lect04-第2章

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at　once　to　regard　the　occupying　peasantry　as　modern　lessees　or






modern　tenants　at　will。　No　doubt　the　ancient　type　of　ownership






long　served　as　the　model　for　tenancy；　and　the　common　holdings；






dying　out　as　property；　survived　as　occupation。　And；　if　this　were






the　case　in　other　countries；　much　more　would　it　be　so　in　Ireland；






where　property　has　changed　hands　so　often　and　so　violently；　where






during　whole　centuries；　the　owners　of　land　neither　regarded；　nor






were　in　a　position　to　regard；　the　occupiers　save　as　payers　of






rent　and　dues；　and　where　the　conception　of　a　landlord　acting　on






his　legal　ownership　with　a　view　to　improvement　and　increase　of






production　is　altogether　modern。






　　　　The　chief　Brehon　law…tract；　which　sets　forth　the　mutual






rights　of　the　collective　tribe　and　of　individual　tribesmen　or






households　of　tribesmen　in　respect　of　tribal　property；　is　called






the　Corus　Bescna；　and　is　printed　in　the　Third　Volume　of　the






official　edition。　It　presents　great　difficulties。　I　quite　agree






with　the　Editors　that　the　commentary　and　glosses　constantly






contradict　and　obscure　the　text；　either　because　the　commentators






did　not　understand　it　or　because　they　belonged　to　a　later　period






and　a　different　stage　of　legal　relations。　But　the　most　serious






doubt　which　occurs　to　the　student　of　the　text　arises　from　the






strong　and　palpable　bias　of　the　compiler　towards　the　interests　of






the　Church；　indeed；　part　of　the　tract　is　avowedly　devoted　to　the






law　of　Church　property　and　of　the　organisation　of　religious






houses。　When　this　writer　affirms　that；　under　certain






circumstances；　a　tribesman　may　grant　or　contract　away　tribal






land；　his　ecclesiastical　leaning　constantly　suggests　a　doubt　as






to　his　legal　doctrine。　Does　he　mean　to　lay　down　that　the　land　may






be　parted　with　generally　and　in　favour　of　anybody；　or　only　that






it　may　be　alienated　in　favour　of　the　Church？　This　difficulty　of






construction　has　an　interest　of　its　own。　I　am　myself　persuaded






that　the　influence　of　the　Christian　Church　on　law　has　been　very






generally　sought　for　in　a　wrong　quarter；　and　that　historians　of






law　have　too　much　overlooked　its　share　in　diffusing　the






conceptions　of　free　contract；　individual　property；　and






testamentary　succession；　through　the　regions　beyond　the　Roman






Empire　which　were　peopled　by　communities　held　together　by　the






primitive　tie　of　consanguinity。　It　is　generally　agreed　among






scholars　that　Churchmen　introduced　these　races　to　wills　and






bequests；　the　Brehon　tracts　suggest　to　me　at　least　that；　along






with　the　sacredness　of　bequests；　they　insisted　upon　the






sacredness　of　contracts；　and　it　is　well　known　that；　in　the






Germanic　countries；　their　ecclesiastical　societies　were　among　the






earliest　and　largest　grantees　of　public　or　'folk'　land　（Stubbs；






'Constitutional　History　'；　vol。　i。　p。　154）。　The　Will；　the






Contract；　and　the　Separate　Ownership　were　in　fact　indispensable






to　the　Church　as　the　donee　of　pious　gifts；　and　they　were　also






essential　and　characteristic　elements　in　the　civilisation　amid






which　the　Church　had　been　reared　to　maturity。　It　is　possible　that






the　compiler　of　the　Corus　Bescna　may　have　been　an　ecclesiastic；






as　he　certainly　would　have　been　in　any　society　except　the　Irish；






but；　if　he　were　a　lawyer；　he　writes　aS　a　lawyer　would　state　the






case　on　behalf　of　a　favourite　and　important　client。　Let　me　add






that　all　the　Brehon　writers　seem　to　me　to　have　a　bias　towards






private　or　several；　as　distinguished　from　collective；　property。






