Walker Lake bulletin. (Hawthorne, Nev.) 1883-1926, 1892-06-08
POPULAR TALKS ON LAW
The Growth of American Law.
By VIM. @ sPaAeuE, ESQ.
rNpI


It's sources and follow its growth from
IFS very beginning. Let us pursue
growth ef our law. In the first place
the seeds of American jurisprudence
were transplanied from The old world.
The navlgators, explorers. missionaries,
refarmers, gold seekers of the very
earliest days, brought IL our shores
along with their intense desire for
conquest, for individual gam, for the
glory of their soyereigns, and for
religious freedom, the customs and
laws of The homes they left and
adopted them in the new world ervi-
rSnmeni. The Ens lish brought with
them the priceless heritage of the COM
mon law of England, and the irench
and Spanish brought the principles
and codes built upan the foundations
Of the civil law-the law of Rome.
OF the early explorers succeeding
Columbus, there was Juan Ponce de
Leon, who landed in 1912, near ST.
Augustine, IN Florida, in search of the
Fountain of Youth; in 1920, spanish
ships touched the coast of Carolina;
in 1921 the territory now known rs
Texas, New Mexico and California be-
came n part of great province at
tached To Spain by the conquest of her
great explorer, Cortez. De Soto, an
other Spaniard, led party from
Florida across the country 10 The
Mississippi in 1912. In 15S4-5, Sir
Walter Raleigh sent two expeditions
to North Carolina. A Spanish settle
ncnt was made al s.. Augustine, 1865.
jamestown, Virginia, become the first
English settlement IN 16U7. New
York New Netherlands), In 1918, was
settled by the Dutch. and Plymouth,
Massachusetts, by the English in 1929.
La Sale, explored the great lakes and
the Mississippi IN 1852, the French
establishing settlements a, Kaskasia
and Arkansas Post ia 1886, and Mobile
and Vincennes in 1909, Thu England,
Spain and France divided among them
selves the great continent of North
America. Spain got the Southern,
England the Central, and France the
Northern portion.
The discoveries thus made vested the
new lands In the sovereign. HIS title
was that by discovery grounded upon
the three following ideas: The Chris
tian nation that discovers heather
land owns II 10 the exclusion of all
other Christian nations. This nation
to complete Its title must within
reasonable time, occupy and use this
land. The native Inhabitants are only
the occupants Of the land and not its
owners.
For over 100 years from the d'scov-
cry bv Columbus no settlement desrIv-
ing of more than passing mention WAS
made in The new world by The En-.
gish. Many and feeble attempts were
made, fear iul hardships endured, heroic
efforts put forth, but in vain Ralcigh's
and Brakes efforts were unsuccessful.
The spanish settlements were more
successful, and for a clear reason
Spain looked 1pon her explorations as
means toward extending her dominion
She locked forward to another grea,
Roman Empire. Her explorations
were, in sense, official, and once II
post was planted, high officers OF Slate
with large salaries were annexed &c H.,
thus drawing patronage, wealth and
population. II was otherwise with The
English. In nearly every case colonlz-
alton and exploration was priva'e en-
terprise; it unsuccessful drawing in
its wake, Individual suffering and loss,
but if successful, resulting in little in
deed 10 The individual but everything
TO The crown. Left thus Ia their own
resources, English colonies in America
had a precarious existence for the first
$50 To 200 years, leading one writer to
say of the British coonis,s AS late as
the end of the seventeenth century,
"ihey were robbers and pirates on \
large SCALE"
The Eaylv CnlnnloS- ESnaCla | Nv