeed, he will have the consolation to
know, that his effort may induce some more gifted individual, and better
qualified by his learning, to undertake such a task, and to render the
American bar an important service. Upon an examination of the constitution
and laws of the United States, and of the several states of the American
Union, he perceived many technical expressions and much valuable information
which he would be able to incorporate in his work. Many of these
laws,although local in their nature, will be found useful to every lawyer,
particularly those engaged in mercantile practice. As instances of such laws
the reader is referred to the articles Acknowledgment, Descent, Divorce,
Letters of Administration, and Limitatio. It is within the plan of this work
to explain such technical expressions as relate to the legislative,
executive, or judicial departments of the government; the political and the
civil rights and duties of the citizens; the rights and duties of persons,
particularly such as are peculiar to our institutions, as, the rights of
descent and administration; of the mode of acquiring and transferring
property; to the criminal law, and its administration. It has also been an
object with the author to embody in his work such decisions of the courts as
appeared to him to be important, either because they differed from former
judgments, or because they related to some point which was before either
obscure or unsettled. He does not profess to have examined or even referred
to all the American cases; it is a part of the plan, however, to refer to
authorities, generally, which will lead the student to nearly all the cases.
The author was induced to believe, that an occasional comparison of the
civil, canon, and other systems of foreign law, with our own,[ix] would be
useful to the profession, and illustrate many articles which, without such
aid, would not appear very clear; and also to introduce many terms from
foreign laws, which may supply a deficiency in ours. The articles
Condonation, Extradition, and Novation, are of this sort. He was induced to
adopt this course because the civil law has been considered, perhaps not
without justice, the best system of written reason, and as all laws are or
ought to be founded in reason, it seemed peculiarly proper to have recourse
to this fountain of wisdom: but another motive influenced this decision; one
of the states of the Union derives most of its civil regulations from the
civil law; and there seemed a peculiar propriety, therefore, in introducing
it into an American law dictionary. He also had the example of a Story, a
Kent, Mr. Angell, and others, who have ornamented their works from the same
source. And he here takes the opportunity to acknowledge the benefits which
he has derived from the learned labors of these gentlemen, and of those of
Judge Sergeant, Judge Swift, Judge Gould, Mr. Rawle, and other writers on
American law and jurisprudence.
In the execution of his plan, the author has, in the first place,
defined and explained the various words and phrases, by giving their most
enlarged meaning, and then all the shades of signification of which they are
susceptible; secondly, he has divided the subject in the manner which to him
appeared the most natural, and laid down such principles and rules as belong
to it; in these cases he has generally been careful to give an illustration,
by citing a case whenever the subject seemed to require it, and referring to
others supporting the same point; thirdly, whenever the article admitted of
it, he has compared it with the laws of other countries within his reach, and
pointed out their concord or disagreement; and, fourthly, he has referred to
the authorities, the abridgments, digests, and the [x] ancient and modem
treatises, where the subject is to be found, in order to facilitate the
researches of the student. He desires not to be understood as professing to
cite cases always exactly in point; on the contrary, in many instances the
authorities will probably be found to be but distantly connected with the
subject under examination, but still connected with it, and they have been
added in order to lead the student to matter of which he may possibly be in
pursuit.
To those who are aware of the difficulties of the task, the author
deems it unnecessary to make any apology for the imperfections which may be
found in the work. His object has been to be useful; if that has been
accomplished in any degree, he will be amply rewarded for his labor; and he
relies upon the generous liberality of the members of the profession to
overlook the errors which may have been committed in his endeavors to serve
them.

PHILADELPHIA, September, 1839.

Index

http://www.constitution.org/bouv/bouvier_p.htm


http://famguardian.org/Publications/Bouviers/bouvier.htm


http://books.google.com/books?id=0mo8AAAAIAAJ&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=false



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