The works of Francis Bacon, lord chancellor of England.

CASE OF THE POST-NATI OF SCOTLAND. 17
those who maintain this new opinion, whereof into the law in this point, he shall find a consethere is 1" altum silentium" in our books of law, quence that may seem at the first strange, but yet
are not well agreed in what form to utter and ex- cannot be well avoided; which is, that if divers
press that: for some said that allegiance hath families of English men and women plant themrespect to the law, some to the crown, some to the selves at Middleborough, or at Roan, or at Lisbon,
kingdom, some to the body politic of the king: and have issue, and their descendants do interso there is confusion of tongues amongst them, marry amongst themselves, without any intermixas it commonly cometh to pass in opinions that ture of foreign blood; such descendants are
have their foundations in subtlety and imagination naturalized to all generations: for every generaof mnan's wit, and not in the ground of nature. tion is still of liege parents, and therefore natuBut to leave their words, and to come to their ralized; so as you may have whole tribes and
proofs: they endeavour to prove this conceit by lineages of English in foreign countries.
three manner of proofs: first, by reason; then, by And therefore it is utterly untrue that the law
certain inferences out of statutes; and, lastly, by of England cannot operate or confer naturalization,
certain book cases, mentioning and reciting the but only within the bounds of the dominions of
forms of pleadings. England. To come now to their inferences upon
The reason they bring is this; that naturaliza- statutes; the first is out of this statute which I
tion is an operation of the law of England; and last recited; in which statute it is said, that in
so indeed it is, that may be the true genus of it. four several places there are these words, ",born
Then they add, that granted, that the law of within the allegiance of England;" or again, "6 born
England is of force only within the kingdom and without the allegiance of England," which, say
dominions of England, and cannot operate but they, applies the allegiance to the kingdom, and
where it is in force. But the law is not in force not to the person of the king. To this the answer
in Scotland, therefore that cannot endure this bene- is easy; for there is no trope of speech more familiar
fit of naturalization by a birth in Scotland. than to use the place of addition for the person.
This reason is plausible and sensible, but ex- So we say commonly, the line of York, or the line
tremely erroneous. For the law of England, of Lancaster, for the lines of the Duke of York, or
for matters of benefit or forfeitures in England, the Duke of Lancaster.
operateth over the world. And because it is truly So we say the possessions of Somerset, or Warsaid that " respublica continetur paena et prcemio," wick, intending the possessions of the Dukes of
I will put a case or two of either. Somerset or Earls of Warwick. So we see earls
It is plain that if a subject of England had con- sign, Salisbury, Northampton, for the Earls of
spired the death of the king in foreign parts, it Salisbury or Northampton. And in the very same
was by the common law of England treason. manner the statute speaks, allegiance of England,?low prove I that! By the statutes of 35 H. forallegianceofthe KingofEngland. Nay, more,
VIII. cap. 2, wherein you shall find no words at if there had been no variety in the penning of that
all of making any new case of treason which was statute, this collection had had a little more force;
not treason before, but only of ordaining a form for those words might have been thought to have
of trial; " ergo," it was treason before: and if been used of purpose and in propriety; but you may
so, then the law of England works in foreign find in three other several places of the same
parts. So of contempts, if the king send his statute, allegiance and obeisance of the King of
privy seal to any subject beyond the seas, corn- England, and especially in the material and conmanding him to return, and he disobey, no man cludingplace, that is to say, children whose parents
will doubt but there is a contempt, and yet the were at the time of their birth at the faith and obeifact enduring the contempt was committed in sanceoftheKingofEngland, Sothatitismanifest
foreign parts. by this indifferent and promiscuous use of both
Therefore the law of England doth extend to phrases, the one proper, the other improper, that
acts or matters done in foreign parts. So of reward, no man can ground any inference upon these words
privilege or benefit, we need seek no other instance without danger of cavillation.
than the instance in question: for I will put you a The second statute out of which they infer, is a
case that no man shall deny, where the law of statute made in 32 Hen. VIII. touching the policy
England doth work and confer the benefit of natu- of strangers tradesmen within this realm. For
ralization upon a birth neitherwithin the dominions the parliament finding that they did eat the Engof the kingdom, nor King of England. By the lishmen out of trade, and that they entertained no
statute of 25 E. Ill., which, if you will believe apprentices but of their own nation, did prohibit
Hussey, is but a declaration of the common law, that they should receive any apprentice but the
all children born in any parts of the world, if they king's subjects. In which statute is said, that in
be of English parents continuing at that time as nine several places there is to be found this
liege subjects to the king, and having done no act context of words, " aliens born out of the king's
to forfeit the benefit of their allegiance, are 4" ipso obedience;" which is pregnant, say they, and
facto' n lturalized. Nay, if a man look narrowly doth imply that there be aliens born within the