No　doubt　it　was　then；　as　always；　the　great　source　of　legal






business；　and　it　may　have　seemed　to　them；　and　it　possibly　was；






the　index　to　such　advance　in　civilisation　as　their　country　was






capable　of　making。






　　　　My　own　strong　opinion　is　that　the　'Fine；'　whose　rights　and






powers　are　the　principal　theme　of　the　Corus　Bescna；　and　whose






name　the　translators　render　'Tribe；'　is　neither　the　Tribe　in　its






largest　extension；　nor；　on　the　other　hand；　the　modern　Family　or






group　of　descendants　from　a　living　ancestor；　but　the　Sept。　It　is






a　body　of　kinsmen　whose　progenitor　is　no　longer　living；　but　whose






descent　from　him　is　a　reality；　and　neither　a　myth　nor　a　fiction。






It　is　the　Joint　Family　of　the　Hindoos；　but　with　the






characteristics　of　that　group　considerably　modified　through






settlement　on　the　land。　This　peculiar　assemblage　or　corporation






of　blood…relatives；　which　has　been　referred　to　by　me　several






times　before；　is　formed　by　the　continuance　of　the　family　union






through　several；　and　it　may　be　through　an　indefinite　number　of






generations。　The　rule　throughout　most　of　the　civilised　world　is






that；　for　all　purposes　of　law；　families　are　broken　up　into






individuals　or　dissolved　into　a　number　of　new　families　by　the






death　of　their　head。　But　this　is　not　necessary　the　case。　The






group　made　up　of　those　whom　we　vaguely　call　our　relatives　　of






our　brothers；　nephews；　great…uncles；　uncles；　and　cousins；　no　less






than　those　related　to　us　in　the　ascending　and　descending　lines　






might　very　well；　after　any　number　of　deaths；　remain　knitted






together　not　only　by　blood　and　affection；　but　by　mutual　rights






and　duties　prescribed　or　sanctioned　by　the　law。　An　association　of






this　sort　is　well　known　to　the　law　of　India　as　the　Joint






Undivided　Family；　or；　to　give　the　technical　description；　the






Family；　'joint　in　food；　worship；　and　estate。'　If　a　Hindoo　has






become　the　root　of　a　family　it　is　not　necessarily　separated　by






his　death；　his　children　continue　united　for　legal　purposes　as　a






corporate　brotherhood；　and　some　definite　act　of　one　or　more　of






the　brethren　is　required　to　effect　a　dissolution　of　the　plexus　of






mutual　rights　and　a　partition　of　the　family　property。　The　family






thus　formed　by　the　continuance　of　several　generations　in　union　is






identical　in　outline　with　a　group　very　familiar　to　the　students






of　the　older　Roman　law　　the　Agnatic　Kindred。　The　Agnates　were






that　assemblage　of　persons　who　would　have　been　under　the






patriarchal　authority　of　some　common　ancestor；　if　he　had　lived






long　enough　to　exercise　it。　The　Joint　Family　of　the　Hindoos　is






that　assemblage　of　persons　who　would　have　joined　in　the






sacrifices　at　the　funeral　of　some　common　ancestor；　if　he　had　died






in　their　lifetime。　In　the　last　case　the　sacerdotal　point　of　view






merely　takes　the　place　of　the　legal　or　civil。






　　　　So　far　as　we　are　able；　amid　the　disadvantages　under　which　we






are　placed　by　the　obscurity　of　our　authorities；　let　us　examine






the　legal　qualities　which　the　ancient　Irish　law　attributes　to






this　brotherhood　of　kinsmen　as　it　was　found　in　Ireland。　First　of






all；　the　'Tribe'　of　the　Brehon　tracts　is　a　corporate；　organic；






self…sustaining　unit。　'The　Tribe　sustains　itself。'　（'Ancient　Laws






of　Ireland；'　ii。　283。）　Its　continuity　has　begun　to　depend　on　the






land　which　it　occupies　　'land；'　says　one　of　the　still






unpublished　tracts；　'is　perpetual　man'　　but　it　is　not　a　purely






land…owning　body；　it　has　'live　chattels　and　dead　chattels；'






distinguished　from　those　of　individual　tribesmen。　（'Ancient