The rights of property, which are in their nature founded in pure morality and sound policy, are objects of intelligent regard and decided attachment in the United States. This is a real and very important charac teristic of the Americans.
Our federal and state constitutions forbid ex post facto laws, and statutes impairing the obligations of contracts, as derogatory from the rights of property. They forbid the states to make any paper bills a legal tender in pay ment of debts, or to authorise their courts to lessen the security of property provided by treaties. In most of the states a judgment of a court enables the creditor to proceed to sell real property, which is not the case by the law of England. No bank notes are made a tender to pay debts due to private persons in the United States. A mortgage here works an actual hypothecation or pledge of real property, and in most of the states a sale may be made in one year. The great and small con, of United America are of genuine gold, silver, and cop per, worth, with the expense of coinage, more Unto th nominal value. There are none of mixed Or base Inc tals.
Literary composition is conceived to be on a very sound and useful foundation in the United States. The written productions of the Americans have flowed almost entirely from real and generally from important occa sions. The political disquisitions between England and this country, upon the subject of the claims of the for mer and the rights of the latter in the interesting period which intervened between the peace of 1763 and that of 1783, were learned in constitutional law, and sound, on the American side, especially the manifestoes of congress. The principles of the English statutes, and particularly of the declaratory acts relating 0) the United States and to Ireland, were opposed with profound abilities and with success ; for the Irish act, which was like the American, was repealed by the English parlia ment. That of America was not decided by the pen. The correspondence of the American officers, during the revolution, was not inferior to that of the British. The faithful pen of secretary 'Thompson is known by ever:. diplomatic man.
The constitutions of the United States are full of the relative principles of law and moral science, well ap plied and perspicuously arranged.
Centuries passed without a regular and separate dis quisition of the British constitution, when at length De Lohne, of Switzerland, presented a handsome attempt in a single volume.$ The first year of the constitution of the United States gave birth to a more voluminous, and far more learned and profound disquisition of that brief but pithy instrument, under the title of " the Federalist." from the pens of Hamilton and Madison.
" The defence of the constitutions of the United States,' as they existed in the time of our first confederation of 1781 is a collection of historical materials, of more extent, than any, at this moment remembered, upon the sub ject of forms of government. They are susceptible of application to very useful purposes, in combination with other materials, if properly used by a writer of sound constitutional principles.
Since the separation of America from England, a new branch of law writing has become necessary. The American reporters are numerous and increasing. A number of books which have been prepared in scenes, in which strict common law notions have been always prevalent, are highly meritorious. A number of equal merit have arisen within the spheres of the regular courts of equity or chancery. The rest contribute ma terially to the promotion of justice, though less conforma ble to technical regularity.§ America, in this very early stage of her existence, has produced an epic poem of real merit, founded on the great event in her own recent history, which occasioned her to assume a place among the nations of the earth. The imagery, machinery, and ornaments are fictitious. The events are recorded by the head, the heart, and he hand of truth. 11 considered in a manner unconnec !ed tt ith the prejudices of that time, or of tins, and if it be remembered that to write a history of the living ge neration, is the task of unconnnon minds, rendered far more difficult by a poetic dress, the impartial world will give to our country a very liberal credit for this fruit of its genius and learning.