foreigner, or perfon belonging to any other of the United States, not having become inhabitants of fuch town, to depart the fame, and the perfon fo warned fhall forfeit, and pay to the treasurer of fuch town, ten fhillings per week, for every week he shall continue therein, after warning, and if unable to pay fhall be whipped on the naked body, not exceeding ten fripes, unless he shall depart the town within ten days after sentence given, and reside no more therein without leave of the selectmen.

If any inhabitant of any town, fhall hire, or entertain, or let any house, or land to any foreigner or inhabitant of any other of the United States, unless he first give fecurity to the acceptance of the authority and selectmen, to fave the town harmless from expense, shall forfeit, and pay to the treafury of the town, ten fhillings per week. The selectmen are directed, and empowered to profecute all breaches of the act.

By the ftatute removals are by warrant and not by order. The law has not vested any description of men with the power of making an order, for the removal of a pauper, and then given the liberty of an appeal from fuch order to the town where fuch pauper is removed, in cafe they dispute his fettlement in fuch town, and wish to try the question. When a pauper is fent to a town, to which he does not belong, fuch town has a right by warrant to remove him to his place of fettlement, but may not return him to the town from which he was fent, unless it be his place of fettlement. But in all cafes where a town removes a pauper, to a town of which he is not an inhabitant, an action of trespass on the cafe will lie in favor of the injured town, by which the place where the pauper is legally fettled can be afcertained. But as towns are sometimes unwilling to commence actions, paupers have fundry times been removed between towns, before an action was commenced, by which they were much diftreffed, and injured. It would therefore be more confiftent with humanity, and jufticé, to authorize certain authority to make orders of removal, and then if any town contefted their validity, give them an appeal to fome fuperior jurifdiction, where the right of fettlement could be fairly, and definitively determined: and not permit towns to harraf's the

poor

poor by fending them backwards, and forwards, as long as they pleafed, till they are difpofed to fettle the queftion legally.

If any person fhall by reafon of fickness, in any town where he does not belong, occafion a charge to fuch town, the selectmen fhall lay the account thereof before the county court in the county, where the town is to which fuch perfon belongs, who having adjusted, and allowed the fame, as they think reasonable shall order payment thereof by the treasury of fuch town, or in want thereof by the felectmen, and award execution accordingly; provided that fuch perfon be unable to fupport himself, and has no master, or relations liable to fupport him.

. In all cafes where a town have incurred any expense in providing for the support of a pauper, belonging to another town, action of affumfit will lie at common law notwithstanding the provision of the statute, to recover fuch expenfe, and this is the most usual method to decide the legal fettlement of paupers.

Formerly where a pauper was to be removed to a distance, he was fent by constables from town to town, to the place of fettlement; fbut now the town removing him, must send him to the place where he belongs. A practice was once introduced of transporting paupers through the state, by conftables from town, to town, where they wished to fend them from one state to another, as from New-York to Rhode-Ifland, but to fave fuch expenfe, the statute law provides, that any perfon who fhall bring any poor and indigent perfon, into any town in this ftate, of which he is not an inhabitant, and leave him there, fhall forfeit twenty pounds to the use

e Town of Thompfon vs. town of Wallingford, f Statutes 420.

A SYSTEM

A SYSTEM of the LAWS

OF THE

STATE of CONNECTICUT.

BOOK SECOND.

Of the Rights of Persons.

IN the

CHAPTER FIRST.

OF RIGHTS IN GENERAL.

N the first book of our enquiries, we have treated of the constitution and form of government, established to fupport the rights and redrefs the wrongs of the people. The power and duty of every person who acts in a public capacity, have been fully delineated, and the jurifdiction of courts that adminifter juftice, has been clearly defined. We come next to confider the rights of individuals, the preservation of which, is the higheft duty of public officers, and the ultimate object of legal government. For the more accurate comprehenfion of this fubject, it is proper to observe that perfons may be branched into feveral divifions. Perfons are public and private. Public perfons have already been confidered as being the inftruments by which government is maintained and executed. Private perfons are the fubjects of government, and derive from it, the exercise and enjoyment of certain rights and privileges. Perfons are again divided into natural and artificial. Natural, are fuch as are formed by the hand of nature. Artificial, are fuch as are formed for the purposes of fociety, as corporations, and bodies politic.

When we confider man, as the fubject of civil law, we are to contemplate

contemplate only certain rights, from the peaceful enjoyment of which refults the higheft happiness which he is capable of attaining. If the exact extent of thefe rights were indifputable, and the observance of them held facred and inviolable, there would be no nceceffity of law or government. But the different ideas of mankind respecting right, and the general propensity to infringe it, have laid the foundation of civil inftitutions. This infringment of right is denominated, wrong. When we have ascertained the rights, we easily fee, that the deprivation, or violation of them conftitute thofe injuries or wrongs, which it is the object of courts to redrefs. The restoration of these rights, when taken away, and the reftitution of adequate compenfation, when violated, are thofe exercises of government which are denominated, justice.

Rights are of a twofold nature, abfolute, and relative. Abfolute rights belong to men in their individual capacity. Thefe are three, and are denominated the rights of perfonal fecurity, perfonal liberty and private property. Relative rights respect mankind in their focial connection with each other. These are the relations of husband, and wife; parent, and child; guardian, and ward; mafter, and fervant.

While we are contemplating the rights of man, it may with propriety be remarked, that they are divided into natural and civil. Natural rights are fuch as appertain to individuals in a ftate of nature-Civil rights refult from the inftitution of fociety-But it muft not be imagined that natural rights are effentially different from civil, for the natural rights are the bafis of civil. Natural rights confift in our poffeffing, and enjoying the power, and priviledge of doing whatever we think proper, without any other reftraint than what refults from the laws of nature-The inconveniences that mankind have experienced in this fituation, has induced them to enter into the focial state, by a refignation of fome portion of natural rights, for the purpose of acquiring complete fecurity for civil rights.-Natural Rights are converted into civil by fubjecting them to certain reftrictions and limitations, by which they are rendered fecure, and permanent. Civil rights may therefore be defined to be the exercife and enjoyment of natu

ral