The Title is “The History of the Common Law of England.” The Frontispiece, I cannot comprehend. It is this. Ἰσχυρον ὁ ΝÓ ΜΟΣ έστὶν ἄρχοντὰ1 His great Distribution of the Laws of England is into Leges scriptae and Leges non scriptae. The first are Acts of Parliament which are originally reduced to writing before they are enacted, or receive any binding Power, every such Law being in the first Instance, formally drawn up in Writing, and made as it were a Tripartite Indenture, between the King, the Lords and Commons.

The Leges non scriptae, altho there may be some Monument or Memorial of them in Writing (as there is of all of them) yet all of them have not their original in Writing, but have obtained their Force by immemorial Usage or Custom.

Spent last Evening at Coll. Quincys, with Coll. Lincoln. Several Instances were mentioned, when the Independency and Superiority of the Law in general over particular Departments of officers, civil and military, has been asserted and maintained, by the Judges, at Home. Ld. Cokes Resolution in the Case of —— in oposition to the opinion, and even to the orders, and passionate Threatnings of the King. Ld. Holts refusal to give the House of Lords his Reasons, for his Judgment in the Case of —— in an extra judicial Manner, i.e. without being legally and constitutionally called before them by a Rit Writ of Error, Certiorari, or false Judgment. And Chief Justice Wills’s resolute spirited assertion of the Rits Rights of common Law in opposition to the Court Martial against the Intercession of powerful Friends, and even of the Ministry if not the King himself.1

Parson Smith says the Art of Printing like most other Arts, and Instruments, was discovered by Accident. Somebody, at an idle Hour, had whitled his Name, cut his Name out in the Bark of a Tree. And when his Name was fairly cut out, he cut it off and put it into his Hankerchief. The Bark was fresh, and full of Sap, and the Sap colored his Hankerchief, i.e. printed his Name upon it. And from observing that he tooke the Hint.

Dined at Badcocks, with McKenzie. He pretends to Mechanicks, and Manufactures. He owns the snuff Mill, and he is about setting up some Machine to hull our Barley. One Welsh dined with us, who he said was the best, most ingenious Tradesman, that ever was in this Country. McKenzie and Welsh were very full of the Machinery, in Europe, the Fire Engines, the Water Works, the silk Machines, the Wind Mills, in Holland &c. McKenzie says there are 27, 000 Wheels, and 90, 000 Movements in the silk Machine. You may see 10,000 Wind Mills go-171ing at once in Holland. Thus he tells Wondrous Things, like other Travellers.—I suspect he would be unable to describe the fire Engine or the Water Works. Had I been Master of my self I should have examined him, artfully, but I could not recollect any one Particular of the fire Engine, but the Receiver, and that he says is no Part of the Engine. But he talks about a Center Cylinder.

This conceited Scotchman has been a Rambler I believe. He set up Merchandize in New London. He married a Cunningham, sister to Otis’s Wife.—These restless Projectors, in Mechanicks, Husbandry, Merchandize, Manufactures, seldom succeed here. No Manufactury has succeeded here, as yet. And I believe Franklins Reasoning is good, and the Causes he mentions will hinder the growth of Manufactures here in America, for a great While yet to come.2